SITE EVALUATION WORKSHEET

Transcription

1 SITE EVALUATION WORKSHEET PRELIMINARY INFORMATION Site name: URL: Purpose of evaluation: Evaluated by: Idaho State Office of Tourism To evaluate the effectiveness of the Idaho tourism office s website. Including design, readability, and ease of navigation; as well as support across different browsers. Nicholas Barton, student of PRT 5460 Electronic Marketing at the University of Utah Date: September 28, 2012 Time: First Impression: [ 1 (poor) 5 (excellent) ] Very good to Excellent General Comments: The visitidaho.org site is initially very attractive and has obviously had a great deal of time, energy, and money invested in it. The only critique I have initially is that the site appears too busy when I first navigated to it. I like cleaner webpages, and while they have attempted to organize a great deal of information in the site, a less busy homepage would be preferred. Searchability Search for the web address first in general and then specifically, using the exact name of the agency. Search using two different search engines (Identify the 2 nd search engine).

2 Web Site Evaluation Worksheet Page 2 How does the agency s URL rank Google Bing Using a General term 1 st behind one ad 1st Using a Specific term 1 st 1st Navigation Pretest What type of navigation is provided on this page? (i.e. horizontal across top, bottom or vertical on left, right or combination) A combination of navigation elements are used in the site. It has a very modern design and offers seemingly innumerable links to information about Idaho tourism. A toolbar on top of the site lists the site name and has icons for; home, winter, golf, white water, and scenic byways. To the right of these is a drop down menu labeled More Idaho Sites, these include nearly 20 other areas of focus with links to pages addressing each. A contact bar has direct links as well as an entire bar of social media icons. There are icons for links to photo galleries, a search section with various drop down filters, embedded slideshows, calenders. This site is truly a homepage as it is the base of operations for a vast wealth of information. Almost too much for one page. First inspect the navigation items before you actually click on the item. Number of navigation links: Over 60 on the home page alone Then click on each link to verify that they Link to the correct page Accuracy: The links are all incredibly accurate; I did not click on one that does not take you to the exact link it states. All the pages and links are updated appropriately, and continue with a seamless professional site that the home page delivers. Comments:

3 Web Site Evaluation Worksheet Page 3 Identity/Brand Pretest Based solely on information presented, identify site owner and describe general type of site: The site is owned and operated by the Idaho Department of Commerce. The governor, C.L. Otter, attaches his name to it, but I expect that is more of a marketing gimmick/endorsement more than anything. Purpose Pretest Based upon quick inspection, identify the basic points of the site. What basic functions would it likely provide? This site provides far more than basic functions. Aside from the pictures and basic contact information one might expect, the site also offers links to social media, 3 rd party references and reviews, maps, information on lodging and recreation, booking ability and links to various hospitality and recreation outlets. They have literally thought of everything. Target Audience Pretest Insert the Reading Level Results table that is generated when you calculate the readability via the juicy Studio Readability web site: Interpret the results for the Gunning Fog Index, Flesch Reading Ease, and Flesch-Kincaid grade level. The juicystudio site will not read the visit Idaho site, or may not be able to. I would expect that a lower Gunning Fog index would be prevalent as the site is largely visual and the verbiage is simple. Flesch Reading Ease scale would likely be very readable, though I am not otherwise familiar with this scale. Similarly to the Gunning Fogg index the Flesch-Kincaid scale would yield a lower result as little schooling would be required to navigate this site. Are there any foreign language pages or opportunities to translate a page into a foreign language?

4 Web Site Evaluation Worksheet Page 4 If Yes, which languages are provided? Please note if the language pages are PDF type brochures/publications or are they web pages with interactive links? In the about section there are links to testimonials from tourism players representing 9 different countries. Icons represented by international flags link to the testemonials in the language spoken by that country. Links are further provided within those testimonials in order to provide more information to international visitors. Are there links to the following social media providers? _Y_Blog _Y_ Facebook _Y_ Twitter _Y_ Other, please specify: Direct Contact submission for sending messages to Idaho Division of Tourism Development, as well as; youtube, flickr, vimeo and trip advisor GENERAL SITE CHARACTERISTICS Site Structure Is a site diagram/map provided? Are there any broken links in the site? _ If yes, are they broken links to external sites or internal pages? _... external sites _... internal pages _, Both

5 Web Site Evaluation Worksheet Page 5 What is the maximum page depth in the site (clicks from the home page)? Aproximately 6-7 clicks is the max, the site is designed to prompt you into some action, make a reservation or click to an external link typically within 3-5 layers Are there clear entry (gateway, landing page) and exit pages to the site? _ If yes, describe: The frame, tool bars, contact bar, and general information remain in place while navigating so it is easy to orient oneself to the homepage. The exits typically link to external partner operations or re-route you back in to the site Does the site use pop-ups? _ If yes, in what situations? Visuals and Layout Describe the visuals used in the site: Though Busy they are clean, well designed, and use attractive design elements Do you like the visuals? _ Why or why not? Though Busy they are clean, well designed, and use attractive design elements

6 Web Site Evaluation Worksheet Page 6 Are the visuals purely decorative or do they add to the site s function or information? Only decoration _X_ Improve function or added information Describe text size Too small _X_ Just right Too large: With respect to screen size, does the primary navigation fit on screen: _X_ Fits Requires Scrolling to the right Requires Scrolling down What kind of images are used in the site? GIF _X_ JPEG _X_ PNG Other Are the images generally used correctly (e.g., GIF for illustrations, JPEG for photos)? Are there image execution problems (e.g., color matching, pixels appearing in background tiles, etc.)? Describe: General Content Statistics

7 Web Site Evaluation Worksheet Page 7 Is there enough detail to answer simple user questions? _X_Yes Is there enough content detail to answer complex user questions? _X_Yes Does content appear accurate and truthful? If no, describe what suggests this belief: Are there obvious misspellings in the site? Are there egregious spelling errors such as misspellings in buttons or headlines? Is content updated on the site? If a link results in a download (e.g., PDF), is the size of the download clearly indicated? _X_ n/a Identity Post-test: View the Source page to determine the following information:

8 Web Site Evaluation Worksheet Page 8 What keywords or MetaTags were used in the Head Section of the web page to be utilized on a search engine? <meta name="description" content="official Idaho vacation planner with maps, hotels, outdoor recreation, events, Sun Valley, Boise, Coeur d'alene, Lewis and Clark, free travel guide."> <meta name="keywords" content="idaho Travel, Idaho Tourism, events, idaho visitor centers, Idaho Map, Idaho Hotels, Skiing in Idaho, Idaho Ski Resorts, Rafting in Idaho, Sun Valley, State of Idaho, Outdoor Recreation, Lewis and Clark"> THE FINAL SCORE Final Score [ (Dislike) 1 5 (Like a lot) ] Clean, professional, informative, well designed, accurate, updated. Key reasons for final score: Clean, professional, informative, well designed, accurate, updated. Half point for almost overwhelming homepage.