For the purpose of this thesis, an overview of major personal computer vendors’ websites was conducted. For easier comprehension and comparison, all the obtained information was merged in the table below. The first glance assessment was done in five steps; each of the characteristics was assigned a numerical meaning composing 20% at most.
To assess the appearance of the given websites, attention has been paid to the conformity of the colors used in the design (distracting or annoying); to the clarity of the text, presence and variability of illustrative graphics and simplicity of the page overload.
The main indicators of good content are clarity, simplicity and up-to-datedness. As it has been already stated in the previous chapters, content should not be overloaded with keywords, links or anything else distracting from the perception of the relevant information. The shorter, more organized, more updated and more user-friendly content, the more points were granted.
Maximum points for the functionality were given to fast and error-free websites, across hyperlinks, contact forms and website internal search.
High scores for usability were assigned in case a website is simple, consistent and prominent. Meaning not much time is required for getting to the desired information – fast scrolling, descriptive links, and sufficient local navigation. It is also important that the website is consistent in all the modern browsers and has a mobile or pad light version.
Website gained search engine optimization high scores if it had plenty of content written in HTML format, used descriptive links and successfully passed a markup validation test provided by W3C1.
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