Anyone can build a website!

Anyone can build a website! As though it would seem... after many years of designing, developing, and marketing websites, we still use the same critique process as when we started. Myself and several friends developed a standard for critiquing websites from the user's point of view. We defined the process as having five aspects.

The website evaluation includes Purpose, Experience, Design, Sound, and Usability.

The purpose is the mission of the site and how well the site accomplishes that mission.

The experience aspect describes the feeling you have during and after going to the web site. Did you have fun, or were you irritated? Was the experience in line with its goals of the website?

The aspect of design refers to the visuals; layout, color, and structure of information.

The sound aspect is just that. Does the site have sound effects or song samples, what quality are they, and how well do they download or stream? Can you turn the sound off and on?

Usability is defined by how friendly the web site is. Is it easy to use? Can you get lost? Can you easily recover from a mistake? Do you have to hit the "Back" button?

A top rated site does not necessarily have to have all five aspects but if it does then it should follow the rules. But following these five aspects is not the only things to consider.

In addition to these five aspects priorities must also be considered. Because everyone cannot afford high-speed internet and be first in search engine results, priorities change from site to site.

From a marketing point of view the priorities differ between speed and quality. For the clients who's audience includes rural areas, being able to see part or all of the web site within a few seconds with a dial-up connection is important. This means that the amount of graphics and quality may be reduced or compromised. For websites who's target market is upper end corporations and high-speed surfers, speed becomes less of an issue. In these cases design plays a more important role and factor in the influence of the viewer.

Knowing your market, keeping your priorities in order and adhering to the five aspects of a good website will always produce an effective and enjoyable website. Doing this on a small budget, my speciality.

If you rated your own web site on these five aspects how would you do?