Final Post
The first site that I looked at was homesweethome.com
What i first noticed about the site, and what I liked the most was how colorful it was. It grabbed my attention and it was pleasing to the eye, but at the same time it wasn’t too flashy. I also thought that the large candid picture added to this. It made the site look friendly and inviting; something that a roomate finder website would want to protraty to its users.
On a whole I think that the overall design of the site works really well. I feel this way because the main function of the site, signing up or in, is very visible to users. It is one of the only things on the homepage, and its benficial because users wont have to search for this vital part of the site. Something that I thought could be improved on in regards to the homepage would be the links to other pages on the site. Maybe if they were more distinct or “button like” it would be obvious that they are “clickable” when you first look at them. The current formating at first glance makes it look more like a sentence of words, than links. However, overall I thought that this homepage seemed very functional.
The second site that I chose to look at was Moviemania.com.
Something that I liked about this site was how the creator displayed their links to other pages, and also the overall design of the page. The links to navigate around the site were clearly marked, and positioned. They were uniform, and have simple straightfoward titles that make the user not have to think at first glance. Also, they were made to look three dimensional or like a button so its obvious that they are “clickable”. Another aspect of the site that I liked was the movie quote of the day section. I think this is a good part of the site because it makes people want to come back everyday on some level. It’s lighthearted and fun, and a lot of movie fans love to recite quotes from their favorite movies; so i think this would be popular aspect of the site.
Some areas that I thought needed improvemement was the color design. I personally thought that the background of the site was too dark. The top part of the site where the the logo is located is especially dark, and I think that this takes away from the identification of the site that the logo brings. Also, since the page is not a uniform color temperature; it makes me focus more on the lighter parts of the page instead of the the page as a whole. Other than some asthetics issues with the page, I thought that it was very functional and would serve its purpose well as a homepage.
The third and last site that I chose to look at was Hammerfist.com
I thought that this site overall is very functional and visually stimulating as a homepage. One thing that i noticed right away that I liked was the logo of the page. The design and the positioning of the image makes it look very professional, and it stands out on the site. Its a simple desgin, that effectively represents the content and the name of the site; and because of this users will remember it. Another part of the website that I thought was very good was the navigation bar. It stands out, yet at the same time looks uniform to the site; adding to the positive design and coloring of the homepage. Also, the buttons are clearly labeled, and are at first glance “clickable” to the user.
I thought that the design of the page was well thought out because of its simplicity. The user wont feel overwhelemed by the content of the page, and can easily navigate to the other parts of the page that they are looking for through list of links at the top of the page. Something that I thought could use work on the page was the tagline next to the logo. The font and placement made it seem unfinished, but this doesn’t really take away fromt eh overall design that in other aspects was very good. Also, the ads on the side of the page are a little confusing because at first i wasnt sure if they were links to navigate around the site or not. Maybe if there were less ads, or if the ads weren’t stacked on top of eachother it would be more visually pleasing, and less confusing.
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Accessibility
My website is not compliant with section 508 on many levels. My website is not accessible to people who are visually impaired. This is because my website does cursors or navigation that would be visible to someone who had difficulty seeing. Also, pictures that are featured on my site do not have captions that explain their content for people who cannot see them clearly or at all. In addition to these two problems my site also needs audio or Braille for the blind who visit the page; so that all content can be accessed and understood.
One part of my website that could be easily converted into a mobile website would the parts that list off the restaurants on my site. This is because these pages of my website are just essentially just a list of links; which can be easily “stripped” down and made into a simple mobile site. The homepage is one part of my website that will be more difficult to make into a mobile site because of the content that this part of the website depends on. There are two sections of the homepage that have graphics and pictures. These two parts cannot be a part of the mobile site, but their presence is what conveys the information. Another part of my site that could be difficult to convert into a mobile webpage is the featured restaurants page because this page also contains a lot of images, and different formatting to make it a “visually” stimulating page.
Having a mobile site is important to my target audience, college students. This is because younger people put emphasis on their cell phones, and the advanced features that it offers. For most phones this included internet access, and a lot of people use this feature frequently. If these people could access our site easily from their mobile device they could be more inclined to visit the site on a regular basis.
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four websites
Four websites that I chose to look at were:
Restaurantplace.com, Menupages.com, Restaurantpage.com, and Restaurants.com.
