In addition to yesterdays post about the site ranking craze, I have been thinking of the best ways to rate web sites. Mainly because I run webdesignbook.net my self, where the plan is to release a book with the 150 best webdesigns.
webdesignbook.net now lets everyone submit their site, but they will only be listed if they are W3C valid and doesn’t use tables for layout.
Currently the site uses a digg.com-like system, letting people vote for the designs, and whenever a site reaches 20 votes they are considered for the book.
These steps alone doesn’t make sure, that only quality sites are listed, and I don’t want to make the system check further into the sites looking for specific features etc. (Ex. like Silktide and eXaminator).
In late august or some time september, I close down for voting and further submissions, and I will take a better look at all the submitted, approved webdesigns. Now, what to look for? People look at designs differently - some likes something, someone don’t.
webdesignbook.net has a goal of promoting webdesigners with web standards in mind, so it isn’t only the look that matters. The look is important, but so is the markup. Valid code isn’t everything.
- Is the best way to rate sites, writing down a criteria-list where each criteria gives a specific amount of points?
- Should a group of 5-10 people be established, who all checks all sites from the criteria-list?
- Should vote and comments on the submitted sites count anything in the final phase?
- Should rating rounds be made, where sites are shown 10-20 at the time, and people should vote for which they like the most?
- How would you rate a webdesign?
6 comments
Aaron Says:
Hmm. I typically rate a web design for:
1.) Contrast and readability
2.) Clearness of sections - is it easy to navigate and find information?
3.) Graphics - how well are they used to enhance, but not take over, the design?
I don’t have anything more than this, but typicall I give out of 10 points for each.
By the way, you should label the fields for comment. Not everyone knows what goes in each field, so when they don’t have instructions it is hard
16/05-2006 | 16:22
The undersigned Says:
Good points there - readability, accessibility and look - I will definately weigh those 3 when it comes to picking out the designs for the book, but as I also wrote, the markup counts just as much for this specific project :)
And thanks for the notice, I have fixed it now :)
16/05-2006 | 17:39
Danny Says:
Great book idea. Perhaps one final ranking method would be to compile a criteria list based on what you see the final voted sites demonstrating. Then, replace the voting function with ranking, where visitors can drag/drop 10 of the pseudo-randomly sites as to how well they feel those sites qualify based on the criteria. After a certain time, then you can collaborate all those random rankings into a final list.
A couple caveats would be though that it’s hard for them to rank based on coding practices of the site, and it depends on how well the criteria list is defined.
Cheers!
23/05-2006 | 18:23
John Says:
Hi,
I like standards alot but in the case of internet websites as long as the code works on major web broswers and covers 95%+ of the visitors to be able to see the website as it’s meant to be viewed then it is OK in my book. I have built sites that don’t adhere strictly to standards but they do come up on browsers as I intended them to.
But, I defintely agree, standards do play a big role in keeping things smoothly fot visitors. Standards are also gresat from the programmers/designers point of view as well, it helps them to understand the code at a later time without much dificulty.
Cheers,
John
www.xpertdesigns.net
03/08-2007 | 6:45
HR Outsourcing Says:
AS a seo i will select those design which occupy less space and looks attractive as per business point of view. it must be catchy and no more flash or jscript.
25/09-2007 | 11:05
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