GENERAL INFORMATION (but very important)

• What did you find particularly in/effective about the site?
• What information and whose perspectives are being conveyed (e.g., commercial, political, academic, private)?
• How do graphics interact with texts (e.g., support, undermine, contradict)?
• On what forms of representation does the site rely?
• What role(s) as viewer are you asked to take on (e.g., passive, exploratory)? What other possible roles might the viewer assume?
• In what ways does the site succeed in its apparent or explicit intentions? In what ways does the site work against itself?
• What interesting questions does the site raise or answer, if any?

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AUTHORITY

• Who's in charge? Are they doing a good job?
• Is there a clearly defined purpose to the site?
• Is it clear who is responsible for the content?
• Is there background information on the author/compiler of the web site that is readily available?
• Is there a record of the time of the last update?
• Can you contact the webmaster easily?
• Does the webmaster want feedback for improvement?

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DESIGN/STYLE

• Do the design and style of the site enhance information delivery?
• Is it innovative?
• Does the design reflect/compliment the content?
• Is there consistency in basic design formats?
• Are the pages uncluttered and cleanly designed?
• Does the design aid/encourage navigation?
• Is the web site well organized?
• Is there an intelligent layout/sequence of pages?
• Are the media elements clearly marked?
• Are the size of media files marked?
• Does the writing engage?
• Is it thought provoking?
• Is the interface designed to assist the location of specific materials?

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NAVIGATION

• Can you move around the web site easily?
• Does the homepage contain a well-labeled table of contents?
• Are there sufficient shortcut or hot buttons available?
• Are the navigation buttons consistent throughout the web site?
• Is there a sufficient number of links?
• Do the links take you directly to the information, bypassing top level pages, when appropriate?
• Are the links clearly and accurately described?
• Is the interface designed to assist the location of specific material?

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CONTENT

• Does the site contain (and/or link to) accurate, reliable information?
• Does the site contain original content? How much?
• Does it provide links to other related sites? How many?
• Is the content free of bias (gender, race, religion, etc.)?
• Is the point of view clear?
• Is the information accurate?
• Is it updated frequently?
• Is the coverage comprehensive?
• Does it provide specificity?
• Are the sources primary or secondary?
• Are appropriate copyright statements included?
• If appropriate, are special features included, such as index, charts, maps, graphs?
• Are the media elements, i.e., sound, video, graphics, well done and meaningful?
• Is the reading level appropriate for the students?

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PERFORMANCE

• Do the pages download efficiently and quickly?
• Is there a text-only option? Is there a no-frames version?
• Does the text-only version make sense without the graphics?
• Is there a limited amount of content in each area?
• Are the graphics small to load easily?
• Are there thumbnail versions of large graphics?
• Is the site usually accessible?

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SUBJECT MATTER CONNECTIONS

• Is the content appropriate and relevant to the subject?
• Is content unique and not available elsewhere?
• Does the site offer interactive opportunities?
• Does it make you think?
• Is the content useful to you?
• Would you recommend it? To whom?

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Adapted from a handout created by ICONnect!
(with ideas from Prof. Susan Kassouf--Vassar College)!