OCR National - Evaluation of Website

Text colour has also been used with the intention of fitting into an independent ‘theme’. Red text, used on the first page, represents urgency and hence is used to prompt users that if there are any problems, they could email the customer support team. Blue text is used ‘casually’ to introduce/explain text; it is the standard font colour used for this website. Black text is used for formal issues, such as the form and in tables which present information.

Arial MT Bold is used for the main heading as it looks more user-friendly than, say, Times New Roman, yet still being standard; it is also easy to read for some people who require more viewing assistance (accessibility). Arial Narrow is used for normal text as it looks different, smaller than most other fonts (therefore more flexible when ‘stretched’ to fit a box) and looks more formal when is not bold.

Language used throughout the website is simple-moderate. There are not many descriptions, those are replaced with text-tables, images and animations to aid easier understanding, pertain interest and support the ‘user-friendliness’, which users can comment on in the form.

4. Usability: Navigation is consistent throughout all pages. ‘Forward’ and ‘Backward’ buttons are implemented into each page according to whether they are needed or not. They link a page to another page, in priority/chronological order. For example, the Homepage links users to the ‘Equipment’ page, where they can either click each individual hotspot to their desired location or could merely click ‘Next’ until they get there. For those who are not keen on persistent clicking can use the navigation bar. If a person wanted to, say, go to ‘The Black Bin’ page without having to go to the ‘Equipment’ page and clicking can hover over ‘Equipment’ on the navigation bar, highlighting ‘The Black Bin’ and clicking. The navigation components are clearly sized for users to see and recognise. Highlighting of hyperlinks is automatically used to aid users for ‘clicking there’. The form is laid out so that users can easily understand it and additional information is provided in brackets: ‘1=Bad 10=Fantastic’. Text to aid the user is provided to ensure they understand the components around the website, ‘The table on the right shows to you more specifically...’
5. Accessibility: As demonstrated in ‘AO2 Evidence’, by screenshots, I could create a different master page with contrasting colours and larger-sized fonts in order to make the pages viewable for those with accessibility issues – for example I have used a ‘black, white and yellow’ theme, both the white and yellow contrast with the black to make it easier. Tables have also been used to organise all elements consistently at a suitable size, for example in the hotspot on the ‘Equipment’ page.

ALT tags have also been added to most images in order to help those who cannot see images, either due to accessibility or slow-speed connections, to at minimum read what the picture is displaying.

Strengths:

• When choosing this assignment title, I had a rigorous idea of what how I was to plan my website, organise it and what to insert in every page – this is reinforced by my site-plan
• Implementing most components, which were used on the website, from previous units, accurately; Roll-over buttons and the navigation bar from Unit 21, the advertising animation from Unit 20, and various skills from Unit 1 (mainly through the Publisher task)
• Good at finding appropriate images of good quality and size using appropriate search functions
• I have given each task of the project appropriate timings, building on and linking from previous steps (for example I have consciously structured Task 2, inserting the components into the website, to follow-on to Task 3, inserting the hyperlinks)
• Before inserting the components into the website, I have planned thoroughly where they are going to go, what is going to be said (in text) and the reasons for such choices
• From visiting internet websites so much, I had a firm idea about whether my website was actually looking like one or something else, like a Newsletter, for example
• From previous practice assignments/tutorials, I had prior experience with the web-design software used, WebPlus 10, before undertaking the assignment.

Weaknesses:

• Some pages do look as if they have been rushed as they do not contain much ‘activity’
• Viewers may not understand why different font colours, other than green, like blue, have been used when it does not fit the general house-style. I could have made these ‘inconsistencies’ more decipherable.
• Using tables for some of the components did not fit in well as different images were of different sizes. This often over-squashed images, distorting general readability.
• There was some wasted space which I couldn’t effectively fill in with more components. This should encourage me to plan with greater precision next time.
• More interactivity could have been applied to the website by the use of video and/or background sound
• User-form could have been linked to in more ways to encourage user feedback.