Restaurantplace.com
using pictures in conjunction with articles
more options in the search bar including state, city, and zip code
having the major cities that people search separate from the drop down menu
separating restaurants by neighborhood
customizing the top bar for the particular city’s page you are on (pictures)
an advanced search option
a way to look at previous featured articles
Menupages.com
Interactive advertisements. (rolling over an advertisement and it moves, or is visually stimulating)
Sign up for the site
Monthly newsletter option included in a required sign up.
Interactive map
A way for restaurants to communicate with the website, allowing them to submit menus directly to the site
What is this? Feature, explaining different parts of the site
Different cities that they feature (branching out from New York only, and offering similar features for each major city)
Categorizing for specialty restaurants (open 24 hours, delivery)
Find a food search- typing in a specific food that you like (like chicken marsala) and getting search results with restaurants that have that particular dish.
Restaurantpage.com
New listings search, what we have added new to the site.
Links to outside news articles. Either about nutrition or restaurants.
Drop down menu with a complete list of the states or areas that are available.
Other suggested sites area. (what other sites could be helpful or interesting to a person looking at my particular site.)
Submit a site function. (restaurants can contact our webpage, and submit their own sites or menus)
Adding search options like beverages, and other specialties shops
A list of popular cities (so that a user doesn’t have to search for a city that is very popular to eat in.
Restaurants.com
rating a restaurant using stars or smiley faces (visual icons)
allowing a search through a zip code
requiring sign in for users to add their own comments or reviews
a list of cities that are widely searched or popular
adding the number of menus available next to a particular cuisine.
Feature that allows you to browse by specialties
Rating restaurants or food on specific categories (using a rating system)
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Navigation Features
Three websites that I think offer interesting navigation features Nike, Converse, and Juicy Couture. What I liked about nike.com is very simply that it moves. In the center of the page there are videos leading to the particular part of the website of the content that they feature. For instance, when you first open the page, a video about Nike women is in the center and you can click the video to lead you to more information about women and Nike. Then next to this are other videos that are grayed out, and when clicked on they can lead to other points of the website. I like this because I have never really seen this in another website, and it is a way to navigate a website while at the same time offering more content on the homepage without making it cluttered. Something that I didn’t like about the navigation of the website is that it does not make the shopping feature of the site very prominent. I think that this is one of the main things that someone who visit the site would be looking for, so I would add this feature to the video reels in the center, or make the shopping link more eye catching.
Another website that visited that had interesting navigation was converse.com. I thought what they did was interesting because they focused their homepage navigation on shopping (which I think is the main reason why people would be visiting the site). The shopping navigation is on the left side of the site, and is set up as a circle. You can select the center of the circle to “shop” or around the circle you can select specifically what you are looking for. As you roll over certain parts of the circle they move and change color. I liked it because the only flash features on the website is for the most important part, and most people will interact with it because it’s what most people are looking for in the site. Something I didn’t like about it was that it is in an awkward part of the page. It’s off to the side and is smaller than what is shown in the center. I think that they should make it movie on its own or more centered to catch more attention, and make the user look or search less. However, this is one example of a navigation system that I thought was visually interesting and instantly usable. This is because as you used it, it became more visually appealing and grabbed my attention.
The last site that looked at was juicycouture.com. I liked the navigation of this site because it listed the links neatly on the side of the page, but included a flash image with the navigation also. The flash part included moving images of examples of what each link would lead to. It’s the only part of the website that moves, and it shows the navigation of the site in a different way for someone who wants to just browse around the site. Something that I didn’t like was that it was very basic. It just was a picture reel of the one product for each link to certain categories. Something that I would like better would have been video or more pictures for each link.
Some things that I saw in the websites that I looked at that I would want to use in my own website would be a combination of what I saw in the Juicy Couture and the Nike websites. Use of pictures in reel, with a combination of linking I think would be interesting for my own website. In the case of the Nike site, I don’t think video would effective for the content that my website would be offering. However, I liked the scrolling reel of the images. Possibly navigation for the featured or reviewed websites could use these types of techniques because there would be images associated with these parts of the website.
