Your web site analysis blog posts should represent an analysis of your chosen site from the viewpoint of a user and as a creator.
All of your analysis should be based on your observations of the site throughout the semester and on background research you've conducted on the site. Posts that are subjective should be supported with facts; links and visual screen grabs should be used to illustrate and underscore your points. (About.com has explainers on screen grabs.)
Approach from the designer or editor viewpoint to answer questions that may arise as you are trying to explain why a site is designed the way it is, or why it focuses on a particular type of content, etc. Information quoted from other sources - people and paper - should be fully attributed in your text.
Postings should address the following points, but need not be limited to these.
1. Introduce us to this site: Its history, audience, ownership, mission and staff. Has it radically changed direction (in content, staffing or business plans) in recent years? Please consult previously written stories and site "about us" or media kit pages, and link and attribute information appropriately.
2. How well are stories written and presented on the site to make use of the medium? Give specific examples and links.
3. What big story(ies) has the site covered particularly well, in multimedia? Often these continuing stories are packaged as special reports. Give specific examples and links.
4. How well does it use photos and graphics, broadcast features (including audio and video and podcasts) and interactive elements (such as chats, blogs, polls, map mashups and info graphics, quizzes and searchable databases)? Give specific examples and links.
5. How well does the site leverage social media tools, such as Facebook and Twitter, to help tell stories and interact with readers? Give specific examples and links.
6. How well does the website use navigation to flag key sections and stories? And are the home page, section fronts and story templates laid out with eye-tracking studies in mind? Give specific examples. For instance, is the navigation consistent from page to page? Is the main navigation bar on the top of the site, under the banner, to conform to findings in eye tracking studies of how users read Web content? Are majors sections of the site just one click away from the home page, to make key content easy to find? Is the corrections page linked to the home page? Are the About Us and the contact pages linked to the home page? Give specifics, please. Is there a dominant headline and photo on the opening screen of the home page?
7. Page analytics: What did you learn about unique visitors to the site, by studying analytics collected on quantcast.com and alexa.com?
8. In your final posting, you should tell me what changes editors and publishers might consider to better position themselves for the future (financially and editorially).
Criteria developed by Chris Harvey, UMD.
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