Website Design

I was asked to do an evaluation of three different public school websites. I used the 113 Design Guidelines for Homepage Usability by the Nielson Norman Group.

The following are my general thoughts on these websites.

TRUSD

• The site has a clean and modern design.

• The site is easy to navigate.

• Archived news and announcements are searchable.

• Design elements are too large for a standard 1920 x 1080 screen.

• Contact information is difficult to find and there is no vehicle for immediate feedback.

SPS

• The homepage feels like an informational dashboard.

• The main rotator and links are above the fold.

• A detailed staff directory is publicly accessible which shows open positions and internal phone extensions.

• The homepage is too visually busy making it difficult to use if you are unfamiliar with the site.

NPS

• The accessibility and page translation widgets are top notch.

• The site is clean and free of distracting graphics.

• There are inconsistencies in font, text spacing, and layout.

• The homepage is nothing more than a link page.