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On the home page the main content of the page is the search capabilities that the site will offer. However, there will be some text and other information also available. The text above the search engine will explain the uses of the website. TEXT: Welcome to MenuFairy.com! Type in the name of a restaurant below, and find their full menu fast! If you want to search for something new, type in the type of food you’re craving and you will be taken to a full list of related restaurants. Next to the search bar area on the right, there will be a feature section of a restaurant that the website will change each week. In this section there will be a picture of the restaurant or a type of food that they specialize in. Under this picture in bold will be the name of the restaurant that will be linked to the restaurant’s menu. Under this picture there will be a TEXT briefly describing the restaurant and the type of food that they serve. Small advertisements can also be included on the homepage, but will be limited to picture and text only and not animation.
On the Restaurant type’s page, there will be the logo along the top of the page along with the navigation bar. Below this there will be three pictures of different types of cuisine. TEXT: Want to try somewhere new to eat? Choose from this list to view menus. Directly below this there will be a bulleted list of different types of food that the menus that we offer cover. This list will include Italian, Chinese, Japanese, Classic, Vegetarian, Mexican, Greek, and Other. The under the corresponding categories the linked restaurants will be listed.
On the Coupons and discounts page, there will be the logo and navigation bar on top of the page. Below this there will be text describing how this particular part of the website works. TEXT: Each week new restaurants will be offering various coupons and discounts through our website! Check back to see what type of new savings you can receive from your favorite restaurants! Print out the offer below to redeem when ordering take out or going out! Below this will be the different types of coupons or discounts that are currently being offered.
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The major difference between the New York Times paper version and the online version is the convenience that the online accessibility gives. To get the paper version I had to walk across campus and pay a dollar to hold the news in my hands, but with the internet version I had the most up to date information at my finger tips for free and at leisure.
When you sign on to NY Times.com there are different stories then are found on the front of the paper edition. For Tuesday February 12, the paper edition’s main story is about Hilary Clinton’s presidential campaign, and above that article is a color spread photographs of stolen artwork. However, at 6pm when you sign onto the website the main story is about senate ruling on phone confidentiality and more about the race between Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama. Also, these stories have the time that they were added to the site, letting viewers know how recent the stories are and what is breaking news. For instance, presidential race story was added to the site 14 minutes ago. However, the main stories that were in the paper addition are not readily available on the site. You have to enter the exact titles of the articles found on the front page to find them on the internet site. However, maybe this is a good thing because what was news early this morning is different from what is news right at the moment.
The home page of the NY Times is set up different from the front page of the paper copy. In the online site there are articles listed out, but the whole article is not visible. You have to select the link, and the website will take you another page that has the full article. This makes is easier because you don’t have to search within the newspaper for the rest of the story, the internet makes it fast and easy. However, going to the different sections of the newspaper are similar for both mediums. If you want to flip to the business section of the paper newspaper, you can just flip to the separate section easily. It’s similar for the internet in that you just have to select the link to the desired section, and then view whatever article you want.
Another difference between these two means of view the newspaper was the type of advertisements found in each. Online there are fewer advertisements, but the advertisements that are shown catch your eye. There are always color, and usually have animation to them. This makes it impossible for you to ignore them. In the paper copy the ads are sometimes black and white, and to the side of the articles. Also, some are full page ads so it is easy to just skip over them and not be bothered, or at the same time to catch the full attention of the viewer.
One feature that I liked on the New York Times website was that the site allowed you in one section to be able to look at what was actually in the physical newspaper. It shows how the front page was set up, and you can access the articles that were featured through this option. However, I think I still prefer to have the physical newspaper rather than rely solely on the internet. This is because there is less going on when you read a newspaper the “old” way. You aren’t distracted by too many articles placed together, moving ads, or other things on the computer. All that you see it the story that you want, and you have limited options which is sometimes good because you get the most important information without having to stress through so many choices.
I think there is a strong future for online newspapers because that’s where the public is today, everyone is online. It’s more convenient and up to date for people to get their news online because it’s at the tip of everyone’s finger tips. Even if people still enjoy the paper copy, they will visit the site for updates throughout the day, and it will still be functional to a large amount of people.
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Tags: newspaper, ny times
Website Comparisons
A valuable tool to corporations and companies today is the internet. Almost every business regardless of its size has some sort of webpage that is viewable by the public. This type of resource is important because it can further shape the image of a company. A website that does no t function properly can cost companies customers and profits. Many customers would much rather use a website of a competitor than suffer through navigating a website that is poorly created.
