Full Review by phio_chan
Scoring:
First Impressions & Appearance – (8 out of 20)
"Only the Best of the Web". The name sounds like it is a website in form of a catalog, showcasing the most wonderful and useful websites around the internet. For first visit it does resemble such purpose, with the words "Word Directory" on the front page of the website. The design looks very simple. While it does help with not presenting too much unnecessary points to visitors, I did expect something more complicated but still elegant and easy on the eyes. Some categories are almost empty compared to the rest. The overall first impression is not a bad one, but the website seems to be still in work and needs to be improved on more.
Moving on to the skin/template of the website, it is currently very simple and can be improved on more to invite visitors' attention and interest to click around. Let us start from the background. Each page has a different background in order to match the title and purpose of the page. It is a great idea, and it works to certain extent. It is quite unfortunate though that most parts of the background images are overlapped by the white part of the content body. For this, you can probably try to make the white background slightly transparent: enough for visitors to see the image behind it, but also not too transparent which can make the text harder to read. The images chosen are quite representative of the page content so I have no complaints on that part.
Next important point is the header. The current banner is very simple, with text only. The font is nice, it slightly compensates the "loneliness" of the banner. I would suggest to do some experiments with the banner, it is okay to expand and try something new to color up the website. The colors and fonts should be easy to read and match the background color, and there are many images related to the categories provided by the website to add to the banner. If all else fails, it seems like the website has a favicon. You can use the favicon in the banner, collaborate them to make a more interesting banner. The words "The Web Directory" is probably better off under the banner, as it can serve as a tagline to the website and brief explanation of what to expect from the website. Or you can also include the text description that I saw when I put my mouse over the banner: "The New More Efficient Way To Find What You Need". The banner size can also be adjusted so that it properly aligns itself at the middle of the page; the current banner has excessive blank space to the right side which pushes the text to the left.
For the body of each page, which contain the links to various websites, it is currently designed very simple with only bullet lists. While it works as a simple way to list a bunch of websites, it is not advised to do it that way if you aim for the website to be a more professional one. I imagine using tables will be very helpful for a directory. Inside the table you can write the name of the website, the link, a screenshot of the website, and a brief explanation of what the website is about. If the table goes too long, it can be divided into several pages in few tables. The current design works, but not very attractive.
The footer is not clearly seen in all pages. Front page has one bottom line but there is no content below the line which can become footer of the website. Copyright information can go there, or credits or sources of the pictures, or other important links. The toolbar for social media buttons on the left of the screen looks neat, but when I moved my mouse there no links are added this far. If there is no use to the social media, then there is no need to have those buttons there. The addition of a chat box for support is a nice idea which hopefully can benefit those who want to submit their links to you.
One additional point is that there is much space in each page. From the front page only, if those unnecessary spaces are removed (such as space between navigation menu and the words "The Web Directory"), the content can be seen without having to scroll down. Regarding categories page, empty spaces can be used more efficiently with the example of applying tables like mentioned above.
Site Layout – (7 out of 20)
In my opinion, the concept of the layout is rather misplaced in the website. This mainly involves the links shown in navigation bar ("Home", "About", "Popular", "Submit your site", and "More") and the categories of the websites. I believe these categories deserve a better spot, which is at the navigation bar. This way visitors can access various categories efficiently without having to open one more screen (in this case, "Quick Nav") or hit the back button in the browser to see other categories the website has. In return, the current links in navigation bar can be moved elsewhere. I still do not agree with the "Quick Nav" screen because I think it beats the purpose of having everything simple in one page. One possible solution is to use the empty footer part. In front page, the space below the last line (under categories name) can be used to hold those links. It must be added to every page of the website though to make sure it is usable and easy to reach for visitors.
