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1. Goals or Mission When you're obligated doing things, you most probably set yourself a goal you want to achieve. The same applies for putting a website on the internet. Why did you publish your website? Was it to tell the world "I am here" or did you have a clear objective in mind? Clearly indicate (even specify) the reasons why you have a website so that your visitors can understand what you want to achieve. We will give you credit if we can discover your mission and/or goal. 2. Usefulness This area is one of the toughest points to get. Besides a clear mission statement, we also want to know why you think your content is of importance to the world. Your prospective visitors may have seen hundreds of sites like yours, why bore them with stuff they may have seen? If your content is unique, helpful and complete your target group will appreciate your content, and come back for more. If you can fill the gaps where others have failed, you have earned another point. 3. Interactive Activities Read, glare and stare at the monitor until you drop content? Add a bit of spice to your content and try to keep your visitors "busy". Give them something to do besides clicking on the scrollbar. Things such as a poll based on the content, a questionnaire or even a fun game based on your content will certainly help to get your visitors attention. Besides, your content will become more interesting and more appreciated. Do not overdo this though, as it will generate some attention clashes. 4. Appropriate use of Language Let us assume you have designed a professional looking website for a big company, the theme you have used is of a corporate nature and they intend to market their product and/or services to other companies. Based on the above profile, visitors will expect professional, proper and correct use of the site language. Beware: use "you have" instead of "you've" and "do not" instead of "don't". These differences are barely visible to the ordinary visitor, but are really appreciated! Also, do not use "slang" or "uncultured" language anywhere in your content. Apart that it may not be understood in some parts of the world, it also appears to be unprofessional in many respects. 5. Grammar Grammar errors can slip by very easily. By proofreading your content thoroughly you may be able to spot a few errors yourself and correct them. Also ask somebody you know to read through your content and look for possible errors. Correct use of grammar is not only about proving that care was taken in writing your content, but also shows a great deal of professionalism throughout your site. 6. Spelling Correctly used spelling is also of the utmost importance. Misspelled words cause a lot of reading problems, as they may, in some cases, mean something different than intended. Also, they may cause distractions as your readers try to figure out what you mean. To resolve this issue, follow the same procedure as with grammar by proofreading your text. If you are uncertain about a certain word's meaning or how it should be spelled, consult the online dictionary. 7. Punctuation Punctuation in your writing is just as important as oil in your car's engine. Incorrect use may lead to confusion or misinterpretation of your content, or it may cause your content to loose its character. A recommended resource on using correct punctuation can be found at grammarbook.com. 8. Information Clarity / Focus "Keep it simple" is the key to this point. Provide useful, intelligent and meaningful information, but always keep it easy to understand. Also, focus on your topic - do not stray! (Example: if your website is about music, and you include a section about pets, your focus would be obscured, and entirely irrelative). 9. Information Accessibility Provided information (content) on your site must be accessible. Much of this has to do with the way you have set up your site navigation, the use of meta tags (keyword / description) and addition of resource search features. Ways you can make your content more accessible are by using FAQ pages, content rating systems, a site map or index and the use of onsite search facilities. 10. Information Readability There is no point in having excellent content if half of the global population cannot read it. Most common problems are incorrect use of font size, text color that almost matches the background color, insufficient use of white space or paragraphs that are too long (lengthy). 11. Expression The manner in which you express yourself, especially in writing, will determine how successful your content really is. It is important to communicate while delivering the message; reaching the emotions by making them laugh or cry, and trying to involve your visitors by keeping the interest focused are two ways of expressing yourself in a positive and professional way. 12. Worthiness of Content Content must have merit or added value if you want your site to succeed. Offering a lot of excellent links to other sites, using news bulletins, or offering a few nice downloads will not do the trick. In our opinion, useful or valuable content is content where we really "learn" something, or we get insight on a specific topic. Providing additional, free resources will make it even more worthwhile. 13. Interactive Processes (forms etc) Content delivery is not only about reading words. Communication is the key, and a good webmaster will ask his/her visitors for their opinion. Why not try adding a poll, a simple e-mail form, monthly newsletter subscription or a guestbook? If you really want to keep your visitors (interested), and you want to keep spreading new ideas, news or events about yourself or your company, ensure you have working interactive media in place for your visitors to use. 14. Membership Services If implemented correctly and installed for its intended purpose, community or membership services such as Bulletin Boards, Newsletters or other interactive facilities can add a great value to your site content. 15. Value Added Services Value added services are useful, additional resources or services offered in addition to the original content of your site that are offered to your customers or visitors free of charge. The criterion for this is that whatever you offer must be unique, in context with your site content; it must be useful and must benefit your customers and/or visitors. 16. Absence of Duplication One of the most common errors webmasters (website designers) make is duplicating information or content on one or more pages. This happens due to improper planning in document order or mixing up some sections. Keep track of what you write and where you place it. Do not repeat content on different pages, especially not to simply fill the pages - use hyperlinks as references. Plan your content structure properly; use a site map to keep track of your pages. 17. Absence of Errors Information provided must be absolutely correct and accurate. Certain things, such as historical events cannot be changed - if you write about the second world war for example, make sure you have the facts right. By this we do not mean that you cannot have your opinion on matters and so forth. You are free to express yourself in any way you want, but make sure that you write in a way that makes sense, and that the facts remain intact. 18. Absence of Inconclusiveness Content not leading to any conclusion is just as useful as not having anything at all. If you start with a topic or debate, see it through to the end. Do not make your visitors "wonder", provide answers, be direct, and try to satisfy the mind. Content will be inconclusive when it does not "finish" in such way as to satisfy the mind, or to put an end to the doubt. 19. Absence of Dead Links This will be evaluated separate from section A, since we will look at dead ends in recourse and reference areas. Dead links, especially if they were meant as reference points, resource or additional information, are major flaws in content delivery. You must ensure that all your links are working properly. External links should be used effectively, (references, additional information, help), and do not drive your visitors away to find the information they seek elsewhere. 20. Absence of Interactive Errors Interactive errors are caused by applications or scripts (CGI, Java etc.) that do not perform the expected action upon execution. Try to use technology that will work on most platforms and browsers. Some examples:
Evaluation Criteria Pages: Overview | Pre-evaluation | Section A | Section B | Section C | Section D | Section E | Self Evaluation Tips
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