EDO-CS-98-10 Nov 1998
Guidelines for Evaluating Web
Sites
Prepared by: Mardziah Hayati Abdullah
ERIC Clearinghouse on Reading, English, and Communication Digest #137
With increased access to the Internet, Web sites are becoming popular educational
resources. Not every site makes a good resource, however, so how does one
decide whether a site is worth using? The following checklist, compiled
from several sources, is a summary of criteria for evaluating Web sites;
the more criteria a site meets, the more likely it is to be a valuable
resource:
Technical considerations
-
Verify that the Web site's important capabilities, such as graphics or
animations critical to the subject matter, can be utilized with the technology
you have available. Some sites require more advanced browsers.
-
The page should be stable, that is, consistently available.
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All the links and special features such as audios must be functioning;
it is disconcerting if "Error" messages appear.
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If there is a fee for using the site, the site should provide a secure
way to send payment.
Purpose
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A site's purpose should be clear, and its content should reflect that purpose,
be it to entertain, educate, or sell.
-
Advertising should not overshadow the content.
Content
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A site's content should be comprehensible, appropriate, and of value to
the intended audience. Awards won by a site may suggest quality but may
also be little more than advertising banners for the issuing agencies.
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There should be enough information to make visiting the site worthwhile.
Information on how often the site is visited may indicate its usefulness.
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Although there may be variations in how information is ordered, the organization
should generally be logical.
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Sites that promote social biases (e.g., gender, racial, or religious biases)
should be rejected or critically reviewed.
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If there are large amounts of information on the site, there should at
least be a site map or outline of topics that allows users to find topics
and move among them easily. A search function for locating information
within the site would also be useful.
-
The information should be current, accurate, and regularly updated. A "last
updated" notification is a useful feature.
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Copyright information is useful if you anticipate copying a substantial
amount of the content for dissemination.
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Links to more information on the topic should be provided.
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Graphics should be relevant and appropriate to the content.
Authorship/Sponsorship
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The name of the individual or group creating the site should be clearly
stated.
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The Web site author or manager should provide contact information for users
to make comments or ask questions.
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Where applicable, reference sources for information cited should be provided.
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Sites that clearly violate copyright statutes or other laws should not
be linked, listed, or recommended.
Functionality
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Language used in messages and instructions should be clear, concise and
easy to understand.
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The skills required to use the site's features should be appropriate for
its intended audience.
-
Navigation within the site should be easily carried out. Required "plug-ins"
or other helper applications should be clearly identified, and navigational
buttons should be of a consistent shape and location. Links should be descriptive
of the content, and link text items should sound like invitations to content,
not "click me/this/here."
-
If a search function is available, instructions for conducting searches
should be provided.
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There should be consistency in the use of features such as headers, backgrounds,
fonts, and colors, particularly when they act as thematic pointers (e.g.,
sub-headings use a smaller font than major headings).
-
A text-only option is useful for sites with a lot of graphics; otherwise,
download time may be too lengthy. Generally, wait time should not exceed
15-20 seconds.
-
If necessary, look for features catering to the needs of special populations
such as visually impaired and hearing-impaired users. For example, images
conveying important messages such as page titles or links should
come with alternative text (text that is displayed when the cursor
moves over the image), so that visually impaired users using screen readers
will hear the relevant text when the cursor is over the image. Audio clips
that convey important content (such as lyrics or announcements) must have
optional links to readable text for hearing-impaired users.
Design/Aesthetics
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The site design should be appropriately appealing to its intended audience.
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The text should be easy to read, and not cluttered with distracting graphics,
fonts, and backgrounds. There should be appropriate "white space," that
is, space that is not occupied by text or graphics.
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The design elements and features on the site, such as searchable databases,
animations, graphics, sound files, and transitional pages, should be labeled
and explained clearly.
-
The site should make use of conventional rather than cute but confusing
features. For example, hypertext should be in blue text rather than buttons
without accompanying text.
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Links should not lead to so many levels that it is difficult for users
to get back to the page they started from.