After talking about the placement, let's think further about the menu itself. (Categories will be discussed in "Content" section later.) First of all, there seems to be a need to add a separation icon or symbol between each menu. With a menu title as long as "Submit your site", the only thing that shows it is one integrated menu is the small letters. To help make the difference more apparent, you can add any icon or symbol (for example '|', a star, and so on). I notice the "More" menu and after I look at the links hidden under menu, I feel that they can actually be brought to the surface instead of hiding under another menu. For example, "Search". That is an important feature for any kind of website, and so I believe it deserves more exposure at the pages. Perhaps not as a link, but a direct search box like in forums to assist browsing. Error reports or bug reports are important too, as much as available advertising spaces for those who may be interested. I think they should not be hidden under another menu. There is no problem with pages like "Home" and "About". "Popular" has duplication under "More" tab ("Vote" menu).
Here is a possible organization for those links:
Home | About | Popular | Site Submission | Contact (or Report) | Shop (or Advertisements)
That is an example, I don't say it has to be done like that. But it is possible to make all menu to stand out alone to gain attention, and this is one of the ways.
Now you may think that the front page will be empty after all those movements here and there. Which means there is an empty space which can be used for many kinds of activities. First, you can place submission box at the front page. It becomes easier for visitors to submit their links without having to hit the "Submit your site" page. For administrators, one less page to take care of. The now-empty front page can also be used to show popular websites or important new additions or changes to the website which can be beneficial to the visitors. Those are only examples, more can be added if necessary.
One thing I found while browsing is that the advertisement banner is only visible in "Forums" category. Correct me if I am wrong, but I was not able to find it elsewhere. I feel that it is not appropriate to make it only visible under one category; it defeats the purpose of advertisement which should have appeared in all pages as a guest browses the website. To have it displayed in one page only makes it less exposed to visitors and not as effective as it should have been. There are empty spaces to use to put the advertisement banner in all pages. Or if it is too big, you can opt to ask for affiliate images which are smaller instead.
Statistics and Activity – (6 out of 20)
We do not normally write about statistics and activity for websites, including this kind of website, but I figure I can write something. Score of this section reflects how updated the website is with various links to serve its purpose as a directory, which I translate as "activity".
The details of "Only the Best of the Web" are as follows:
- Games > 28 links
- Study > 2 links
- Sports > 2 links
- Cooking > 3 links
- Music > 5 links
- Restaurants > 9 links
- Chatting > 3 links
- Forums > 7 links
- News > 6 links
- Computers/Internet > 25 links
- Manga/Anime > 5 links
- Other > 21 links
When laid down that way, there seems to be a discrepancy between certain categories. The difference in numbers is quite big, with the lowest being only 2 links and highest almost 30 links. I wonder if this is because a matter of preferences from the administrators/owners of the website or because there is a certain difficulty in finding links for those low-entry categories. If one category proves to be too much to handle alone, you may start to consider removing the category or merging it under another category and add more links later when possible.
Content – (5 out of 20)
Now we move on to analyze the information provided in the website. I will divide this section into several parts to reflect points I want to talk about.
First up, as I have promised above, is the categories for the directory. I have actually touched this topic in the
previous questionnaire, but let's take a deeper look to it. There are 12 categories provided at the website, as named above in previous section.
- I think it will be better to organize the categories and the links inside each category based on alphabets. One reason is because that is how a catalog or directory is usually done, one other reason is because it looks tidy and searching can become easier that way because visitors know which alphabet they should be looking for when they want to find something. The current category list may leave impression that it's ordered based on level of interest of the website owners/authors, which are reflected in the number of links added inside those categories.
- Categories in a directory should be straight to the point, simple, and easy to understand. Some categories provided in the website are rather redundant. The main culprit in this situation is "Forums" category. Five of seven links under this category are gaming forums. Does it ring a bell? There is already a "Games" category. You know what I want to ask. Other examples are "Cooking" and "Restaurants", "Computers & Internet" and "Chatting". They are overlapping categories, and looking at how empty those categories are, it may be a good idea to consider merging them together to get a more compact category. I believe it is better to have sub-divisions under a category than to make an empty and repetitive stand-out category like that.
