According to market researcher PC Meter, Excite was the most frequently visited page on the Web, at least in February 1997 when the calculations were made. Its parent company is HotWired, which means HotBot looks good. While appearance isn't a prerequisite, in this case it works to the user's advantage. The design is colorful and clean, the interface is streamlined. These fine-tuning menus, while ostensibly helpful, take some getting used to, and since the page needs to be reloaded when you use one, there is a delay.
Documentation is easy to find, easy to read and thorough.
It's written for the layman, not the geek. HotBot doesn't account for mirror sites or copies of pages, so all are listed, an annoyance. It is a solid search machine and getting stronger. Infoseek has changed its face and focus over the past year. Ultrasmart is its online directory divided into categories such as arts and entertainment, computers, education, etc.