Checking In ...

Only realising I've not submitted a post since early April, better get records up to speed - never was good at filing : )

Ok, I've completed testing all participants and finalised my report to which I'll post my work to date shortly.

However, today being the day of submission, I can't get the footage moved off the camera to Video, CD or DVD. Now, that said I have engaged a technician to assist with the issue and should have the footage transferred by Monday (I hope). I've sent a post via NED23 discussion group to let Edwin know of my issue - fingers crossed this won't impede my assignment submission or overall marks (but a lesson learned not to leave these things to the last minute).

Anyway, everyone sounds like they've worked really hard on this assignment - I've really really enjoyed this task and now my employer would like me to conduct something similar on our intranet site for future enhancements down the track (*Yikes*)

Right then, more postings on Assessment Three to come shortly (more just for record purposes).

Comparison Website 3

Margaret River Wine Centre

www.mrwines.com

This wine sellers web site is relatively quick to load and offers a simple design and layout on initial view. The business acts as a distributor of wines from the Margaret Rvier region in Western Australia.

One thing I do like is frames (a personal choice) because it offers easy display of information and distinct areas to navigate. The simple blue and white colour scheme is a little dull,but it works regardless (of personal opinion).

The Home Page feels little over-crowded with links – so many links! It’s hard to decide where to move first. In addition, there are 12 tables of which all offer information that can be accessed within other pages of the web site. I’d prefer to see the Home page simple, clean and display only the basic information about what Margaret River Wines offer. The user can then make their own decision as to where they to go from here.

Once off the home page, the layout remains (which is nice) however the alginment shifts from Left to Centre alignment, it takes a moment to adjust. All pages apart form the home page are like this. Additionally, all the left-hand side links are custom built images and therefore do not change colour once the user has visited each page. The links are all display which adds to the endless scrolling required within this website, so I’d like to see the main headers offer a drop down menu option to reduce the length of each page – even shift the left-hand navigation to the top of the page in a static manner across the site.

There is quite an extensive list of wines and produce available for sale via the Shop menu option. Here, the site layout changes (which is confusing) – where did the left-hand side navigation go? However, a search finction is introduced, although this should be available on all pages in a static frame. Additionally, there are no images to view products for sale. Using thumbail photos that can be enlarged which clicked (Taubb, 2006) would enhance a shopping experience and probably encourage online sales in the long run.

Again, this web site does not use easy navigational gadets like breadcrumbs (Krug, 2006) to easily find where you are in the multitude of pages on offer here. I cannot quickly decipher where I have been or even where I would like to move to from any one page in the web site which makes for a confusing browsing experience here.

A simplified and less ‘busy’ layout would benefit my attention span to this web site and would more than likely encourage me to stay on the site longer than the few minutes I initially spent trying to find my way around.

Overall, not a great experience and I probably wouldn’t revisit the site, let alone purchase my Margaret River Wines from the centre.

Comparison Website 2

Goundrey Wines

www.goundrey.com.au

On first impressions, this particular website has a very professional feel, a subdued and calming colour scheme and easily identifiable links to various sources of information about the business and their offerings.

A static layout across all pages within the web site is impressive, and the navigational bar which resides on top of each page is easy to search various sections of the site. I particularly enjoyed the simple drop down menus under each heading which allows the user to pick and choose where they would like to be directed. However, the draw back is the menu remains on the screen until the user rolls over the main heading to retract the menu options.

Another nifty layout design is the right-hand side table which offers the user extra or complimentary information to support the page they are visiting. Each page is relatively quick to load, an important factor in any usability design, even with the crisp and detailed images used through the site.

Amusingly, the web site promotes Fox River Wines, which this paper is based. A simple one page overview of the winery and its produce seems more attractive and professional that Fox River Wines all together.

The Contacts page is easy, clean and simple to use. I particularly appeal the basic fields required to be completed – this way the user can decide what information they want to submit, rather than comulsory fields so many sites use today.

However, the site does have a few draw backs. There is a lot of text to read and to some extent I feel the‘happy-talk’ (Krug, 2006) is uneccesary. It fills the pages but adds to the user needing time to scan for the information they are after, not to mention the extra scrolling required to review each page. Secondly, I like the use of ‘bread-crumbs’(Krug, 2006) so I know where I’m going and how I can easily get back to where I’ve been. Thirdly, the links in the page do not change colour to indicate pages I’ve already visited. Browsing can therefore be somewhat frustrating when re-opening pages I’ve alreaddy viewed.

Finally, a simple search engine would benefit this web site for the user to quickly and easily pinpoint the information they are looking for, rather than trowel through all the web site pages.

Comparison Website 1

Foate’s Ridge

www.foates.com.au

After intial loading of the page, first impression is quite a busy page with an overbundance of text. However, a simple white background, easily identifiable links and left-hand side heading links makes for a fairly simple navigation experience.

However, as you move from the home page to visit links on the left hand side a series of broken page links occur. Moving from one page to the next, some of the page content seems to be the same and it is difficult to find where I am in the multitude of pages within the Foate’s Ridge web site (the use of breadcrumbs would be useful here).