- Some links under "Other" category can actually be included in another category. Take for example the first sub-category of "Other": "Gamemaking Engines". Does it ring a bell again? Yes, there is already a "Games" category. Second sub-category is "Computer Backgrounds". Yes, there is already a "Computers & Internet" category. And so on. I think the purpose of a directory is to make sorting possible and easy for visitors, so links under "Other" category should be as minimal as possible.
The second part of this section will discuss about the content inside the categories itself, which are the links, and any features related to them.
- My biggest concern with the links is mainly the categorization. Some has been mentioned above at categories section. In previous questionnaire I had mentioned about knowing the nature of the website before adding them to a category/sub-category. Taking examples from "Manga/Anime" category, only the last of four links under "Anime Forums" is actually a forum. "Weekly Shounen Jump" and "TokyoPop" are supposedly considered manga. "Viz Media" seems to be more varied. The "Pokemon" link listed under "Anime Series" does not really talk about the anime, but more about the game. I happen to know quite much about this so I can easily point it out. The same should've been done to any other categories. Content clarification is important before added to the directory or else random links and random placement will happen.
- Being a directory, there is a need to make sure that all the links are valid, safe, and working. While browsing I found one link under "Games" category which is inactive (the forum has closed, apparently). This is a suggestion that you must also take in mind to regularly check the links if they are still working to keep the directory clean and updated. It does not have to be done everyday, but periodically is ideal.
- One feature offered in the website is "popularity". In "Popular" page visitors can vote for a website they think is the best, logically. I will say that this is a great feature to add to the website, but the effect is not clear. The winner of this monthly activity gets a highlight for his link in the category, in form of big text with green background. This, unfortunately, only visible inside that category. If the website is a great one based on visitors' votes, it surely deserves more spotlight and exposure. Giving it highlight under its own category only fails to meet that target. The link should have been visible everywhere through the website so visitors can see it better. There are spaces in the header or footer which can be utilized to add a link to the winning website, at least. Or, to make things merrier, you can put the banner of winning website for a certain period of time to increase the exposure. This makes the feature worthwhile to fight for and has a purpose for both visitors and owners.
One thing I would not find unless I clicked the "About" page is a blog. There is no trace in the navigation menu that there is a blog. It seems that the blog is only used as a documentation for updates and changes to the website. I think that is a waste for the blog. Blogs are complicated platforms which allow various activities, but to be only used as documentation platform feels like it is not appropriate. Not to mention that it is hardly visible. The summary of the updates can be written in the "About" page if necessary, like the way "Major Update 2.0" is written. Simple and straight to the point. I do not feel that code or template changes are very important for members to know. Older updates can be removed when it is no longer relevant to save space. For example, the information about Easter Egg Hunt has long passed and can now be removed.
In short, the content of "Only the Best of the Web" still requires further inspection and organization. It is especially important being a directory/catalog because visitors expect to easily find and understand things, not to be confused or even wrongly directed while trying to find certain information. They also need to see the fruits of participating in features offered by the website to be tempted to actually (and regularly) participate.
Spelling/Grammar & Professionalism – (9 out of 20)
All the points mentioned above undeniably affect the impression of professionalism from the website. There are rooms for improvement, mainly related to the content organization and presentation. For grammar, it is mostly visible through "About" page where I can see a longer text compared to the directory. There are several mistakes, such as inappropriate usage of semicolon (
😉, comma, or capital letters. The flow of the passage is confusing sometimes, but at least still understandable.
Total Score - (35 out of 100)
Final Remarks:
"Only the Best of the Web" is a directory website with potency to grow better in the future. There are several issues which must be addressed immediately, though, to make browsing more enjoyable, easier, and worthwhile. As a directory, I believe the website must not rely on submissions only. Administrators should take time to add variety to content for a complete coverage. It is not an easy job indeed, so good luck!
Strength:
- - Simplistic design which can still be expanded
Weaknesses:
- - Inefficient content layout and categorization
- Lack of content and its related information
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