Writing a Review

Things You'll Need:

• Computer
• Internet Access

1. Step1
   
   Be Honest and Give Your Opinion!

   Review Introduction – Introduce the website, its purpose and your overall opinion on the effectiveness of it providing its purpose. Explain what it is the company does, and how effective they are at providing that service.

2. Step2

   Design Element – This is the first thing you notice when you open the website. Is it appealing? Does the color scheme work? Consider how easy it is to navigate the site. Share your opinion on how the design and navigation work. Did you find anything that didn’t work?

3. Step3
   
   Is the Website Focused?

   Focus Element – The focus of a website is the site’s intent. Is the intent or purpose of the website clear? Can a first time visitor easily discover what the website is trying to accomplish? If the website is advertising a product, is it clear and appealing? Would you purchase a product from the website?

4. Step4

   Fundamentals Element – The fundamentals are the basic operation of the website. Do the hyperlinks work? Is the navigation easily understandable? Large websites should have a “site map” for the user to easily see the navigation scheme.

5. Step5
   
   The Ultimate Spellchecker!

   Content Element – The content is the “meat and potatoes” of the website. Is the content relevant to the purpose of the site? Is it well written? As a visitor to the website, the content should be pertinent. Read through several pages of the website’s content, like anything that is published professionally, it should be free of grammatical errors, spelling errors and formatting errors.

6. Step6

   Effectiveness Element – Evaluate the website for its overall effectiveness. Can you as the user easily accomplish your reason for visiting the website? Was the information or product you were searching for easy to find? Was that information up-to-date and accurate?

7. Step7
   
   Who's Writing this Stuff?

   Qualifications/Credentials Element – Most websites will have an “About Me” page or other page that introduces the company, its qualifications and writer’s profiles. Is the website written by one or multiple authors? With as much information that is available on the Internet, it is important to understand whether the website is accurate and that they are qualified to write about the content displayed. Can you easily discover whether they are qualified to write about the website’s purpose? Writers should have their own byline or profile page.

8. Step8

   Beyond the Basics – If your audience is a group of website developers or other group of information technology professionals, you should delve a little deeper in your analysis of the website. Along with the basics discussed in the previous steps, you should discuss:
   
   -Color Schemes, Alignment and Visual Organization
   -Marketing Capabilities and Branding
   -Functions of Widgets, Forms, and Dhtml
   -Browser Capability and Resolution