WEBSITE EVALUATION

Website Evaluation

Website Evaluation

The democratic philosophy lying underneath the WWW renders all users free to author a Web site and post it online. Therefore, the Internet becomes an open bank of both quality and trash information that is predominated by anarchy. In order to fully understand this supposition, we need to contrast Web sites with “moderated newsgroups”, where all postings are firstly sent to a moderator that evaluates their content before making them public. The predetermined need of critical Web site evaluation has led scientists, researchers and Web site analysts into the initiation of Web site evaluation methods and evaluation criteria. Evaluation methods are separated into five categories: competitive analysis, scenarios, inspection - including Heuristic evaluation -, log analysis, and on-line questionnaires (Hallahan, 2001, 223). The Cognitive Walkthroughs method, based on the psychology of inexperienced users that allows the detection of likely interface problems. As regards Web site evaluation criteria, there are two different types: evaluation of the site itself and evaluation of the content. Log analysis uses software solutions to automatically collect and analyze the number of access logs. The results gathered are objective because they are based on primary sources of information - the actual users. However, log analysis cannot build reliable user models. Finally, it is used as an evaluation method during the implementation and maintenance stage.

The review PublicNet

Web site is based on log analysis executed by Web Trends solutions and inspection methods, based on established guidelines regarding four major areas of Web site design: content, visual design, usability and search ability. The inspection of established guidelines or checkpoints does not require user groups. This method has a high degree of success; it can be undertaken by a single individual and requires less formal training. One branch of this method is the Heuristic evaluation, a “usability engineering method” that, according to Nielsen (1994), needs to be carried out by a number of evaluators in order to avoid subjectivity in the selection and application of heuristics and involves.

Website Analysis

The basic structural points of the Web site, which is an Intranet, consist of a large database system, the user groups and their degree of freedom in accordance with the server security systems of the Intranet and the asp Web site technology that has been implemented with Visual Basic programming tool. The Intranet has been implemented in a Windows NT 4.0 environment, and its operation requires ...