The main Home Page is rather cluttered, and the need to scroll for more information is frusturating. A simpler approach would be to minimise, or remove most of the text and perhaps replace with smaller ‘pop-up’ screens which delve into more detail without losing access to the home page.

Use of low quality images detracts from the overlook of this site to which I feel they could be better placed on the Home Page and through the web site. I do however, like the way it personalises the web page and offers the user insight into the business and in particular, the winery itself.

The idea of being able to purchase wines directly from the producer is nifty, whilst information on where to enjoy the wines in restaurants and the like is more than ample to inform the user of access to their produce. A simple search engine would be handy, with the ability to quickly find a type (i.e. Voigner wine, Semillion Wine etc) rather than clicking through site pages to find what is on offer.

From page to page, not all layouts are uniform. Again, this detracts from the overall ‘professionalism’ of the web site. A standard layout across the site would be beneficial, and by removing or streamlining the content, fewer pages would benefit the end user. Currently, I feel there are too many pages and much of the content could be refined and group together (such as Gape Varieties, Wine & Health, and Food & Wine pages).

I feel there is no obvious flow of pages within this particular web site. The fact the header image is the actual ‘Home Page’ link is found by chance, and the contact page seems to be placed in a peculiar order in the left hand side link table. I’d like to see the Newsletters moved into the Contacts page perhaps in a static table on the right hand side of the page so the user can always ask for information from any point in the web site.

Intial Web Page Analysis : : Part Two

Information of web site selection

I chose this particular site firstly, because I have an interest in wines from Western Australia. Secondly, the existing site that was originally built by a web developer presents very simple pages that are not streamlined or easy to navigate from page to page. Therefore, it is an excellent web site to perform usability testing on the target audience.

Thirdly, I feel the current Fox River Wines web site needs to be presented with easier navigation control to the viewer with a more aesthetically pleasing layout scheme. Therefore, I am taking this opportunity to rebuild the web site with the use of Macromedia Dreamweaver and create an on-line shopping tool for local, interstate and international customers.

Finally, when researching similar sites within the wine industry, it was a challenge to find a web site that captured ease of use, navigation and appealing layout with graphics. However, I was able to highlight many problems (Problem identification below). Therefore, I select to base this project proposal on the redevelopment of Fox River Wines web site.

Problem Identification

The current Fox River Wines web site has many usability problems. First, it is visually it is disengaging, plain and doesn’t offer any depth of information to what Fox River Wines has to offer. To solve this problem, I would like to completely revamp the layout and display of the site pages using Macromedia and include a search engine on the homepage. Additionally, I would leverage the use of conventions to display information about Fox River Wines and what they offer.

Secondly, the site is not fluent from page to page. Each page link from the homepage displays a different layout and there are no standard links to other pages least the homepage for ease of navigation. This may cause confusion for users moving around the site to search or find the information they are looking for. Additionally, users are not able to easy view where they are in the site therefore I would implement a navigational tool such as ‘breadcrumbs’ (Krug, 2006) to visualise the site hierarchy to the user.

I would also like to look at creating visual enhancements such as buttons and links, obvious to what is clickable and where users have been (Krug,2006) (i.e. links they have already clicked). This will be achievable by thorough userbility testing of a revised site.

Thirdly, as the site offers an on-line ordering facility, there is a need for a dynmanic web environment. The page should list all products on offer with a simple order form and secure online payment facility (i.e. for credit cards, bpay details and paypal). Additionally, an effective way of requesting information or asking a question to the business owner is lacking on the current site. To overcome this, I will look at creating a streamlined contact and order form with the use of Macromedia.

Fourthly, the current website doesn’t feel like it promotes the business or its products and its affiliation with larger winery groups in the region. Rather, it detracts from the quality of the business image and potentially the products it may have to offer. To achieve a quality feel to the web site, I will create a simple, clean layout with minimal instructions and removal of ‘happy talk’ (Krug, 2006).

Finally, the site does not display when the site has been udpated. I feel this is important to the user to identify if the information is current and up-to-date and if what is on offer is relevant.

Survey ...

I have set up a survey for the first assessment ... if you're interested in participating in the survey, I appreciate all responses received.

Click here to take my Online Survey

Basis for Project Survey

For the basis of my survey I will look at finding out the following information to leverage my recommendation for the Project at hand:

• Minimal Required Functionality : What will the website be used for (i.e. Winery promition / Wine Sales / Information etc)
• User constraints : What limitations will users visiting the site have (i.e. Bandwidth / Browser limitations)
  
• User preferences : How do users want Web site to act? Are the users familiar with web-browsing or are users new to the internet? Do your users have cookiephobia? (IE 6 has a default configuration that blocks many cookies). Fast downloads with few graphics or lots of streaming audio & video?
• User habits : How do users currently carry out tasks? Do users view competitor's sites?
  
• Existing Systems : What kinds of systems (i.d.home PC etc) do users operate?
  
• User dislikes : What do users hate about the existing site or comparible sites?
  
• Personal Data : Who are users? How old are they? What's their level of Internet know how? How educated are they? What sites do they use the most? Are they current customers of potential customers? Where do they live? How many computers do they have at home?
  

(Curtin, NED23, 2007)