Task 1 Understand the uses and features of websites Petya Zhechkova

Website 1

Purpose and Target Audience The purpose of this website is to display information. This information ranges from gossip to real-life stories. Even so, the main purpose is to exhibit the latest news on celebrities – as most magazine websites do. The target audience is women aged 18+ who have an interest in celebrities’ lives and have some free time to read up on the latest events.

Construction Features This site has hyperlinks such as: which lead to different web pages. These hyperlinks provide easy navigation around the website. Also, a form is included to sign up to the site. This form is useful because you are able to sign up to the newsletter and get updates from Ok magazine. This will in turn make you more likely to revisit the site. Hotspots are included in the site as well. This provides another easy tool for navigation because if there are users who cannot read the text and want to click pictures instead. Also, hotspots attract the viewer’s eye and makes them more likely to see the picture instead of the text. This improves the usability of the site as they can control what the user sees first.

Interactive features Registration is included in the website as a way for users to keep up with the latest news. This improves the site in the same way as a form – they create a way to reinforce traffic to the website. links are also included as a way to contact the magazine editors. This improves the site as it provides the viewer with more accessibility to the staff. E-Commerce is another interactive feature on the website. This improves the site as it gives people a reason to revisit the site and check up on the latest offers. A comment section is based at he bottom of every article to allow members to post in the forum. The forum feature can be very useful as I provides a link between not only the website staff and the users, but also between the users themselves. This can make the website feel more open and varied.

Aesthetics The site is predominantly red, with a red header and a white background. The text is either white or black, depending on the colour of the background. At the top of the site there is a header with ‘OK!’ at the top left. Beneath it, there are hyperlinks that lead to different parts of the site. An advertisement is also displayed in the header. Under the header, there are 3 columns of hotspots- pictures that, when clicked, lead to the article they represent. A search bar is placed in the far right column. At the bottom of the website, a red footer is placed with white links leading to galleries and other parts of the site. Another search bar is placed in the footer as well. The text, as mentioned before, is either white or black, ranging in size and font. The titles are in capital letters. The graphics displayed are pictures, advertisements, and videos. This makes the website all the more interesting and varied.

Accessibility This website features a lot of pictures and visual aids as opposed to just text, which may be difficult to read for some readers. This could be essential as they are then targeting another audience group, which broadens their viewer range. On the other hand, text on the website, as with most websites, is a key component. Text is needed all over the website as the website mostly revolves around articles. The text may be difficult to read for some viewers so this particular group of people may not find the website appealing. Furthermore, the website does not include hover over text on images, which would help visually impaired people who use text readers.

Improving user experience This website is very much a dynamic website, as the information is updated daily to provide the viewers with up-to-date news. Also, as the website contains a forum, another dynamic concept is provided within the website. This dynamic feature might make people want to come back to the website more often because of how in date it is. Embedded videos are also featured and make the site more visually appealing. The embedded features also expand the website and create a more extended feeling.

Strengths This website has a lot strengths such as its navigation ease: the ability the users have to effectively make their way through the website. This is achieved by making sure that links to different parts of the website are posted at the top and at the bottom of each page, and by including a search bar so any relevant information can be found. Additionally, the interactive features such as the Ecommerce and online forum create a link between the magazine website and its website traffickers. Through the use of the online forum, for example, the website users can communicate with each other and state their opinion in an open space. The colour scheme is simple and not too complicated. The colours red and white compliment each other and don’t clash with anything else on the page, so the website doesn’t seem cluttered and full of everything at once. Construction wise, this website does well at organising information in a neat and tidy way. Particularly on the homepage, where all the news is collected, the columns provide and easy way to divide the different information and create space. OK! do well to deliver a dynamic website, so the articles posted are new and relevant to their target audience. Embedded videos also do well to make their audience feel connected to all different parts of the internet without having to leave the website.

Weaknesses This website lacks in the area of supporting those who cannot read text very well/at all. Though there are many visual aids, there is no feature that converts the text into audio. This would be a nice addition to the website and would broaden their target audience. Also, the simple colour scheme could be interpreted as boring and plain as opposed to tidy. This makes the website less appealing for some people. The advertisements can be annoying To improve, the site could put in something like Captcha, so users who cannot see very well are able to interact with the site better. Also, the advertisements could be removed (even though they are a money maker).

Conclusion This website has its strengths and weaknesses. Though, considering both of them, it comes out as a generally good website. Despite its lack in accessibility for a minority of potential viewers, it fits its target audience, is neat and not cluttered, provides up to date content, and includes interactive features too. OK! is an overall well- made website, but not without its flaws.

Website 2

Purpose and Target Audience This website is used for the use of presenting information. Its sole use is to compare deals over the internet for hotels and feed this information to its audience. The target audience is adults around 19+ who are travelling and enjoy a good bargain on hotels.

Construction Features Hyperlinks are one of the construction features on the website. They provide easy navigation around the website so the users find it more appealing. Online forms are also featured on the website, as a way of registering for the website. This can improve the experience of the website as s can be used as a way to inform the user of the latest deals etc., making them want to go back to the website.

Interactive features Registration is an interactive feature on the website. This, like the form, can help the site keep the same person coming back to the site over and over again because of the appeal they get from reading about deals in the s. E-commerce is the main component of the website. Though you don’t buy from the website itself, it links you up to the sites where you can book hotels. Online forums are the reviews posted on the websites. It’s interesting for potential customers to see reviews of what the hotel was like, and it helps the users to see what they’re booking for..

Aesthetics The website is made up of all different colours, from blue to orange. This range of colours can make the site look interesting and modern. The site has a header with the business’ logo, and below it is a search bar, where customers can search for a specific location or hotel. The currency can be changed at the top right of the page, where users can also sign in. Below the header, there are 3 main columns. On the left, there is a map of the world with a list of nearby big cities and the number of hotels they have. The middle column contains hotels within the nearest city to you. The column on the right contains your favourites and history. The media on the website is mainly pictures, though a couple of videos are floating around.

Accessibility This website is mostly text – based. Though, the images are a big component of the site as a whole. The text is quite small, which might make it difficult for some people to read the information displayed on the screen. There is no way of being able to interpret the text (using the website) if you have sight problems. There is no audio reader. On the other hand, there is a hover over text on images feature. This would greatly help those who are visually impaired and are using a text reader.

Improving user experience This site is dynamic- it constantly updates to bring the users the latest deals Customer feedback is given in the structure of online reviews. This is not necessarily the feedback of the site itself, but instead it is reviews of the hotels.

Strengths The website is colourful and modern looking. This increases the appeal. It has a few interactive features, such as Ecommerce to ensure that the user feels connected to the site. Since the site links to a lot of other websites, you feel as if you don’t need to go to any other websites because it is all contained in this one area. It is a dynamic website, which means that the user feels up to date with all the site has to offer.

Weaknesses The site doesn’t make reading easy for users who cannot see very well. Therefore, it is nearly inaccessible to people with site problems. There is no way to feedback to the makers of the site themselves. Consequently, the user may feel that they have no way of telling the makers of the site how they feel about certain features. Also, the font is a bit too small, making it difficult for people to read it (even those with good eyesight). To improve, they could make the font a little bigger to make it easier for all of the users to read. Also, a feedback form could be added so that the company can know what their users think about their website.

Conclusion This site is overall well-done. The ability to personalise your currency setting, for example, takes the site that little bit further by creating a global point of view. However, like every site, it has its weaknesses. An example of this is the small font on the website. Although there are improvements to be made, on the whole the site is fun-looking, well-structured, and improves its users’ experiences.