Ten Point Web Site Evaluation

Having a Web site is not enough. Your site must be relevant and well designed not only to sell books, but also to meet your reader's needs. Each of the following ten categories will be graded on a scale of one to ten with ten being the highest possible score. How does your measure up?

Site Title:___________________________

Subject:______________________________

URL: _________________________________

Audience:_____________________________

Evaluate your site against the criteria described below. "10" = Excellent and "1" = Poor.

1. URL Is your address  short, "intuitive," and preferably your own domain name? Does it help brand you? _____

2. Speed How quickly does the homepage load? Are pages too long? Are graphics too large or not optimized correctly? _____

3. Appearance Does the home page make visitors want to explore the site? Can the text be read against the background? Are the graphics appropriate for the site? Does it reflect your personality, mission, and brand? _____

4. Navigation Is there an easily identifiable navigation system on every page? Can visitors easily move both backwards and forwards? Do links to pages outside of your site open to new windows so you don't lose your visitors? Are there any broken links? _____

5. Graphics Are all graphics of excellent quality and fast loading? Are animated graphics distracting? Do they make the site appear amateurish? Are there any broken graphics? _____

6. Contact, Copyright and Currency Is the contact information of the site owner and developer readily available? Is there a contact link or address on every page? Is there a professional email address, preferably ending in your domain? Is there copyright information on every page? Is the creation date and subsequent updates listed in the copyright information?_____

7. Indexibility Are there a variety of well-chosen description and meta tags in place on all pages? Are there frames? Is your site an image map? _____

8. Ordering Information Are there a variety of ways for customers to order your products? Is credit card usage an option? Is the ordering information easily located? _____

9. Audio and Video Is the quality of all audio and video excellent and accessible? Is there a link and an explanation to sites where appropriate software can be downloaded by visitors? _____

10. Content Is there sufficient relevant, well-written content to make the site worthwhile to visitors? Does the content make the site interactive and encourage repeat visitors? Does any advertising take away from the credibility of the information? Are there links to related information or other links? _____

Total Score: ____________