Website Evaluation Checklist
For my website evaluation checklist, I decided to choose some things that I wouldnāt have initially thought of before taking this class
Use the āBite-Snack-Mealā approach to articles and posts. One of the things I wrote about was surprising information I got from the Manzo (2015) article about Buzzfeed. This was what stuck in my head most from how we can evaluate library design, mostly because I had dismissed websites like Buzzfeed before. I still think we should use some caution with adopting the āclickbaitā or ālisticleā models, because I think people are getting tired of it. I know when I see a Buzzfeed-esque title, my mental spam-radar goes off and I scrutinize the article more. Nonetheless, thereās a lot we can take from some of their models, and one that I agree with is the bite-snack-meal approach to articles. This is already something that we use in an academic setting (subtitles and abstracts), so it seems tested and true. It also seems well formed to helping library users find information they need quickly.
Website is mobile and tablet friendly. I knew about this already, but I didnāt quite realize some of the design subtleties until this module. I thought EBSCOās webinar (EBSCO Information Services, 2017) was especially helpful at giving examples of how to tweak the design between platforms to not only optimize the siteās functionality, but also just enhance the user experience. I especially encourage the reader to check out the middle part of the webinar by Kevin Horek (approx. 20:00 minute mark). For example, mobile users tend to seek different information than desktop users, so the content may need to change slightly.
Website should be accessible to people of all abilities. Henryās (2018) advice on this was particularly helpful, as it reminds us that accessible websites are just better all around. For example, close captioning is great for those who are deaf, but also for those who canāt turn up the volume that moment. Itās a win-win, and itās becoming increasingly easier to make oneās website accessible with lots of handy tools.
Website has ācleanā design that also has unique colors or graphic elements. This became apparent after looking at all the examples listed in the āThe 25 Best Library Websites for 2019ā article (2019). One of the consistent things between all of these sites was the so-called ācleanā design inspired by a lot of blogs and mobile design. This includes a small menu at the top, as opposed to say, 15 years ago when the menu was typically on the left. Another element I noted was simple, modern iconography. Iām thinking of how 5-10 years ago or so, every icon had this weird little fake glare over it. SteeberĀ (2018) shows you more of what I mean. The best websites had crisp, consistent branding and werenāt cluttered at all. One thing I liked was the websites that avoided the all-white, banal, focus-grouped colors and chose bold, high contrast designs for their websites. This may feed into the āpersonaā concept that Manzo discussed. The bold colors give their websites an edge, a personality. A few examples of this are the Salt Lake City Library, Newport Public Library, and the Central Arkansas Library SystemĀ websites.
Website includes a sitemap. This may not be a chart-topper for most people, but I included it because I was partial to the old-school solution. This has been a consistent feature of websites since they started, and I like that itās still around. I think itās a counterpart to the clean design idea noted above. Too many pretty, modern websites are so ācleanā that I canāt find the content Iām looking for. The search bar is great, but what if Iām not sure what to search for? Sometimes you need to be able to browse all content, or you want to make sure that youāre not missing anything. The sitemap takes care of that for you (Rand, 2014).
All of the above items are discussed in multiple sources from our readings, but these are the resources I found most helpful, and the ones that showed me new angles. Iām looking forward to putting some of these principles into practice.
EBSCO Information Services. (2017, March 1). Secrets to creating a wow worthy library website WEBINAR. Retrieved fromSecrets to Creating a Wow Worthy Library Website WEBINAR
Henry, S.L., ed. (2018, September 20). Evaluating web accessibility overview. Retrieved from https://www.w3.org/WAI/test-evaluate/
Manzo, C. (2015). 5 lessons library websites can learn from Buzzfeed. Weave, 1(3). Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.3998/weave.12535642.0001.302
Rand, S. (2014, March 6). 24 things to consider when designing and developing a website. Retrieved from https://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/24-things-consider-when-designing-and-developing-website
Steeber, M. (2018, July 10). Ā 10 years of the App Store: The design evolution of the earliest apps. Retrieved from https://9to5mac.com/2018/07/10/app-store-10-years-design-evolution/
The 25 Best Library Websites for 2019. (2019, May 2). Retrieved from https://meetpiola.com/the-25-best-library-websites-for-2019/