Website Design, Creation and Evaluation

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HND COMPUTING

Department of ICT

Module: Website Design

Assignment Title: Website Design, Creation and Evaluation

Submitted by: Josh Gardner

For the attention of: Mike Bird

Date submitted: 30th January 2009

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Mike Bird for all his help with this project,

Abstract Summary

In this assignment I have researched several current e-business websites, and assessed their respective designs and functionality. The original Assignment structure was:

. Assess the design and functionality of existing and established e-business sites.

2. Examine a range of web authoring tools for creating multimedia websites.

3. Develop an integrated set of web pages / frames.

4. Develop interactive applications on a web server.

For each of the points above, I spent a substantial amount of time researching each area in detail, making sure I had plenty of information so I could make informed decisions. I feel this has had a positive effect on my final results and conclusions.

This report is presented in an organised manner, with a logical progression from the initial ideas and assessments, through to the final design and implementation of my website.

Microsoft Word was used for the creation of this report.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Introduction p5

1.1 Introduction to Assignment p5

1.2 Action Plan p5

1.3 Chapter Listings p6

Chapter 2: Assessment of current E-Businesses p7

2.1 Evaluation of www.amazon.com p7

2.2 Compatibility of Amazon with multiple browsers p10

Chapter3: Examination of Web-Authoring Tools p14

3.1 Markup and Scripting Languages p14

3.2 Commercial web authoring tools p15

3.3 Conclusion p17

Chapter4: Development of web pages/frames p19

4.1 Concept and Methodology p19

4.2 Planning and Analysis p19

4.3 Design p21

4.3.1 Look and Feel ideas p21

4.3.2 Design Methodology p21

4.4 Implementation p21

4.5 Pre-Publishing Testing p30

4.6 Promotion p33

4.7 Innovation p33

Chapter 5: Development of applications on web server p34

5.1 Hosting p34

5.2 Post-Publishing Testing p35

5.3 Turning WorldGolf into an E-Business p36

5.4 Evaluation p37

5.5 Maintenance Plan p37

Appendices p38

References p47

.1 Introduction to Assignment

In this assignment I am going to be looking at several existing e-business websites and evaluating them individually with respect to the established rules of web design. Because of the nature of the internet, there are many such websites; however I will concentrate on some of the more recognised ones.

I will also be looking at different software packages which allow for the creation of such sites, in particular multimedia websites. This will involve looking not only at the features of such packages, but also will require research into the scripting languages themselves. Based on my findings I will decide which tools I believe to be ideal for the problem in hand, stating my reasons.

From this point onwards I will begin the design and implementation of my own set of web pages, documenting the process as I go along. The site will be themed around that of an e-business website. It will be tested extensively before the next step of publishing the site to a web server.

From this point the problem of re-testing and maintaining the site will arise.

This will require the creation of a Maintenance Plan.

.2 Action Plan

For this assignment I am going to create an action plan which will help me organise the progress of the project. This will allow me to easily manage my time much more efficiently and ultimately benefit the project.

.3 Chapters

Chapter 2: Assessment of current e-business websites

Chapter 3: Examination of authoring tools for creating multimedia websites

Chapter 4: Development of integrated set of web pages

Chapter 5: Development of interactive applications of web server

Appendix A: Look and Feel Designs

Appendix B: Colour Designs

Appendix C: Development Log

References

CHAPTER 2

Assessment of current e-business websites

In this section I will be taking a look at current e-business websites, evaluating their design and functionality.

After researching, I have decided to evaluate www.amazon.com. I have chosen this website due its huge popularity and its well publicised commercial success.

2.1 Evaluation of www.amazon.com

Before any evaluation takes place, it would be wise to remind oneself of the established proper practices for a website's design and functionality.

The main points to consider are:

. Simplicity is key

2. Design is paramount

3. The website should be easy to navigate

4. The website should be consistent in terms of style and presentation

5. Pick a colour scheme which works well

6. Take care over the content

7. Develop the site with multiple browsers in mind

With these points in mind let us begin our look at amazon.com with a quick first impressions glance at the site as it appears in our browser:

I think that the site clearly reflects the nature of a business. Everywhere you look there are products on offer.

Let us now assess the site against the principles listed previously:

. Simplicity

I think in terms of simplicity, the site is ok but could be much better. Because of the nature of product rich sites, things can often become very confusing and cluttered. This site's organisation is, in my opinion far from excellent. There is rather a lot of clutter, however this is to be expected from what is basically an e-shop. Selling products is the name of the game after all, and the front page is clearly about capturing people's attention.

2. Design

The site is definitely good looking, and is clearly designed to capture the attention of the user immediately. After all, the aim is to keep the user browsing the site as long as possible; logically the more time spent looking means more chance of a purchase. Everything looks clean and tidy, and the presentation of the site is excellent.

3. Navigation

One of the major strength's of the website is the ease at which you can access different areas of the Amazon store. Perhaps you want to see what is the best selling CD, or maybe you would just like to browse for a pair of jeans. Even though at times I feel the website is cluttered, anything you want you can find with relatively little trouble.

The main components for navigation are both the category list at the left hand side of the site, and also the search bar at the top of the page.

Both of these navigational methods are quick and easy to use, and in terms of a business they are crucial to selling more items and making more money.

4. Consistency

Consistency is the key to a good website, and with this site in particular everything is in keeping with the same general theme. Font's, colours, borders and buttons all fit the same general style. This colour scheme is also very important in defining the Amazon brand, making people much more aware of the site.

5. Colour Scheme

Again the website is visually appealing. The site's colour scheme is not too overpowering, combining light blues and oranges with light greens and light reds. All text is easy to read, and the site as a whole is very easy going on the eyes. Prices and stock levels are also indicated by the use of colour, making them much more noticeable to the user, again helping the business.

6. Content

If there is one reason for the success of amazon.com it is the overwhelming choice of items at competitive prices. The site is content rich, with millions of products. Products come with user ratings, detailed descriptions, images, videos, audio samples and reviews. The amount of information available for any product is overwhelming. As well as the products, the other services that are available such as creating accounts, setting up credit cards, and tracking packages are all extremely helpful to the user. These features all add up to make browsing amazon.com an enjoyable experience. There are few e-businesses which can compete with the quantity and quality of the amazon network.

7. Browser compatibility
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This is a very important issue, which many websites overlook. Many times a website will be displayed incorrectly on a different browser, or some page elements in particular may not work correctly. Subsequently because of this incompatibility, their consumer base is reduced. With the case of Amazon.com there are no such issues. This is showcased in the following section.

2.2 Compatibility of Amazon.com with multiple platforms

Concentrating on the browsers which make up the majority of the internet user base (using [1]), I will look at Internet Explorer 7, Firefox, Opera, Safari, and Google Chrome.

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