One website that I think has effectively presented its services and information through its homepage website is abc.com. ABC is one of the major cable networks and has developed some of the most popular shows on television. One of the most popular features of network websites today is providing access of already aired episodes; which is a service that ABC.com pioneered in offering. This is one feature that ABC has improved on greatly in its site from its first unveiling. The quality of the videos on line has improved greatly; they no longer freeze in the middle of viewing and they load very quickly.
The ABC homepage is very simple and easy to navigate. Along the top of the site there are tabs that label the various links within the website. The links include: Full episodes, Primetime, Daytime, originals, and news. This helps direct website viewers to the right sections of the website, without wasting time navigating through or typing various keywords in the “find” function. The tabs are easily seen and when they are clicked on they lead to other pages with lists of television shows, or a separate website entirely for the subject selected. One tab of the group is red and the rest are black; the red tab is a link to watch episodes of shows online. This is important because the different color makes this tab stand out from the rest and is easily seen to the viewer. Watching full episodes is a major reason why people would be visiting the site, and making it easy for people to find this function makes the site more easy to use.
In the center of the page there are rotating advertisements for upcoming events on ABC and new episodes of shows. Through these advertisements you can navigate to the particular event site or show site for more information. This is important because the advertisements on this particular part of the website are some of the most important things that will air on ABC and what people would most likely be searching for. Another part that makes the website interactive with the viewers is the small video screen on the side of the website. This part has advertisements, previews for upcoming episodes, and recaps for episodes that have already aired. This is important to the website because it shows the quality of the videos that are offered, and also helps advertise the shows on the network. It helps promote new and upcoming shows to attract more viewers, and also help inform fans of what’s going on in their favorite shows.
One website’s homepage that I thought could be improved was MTV.com. What I think needs to be improved is the layout of the homepage, not the content that it has to offer overall. A negative about the website is that there are too much on the homepage. There are news stories, show links, music videos, information about getting on MTV, top artists, games, fashion, and a TV line up. It is a little overwhelming to have so much on the homepage; you don’t know where to start unless you are looking for something specifically. It also doesn’t give the network a set identity, the first page that a viewer sees on a website should be more focused and simple. For instance, in the case of MTV it should focus on music, and then have links to other aspects of the network. All of the separate sections of the webpage can also be found through the quick links at the top o f the page. This feature works very well, and it would still be easy for people to find what they are looking for in the website.
Another part of the website that I didn’t care for was that it had a featured fashion, games, and movies section. I think that this part of the website is pointless and serves a limited function because most people who visit the site would not need quick access to these resources. It possibly still could be offered on the website, but not directly on the homepage.
A new feature that I think could be added to the site is a separate quick link to the featured videos on MTV. There is a link to the shows on MTV, but not the episodes or other video content that MTV offers for its programming. I think that if MTV made this feature more visible people would more likely to watch shows on line, and they would generate even more traffic to their site.
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Tags: abc, mtv
My Favorite Website
My favorite website is perezhilton.com
Perez Hilton.com is a blog, that focuses on celebrity gossip. The blog gives information about new celebrity scandals and whats new in celebs’ lives, but also with the opinions, drawings, and comments from Perez Hilton, the author of the blog.
I compulsively check it whenever im at my computer and it has replaced my need for e! on tv or to get the latest US weekly magazine. What I love most about it is that it tells me whats going on in the celebrity world right as it happens, the blog gets updated throughout the day and you could refresh the page at any given moment in the day to find a new post. Two components of the website, the pictures and occasional sound clip, are my favorite parts of the website and also the drawings that Perez makes on the pictures.
What I like about the design of the website itself is that its a simple format and it is really easy to see what is being posted. The background of the site is a pink, which I love. Within the pink background in the center there are white boxes, where Perez posts and inserts pictures. I like this because it makes it easy to see what was updated on the site, and its easy to read.
The website is really easy to use, and there is not much that the user has to know in order to use the website. One function of the site that I like is that Perez creates categories for celebrities that are frequently featured in his blogs, so that you can go back and look at previous blogs. This makes it easy to find something that you had looked at days or weeks ago.
I originally found this website through a friend who also likes celebrity gossip. However, the website is so popular now, that if I hadn’t heard about it by now, I would have through its mentions on tv and in magazines.
There is nothing that I would really change about the website itself, it serves it purpose really well and gives me the information I want to know in an easy format. However, if I could add one thing to the website it would be more actual interviews with celebrities or actual first hand information than information that is unconfirmed.
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Tags: blog, celebrity, gossip, Perez Hilton
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