Site audits and reviews
Site audit and review is a process which can be performed on an existing
website as well as on a new website prior to deployment. The process of audit
and review aims to provide the developer, client and designer with core
information about the suitability of the website.
The audit and review process attempts to quantify or qualify the site using a
range of metrics. The areas of interest are:
Overall impression, particularly from the home page
First impressions count so the impact of the home page is vital. If the
visitor does not immediately know what your home page is about and the
functions it offers they are unlikely to go beyond the home page. Key
elements here are whether the page is visually appealing and whether it is
obvious how to reach other key parts of your site.
Page content
Great care has to be taken to ensure that page content meets certain quality
standards. Much of this can be addressed during the copywriting and proofreading
phases. Textual content must be free from spelling and grammatical errors. The
content must be kept up to date and it must be clear and informative. It should
also be written to appeal to the target audience.
Information should be structured using clear mark up. This means that
headings should be numbered and nested correctly and appropriate mark up used
for different types of content, whether it is paragraphs, lists or tables.
Graphics and media
A clear distinction should be made between decorative and informative images.
Images should be optimised for their use on the page by setting size and file
format. File sizes should be monitored carefully to ensure quick download. A
distinction should be made between photographic and illustrative images by using
the most appropriate file format. Informative images should integrate well with
the text and make use of appropriate alternative text. Other media should be
incorporated in such a way as to minimise browser compatibility issues and to
maintain conformance to mark up standards.
Usability and navigation
Clear, consistent and accessible techniques should be used for navigation.
Where appropriate a breadcrumb trail and sitemap should be used. Page structure
should be logical. A search function can be useful if implemented in an
accessible way. Where possible pages should restrict the amount of vertical
scrolling, and definitely minimise the effects of horizontal scrolling on low
resolution screens.
The layout and positioning of content should be intuitive and the information
architecture of the site should be evident from the navigation mechanism and
page content.
A contact/email form, or at least an email link should be provided to elicit
feedback.
Accessibility
As well as complying with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines and
Section 508 a site should provide mechanisms for viewing on a range of devices.
Pages should be tested using graphical browsers, text browsers and screen
readers. Where advanced media is used you should make sure that it can be
controlled using a keyboard only.
Look and feel
Aesthetics are important in web page design. The designers input needs to be
translated into appropriate use of typography, layout, composition and graphics.
However, there are the restrictions imposed by the requirement to match the
corporate look and feel and the marketing approach of the clients organisation.
This quite often means trying to maintain consistency across sites as well as
pages.
Technical issues
A wide range of technical issues need to be addressed. These range from
client browser requirements such as screen size/resolution, browser
compatibility and plug-ins through to quality assurance aspects such as
presentation issues, programming and scripting errors, form errors, code
accuracy, broken and missing links, missing images, script errors and missing
attachments/downloads.
Issues such as web standards compliance and download speeds also belong in
this category, but are also discussed in other sections.
Search Engine ratings
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is beyond the scope of this tutorial but the
issues do need addressing in a full site audit and review. Issues such as the
use of keywords, current visibility, link popularity, search engine friendliness
and placement, persuasion techniques, meta data and avoidance of non-ethical
techniques should be explored.
Visitor experience
As well as performing tests with typical users there are more sophisticated
techniques such as eye tracking studies which can be performed. An analysis of
visitor behaviour's clicking and browsing can reveal hot and cold spots in the
site, as well a providing statistics on the efficiency of the site in generating
business.
Hosting requirements
Hosting a website requires an understanding of the web server infrastructure
and the underlying requirements of the website. Generic issues such as security,
user traffic and statistics are important, but there is also a need to ensure
appropriate resources, such as media hosting, download speeds and quality of
service. Costs will also need to be ascertained from a web hosting provider
review.
The responsiveness of the website will be determined partly by the end users
internet connection speed, but on top of this there is the ability of the server
to process requests. Performance will be a combination of all criteria including
server internet connection speed, client internet connection speed, web page
latency, database query processing speeds etc.
Functionality
A task based analysis should be performed to ensure that users can fulfil
their requirements of the site in an efficient, intuitive way. Part of this will
require an inspection of each page to determine its role in the site.