Sunday, 18 November 2012

Website Evaluation Tools



Website Evaluation Tools


Website evaluation tools are online services or software programs that help people and their businesses determine the performance of a website and if it meets accessibility guidelines.
These programs and services offer assistance with search engine optimization (SEO), usability, technology, social media and accessibility reviews. They help people to better their websites or show people which websites are credible and a good source to get information off of. The following websites are examples of both of these:

BDC offers paid help to people on improving their websites. Their expertise is divided into 4 main sections:
·         Search engine optimization (SEO)
Provide a list of keywords relevant to your industry and analyze your site's ranking on search engines.

·         Usability
Conduct an evaluation of your site design, ease of navigation and mobile device compatibility.

·       Technology
Identify broken links, faulty coding, browser compatibility and more.

·         Social media
Evaluate your presence on the popular social media platforms.

By getting a website diagnostic and answering an online questionnaire that allows the BDC technicians to review your website and give you recommendations, both in an online discussion and in electronic form.
They also offer information and communication technology (ICT) diagnostic, internet strategy and system selection support. Everything to get your website working perfect and be the number one website searched.

Achecker is a free website that allows you to search websites and see what areas of the website need improvement, such as language codes and text issues. You type in the website you want to review and up come all of the reviews about the website.


The following are 5 easy steps to help you diagnose a website yourself:

1.          Accuracy of Web Documents
  • Who wrote the page and can you contact him or her?
  • What is the purpose of the document and why was it produced?
  • Is this person qualified to write this document?
Accuracy
  • Make sure author provides e-mail or a contact address/phone number.
  • Know the distinction between author and Webmaster.
2.       Authority of Web Documents
  • Who published the document and is it separate from the "Webmaster?"
  • Check the domain of the document, what institution publishes this document?
  • Does the publisher list his or her qualifications?
Authority
  • What credentials are listed for the authors)?
  • Where is the document published? Check URL domain.
3.       Objectivity of Web Documents
  • What goals/objectives does this page meet?
  • How detailed is the information?
  • What opinions (if any) are expressed by the author?
Objectivity
  • Determine if page is a mask for advertising; if so information might be biased.
  • View any Web page as you would an infomercial on television. Ask yourself: why was this written and for whom?
4.      Currency of Web Documents
  • When was it produced?
  • When was it updated?
  • How up-to-date are the links (if any)?
Currency
  • How many dead links are on the page?
  • Are the links current or updated regularly?
  • Is the information on the page outdated?
5.      Coverage of the Web Documents
  • Are the links (if any) evaluated and do they complement the documents' themes?
  • Is it all images or a balance of text and images?
  • Is the information presented cited correctly?
Coverage
  • If page requires special software to view the information, how much are you missing if you don't have the software?
  • Is it free or is there a fee to obtain the information?
  • Is there an option for text only, or frames, or a suggested browser for better viewing?
Next time you’re checking out a website to use for research or thinking of making your own, use these simple website and easy steps to help you evaluate your website. 

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Bibliography





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_qR5lpnXBE#

Samantha Della Pietra
000052557



23 comments:

  1. I will definitely be using the evaluation criteria you have listed to help evaluate websites in the future, and for my brand assignment.

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  2. Hey Sam,
    That's a very extensive list and something I would of never have thought of to use when looking at a website. Mr Oliver makes a good point, as this will be very handy to use when completing our brand assignment.
    Cheers

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  3. Well done Sam,

    I can assume your brand evaluation is going to go quite smoothly after all the research you have put into this blog. I will be using it as well in completing the assignment and follow your basic steps in more accurately evaluating each website. Quite informative and thank you for the post.

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  4. Excellent work!
    This criteria that you have stated to diagnose a website seems to be extensive and a great way to evaluate a website. There were a lot of points that never crossed my mind dealing with a website that you have mentioned so I found it extremely informative and had a great read!

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  5. Great job, I like how you included the 5 easy steps to help us diagnose a website ourselves, it is very useful information. The link you provided for checking the website really opened my eyes to small problems that I didn't even notice on websites.
    Great post!

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  6. well done sam, i never thought like this using a website but now i understand, i like the links and that video u use.

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  7. Hey Sam,
    You have really broken down the website tools. You mentioned alot of valid information about evaluating a website. Alot of great information !
    Thanks for posting.

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  8. Great post Sam,
    Knowing the expertise that BDC specializes in helps to analyze your own website in future. Any neglect to any of those four areas could be detrimental to any company's website/online presence. Thanks for that info. Should come in handy for the future, and of course for our brand evaluation.:)

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  9. wow i didn't know there were so many elements to cover when evaluating a website. Good info tho, i am in the current process of making a website for my dads business, ill be sure to look over these aspects to make sure. There are many things i wouldnt even have thought of like objectivity. Good post, very insightful.

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  10. this blog really covers everything a website needs. all the things a business really needs to do, to gain attention of the consumer.

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  11. Just like many of our classmates have said good job at breaking down how diagnose a website, it will be good to know for in the future when I need to do this for work.

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  12. Hello Samantha
    I found your post to be quite enjoyable. I will deffinetly look into your guidelines if I have my own website in the future.
    Thanks so much
    David

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  13. Hey Samantha,

    Your entry was a real eye opener. I definitely had no idea how much there really was to evaluating a webpage.

    Very informative!

    Andrew

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  14. Hey Sam
    I was not aware there was that many steps to evaluating a website. I felt there was allot of good information about the webpage. great work and well written great job

    Elliott Jones

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  15. Hi sam
    I never knew that it went into such detail to evaluating a website. I enjoyed all the examples you provided because there are so many steps to take into consideration that i was unaware
    Good job
    Jake

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  16. Hello sam,
    First I just want to thank you for going into such detail in your post. I feel like I leaned a lot from reading this. I had no idea how Websites were evaluated, but now I feel like I will never look at another website the same way again.

    Thanks
    Daniel

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  17. Nice post, I like that way the evaluation tools were broken down. I have a feeling that I will be viewing websites differently from now on.

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  18. Hey Sam,


    Your post was very informative and helpful. It outlined many key points - some of which I was able to incorporate into my brand evaluation assignment!

    Thank you for the well-written blog post.
    -Jordan

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  19. Very good break down. Five easy steps are…very easy! Do you think it’s a good idea to hire a company that professionally does this sort of thing or are the five steps enough to keep your site properly evaluated?

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  20. Good Info Use

    I like how you included the 5 easy steps to help us diagnose a website ourselves. Great Video and Visuals. This information is something that I will use in the future.

    Thank You

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  21. This has given me a different look on websites, I think I'll notice stuff I previously didnt.

    Good post, Good content
    -Joe

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  22. Great Post!
    Really good breakdown of topics!
    Good videos and visuals.
    -Tyson

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  23. I never thought that using a specific or certain website would deal with so much evaulation in regards to content. I mean, to a certain extent I would understand, but that is pretty in depth. You have explained it quite well, thanks for the lesson!

    -Raffi Kaloustian

    ReplyDelete