-
Sometimes the same site looks different on different browsers. Colors,
graphics, and text may change. If you are looking at a Web site on your
own computer, check to see how it will appear on the computers that other
users, such as students, will be using.
-
The color scheme should not be too gaudy and hurtful to the eye. Most experts
recommend that a site contain no more than four colors, with a limit of
seven throughout the site. Some suggest that a site contain both warm colors
(e.g., red, orange, yellow) and cool colors (purple, blue, green). The
most important consideration, however, is whether the colors distract from
the main message.
-
The colors may also need to be appropriate for color-deficient users, who
tend to see everything in shades of green and grey, so check to see whether
important messages are conveyed by differences or changes in color.
-
A site has better readability if dark text appears on a light background,
or vice versa. If pages need to be printed, pages using light backgrounds
and dark text will produce better hard copies than pages with dark backgrounds
and light text.
-
Large images should be presented in thumbnail versions, with links to the
larger versions
Online sources of evaluation criteria
-
Two useful online sources of criteria for evaluating Web sites for
children are located at:
Selection Criteria
(http://www.ala.org/parentspage/greatsites/criteria.html)
Kids Site Selection Guidelines
(http://www.scout.cs.wisc.edu/scout/kids/selection.html)
-
A comprehensive list of criteria for evaluating Web resources in
general is provided by Ann Symons in "Sizing Up Sites: How to Judge What
You Find on the Web" in the School Library Journal, v43 n4 p22-25, April
1997, currently available on the online Expanded Academic Full-text Elite
database, and as ERIC Database document number EJ543163.
-
A Web-based public service offered by the Center for Applied Special
Technology (CAST), called Bobby, analyzes Web pages for their accessibility
to people with disabilities as well as their compatibility with various
browsers. This service is currently available at: http://www.cast.org/bobby/
References
Absher, L.(1997). Beyond
Clip Art: Creating Graphics for the Web. Paper presented at "The Universe
at Your Fingertips: Continuing Web Education" Conference (Santa Barbara,
CA, April 25, 1997). [ED412903]
Everhart, N. (1997). Web
Page Evaluation: Views from the Field. In Technology Connection,
4, 24-26. [EJ544697]
Knupfer, N.N. (1997). Visual
Aesthetics and Functionality of Web Pages: Where is the Design? In
Proceedings of Selected Research and Development Presentations at the 1997
National Convention of the Association for Educational Communications and
Technology (19th, Albuquerque, NM, February 14-18, 1997). [ED409846]
Luck, D.D., & Hunter, J.M. (1997). Visual
Design Principles Applied To World Wide Web Construction. In VisionQuest:
Journeys toward Visual Literacy. Selected Readings from the Annual Conference
of the International Visual Literacy Association (28th, Cheyenne, Wyoming,
October, 1996). [ED408985]
Reagan, M.J. (1997). An
Accent on Access: Writing HTML for the Widest Possible Audience. Paper
presented at "The Universe at Your Fingertips: Continuing Web Education"
Conference (Santa Barbara, CA, April 25, 1997). [ED412905]
Small, R.V. (1997). Assessing
the Motivational Quality of World Wide Websites. 16 p. Document available
only on microfiche. [ED407930]
Smith, A.G. (1997). Testing
the Surf: Criteria for Evaluating Internet Information Resources. In
Public Access Computer Systems Review, 8, 1-14. [EJ554170]
Sowards, S.W.(1997). Save
the Time of the Surfer: Evaluating Web Sites for Users. In Library
Hi-Tech, 15, 155-58. [EJ557244]
Digest #137 is EDO-CS-98-10 and was published in November 1998 by
the ERIC Clearinghouse on Reading, English and Communication, 2805 E 10th Street,
Bloomington, IN 47408-2698, Telephone (812) 855-5847 or (800) 759-4723. ERIC Digests are
in the public domain and may be freely reproduced. Additional copies may be ordered by
contacting the ERIC Document Reproduction Service at (800) 443-3742.
This project has been funded at least in part with Federal funds from the U.S. Department
of
Education under contract number RR93002011. The content of this publication does not
necessarily reflect the views or policies of the U.S. Department of Education nor does mention
of
trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.
