Help Wanted on Article about Review Writing

[mkphillips]

Hello all! My name is Mary Phillips and I am a proofreader/writer for OnlineProofreaders.com. My current client through that site wants me to write a Guide to Writing a Website Review.

My websearches give me tons of information for writing various other reviews but not a good website review......until I got the google link to here......I've browsed through some of the posts already made and I was wondering if any/all of you could give me some information on HOW you post your reviews.....

Break down the criterias for me......My client wants: content, design, usability, uniqueness and the overall. I understand the basis for all of these.....but he does want a 300 to 600 word article. What I am looking for is what precisely would give a new reviewer the information on making their reviews useful to the webmaster.

Thanks all in advance :)

[Compguy Pete]

As you read though many of the reviews of the sites here you’re going to find something out really quick... This is by no means a knock down of the members who post "reviews" however most don't look at those things when they review the site. They mostly go off how the site is coded and if it validates or not.

Now a member of this site posted a link to their company a while back ago and I found it to be a very interesting idea! The service is a bit out of the price range of my local clients however I still found it VERY interesting http://www.eyetools.com/ I have his contact info if you would like to contact him directly as well.

I really think you could get a nice short overall article written about the subject in 300-600 words however you could do multiple articles on each of those areas of a review.

[mkphillips]

Did rather notice they were all a bit technical (by no means my area! hehe)....Any and all information so I can do this article for my client that I can get I sure appreciate.....and I will be including references :)

Was a long shot....but this really was pretty much the only really well set up place that I had found that even looked close to being an information source :)

[Snitchcat]

While I understand the differences between critting a site and a piece of writing, the principals are the same. Please note that the following list is only a Brief list that I use:

AESTHETICS
Overview
Does it appeal? Why? Why not?
What draws the eye immediately? What doesn't? Why?
What do you skip? Why?
How is it unique? Why? Why not?
Improvement suggestions.

Purpose of Site
What is it?
Easy to see? Hard to see? Why? Why not?
Info about purpose is prominent? Why? Why not?
Improvement suggestions.

Layout
Displays correctly in chosen browser? Why? Why not?
Comfortable to view? Uncomfortable to view? Why?
Cluttered / clear / confusing / sophistcated / clean? Why?
Improvement suggestions.

Colour Scheme
Ouch! / Nice! / Calm! / Appropriate / etc.? Why?
Improvement suggestions.

Navigation
User-friendly? Why? Why not?
Easy to use; no idea what to do? Why?
Easy to get lost in the site? Why? Why not?
Improvement suggestions.

Information
Essential info is prominently displayed? Why? Why not?
Good presentation? Why? Why not?
Easy to find what you're looking for? Why? Why not?
Improvement suggestions.

Images / Animation / Flash / Ads
Needed? Why? Why not?
Broken? Why? Why not?
Appropriate? Why? Why not?
Size -- too large, too small?
Quality -- fuzzy, unclear, great, sharp?
Smooth / jerky / didn't understand it? Why? Why not?
Improvement suggestions.

Text Content
Needed? Why? Why not?
Appropriate? Why? Why not?
Meaning is clear / unclear? Why? Why not?
Rambling / concise? Why? Why not?
Grammar / spelling (including spelling system, e.g., USA / British / International / Australian / etc.) / punctuation?
Improvement susggestions.

TECHNICAL
Access Time
Fast? Slow? Why? Why not?
Dial-up vs. broadband -- problems with either, or, both?
Improvement suggestions.

Code Accessibility
Example: MS Front Page creates a mess vs. Dreamweaver
Improvement suggestions.
(A novice web page critiquer mayn't get to this.)

Code Validation
Example: Contains DTD at the top of the file
Improvement suggestions.
(A novice web page critiquer mayn't get to this.)

Anything I might have missed
:p

Note: I generally don't crit the technical side as it's not my forte.


General Notes
Start with positive, go through negative with Helpful ways to improve, end positive.

If stating negative, you can state it nicely while keeping it honest, e.g., "your banner is ugly" vs. "I found your banner unappealing, because...".

Always, always, ALWAYS, state that this is your opinion -- you may have been in the industry for years, but that doesn't mean you are the 'be all, end all' of web critiques (this goes for all types of crits, not just web / writing ones). Everyone has a different viewpoint; the goal is to help people, not destory their confidence, etc.

And despite what I've done here, never use the imperative unless you have a Very good reason for it!

I've found the best way to get my point across without raising someone's hackles is to use phrases similar to, "I thought X was irritating, because Y clashed with Z. Perhaps it might be better to do A or B instead?"

And I'm out of ideas.

Basically, I'd suggest modifying the list for critiquing stories so it's suitable for websites. Let me know if you need a copy of the list -- I believe I have it somewhere.

Hope this helps.

Take care,
Snitch.

P.S. All the above is Copyrighted to Me! So there! :p :D Seriously, use what you need.

[spufi]

They mostly go off how the site is coded and if it validates or not.

And some don't. :D For me to list what I look for is a huge list much like Snitchcat posted.

[mkphillips]

Thanks all!

Snitchcat, i think, has given me everything I need to write the article.....tho I'd like to hear any differences of spufi's :)

My fulltime job is rather hectic, so I wont be doing any more work on this project til at LEAST sunday.

Snitch and spufi....could I contact ya'll by email for a proper interview for the paper? :)

speak soon and thanks for all the help

[Snitchcat]

Lol, interview? Heh, go for it -- I'll try to help if I can.

Take care,
Snitch.

P.S. Check you private msgs.

[spufi]

My fulltime job is rather hectic, so I wont be doing any more work on this project til at LEAST sunday.

That's good because I just got Jade Empire(XBox) and I'm doing little else this weekend. :D

[mkphillips]

Ive seen that....i want that.....but ive no XBox :(

Worse yet, im now so far behind in the article work I cannot even try to get my SWG subscription back...........ah well......once i get caught up on these projects maybe :)

[spufi]

Since I am lacking in time to write a lot, I'll just link to some better check lists of items some of the big name designers go through.

The Big Web Design Details List (http://www.7nights.com/asterisk/archive/2004/07/the-big-web-design-details-list)

A Webstandards Checklist (http://www.maxdesign.com.au/presentation/checklist.cfm)

Web Development Mistakes Redux (http://www.456bereastreet.com/archive/200408/web_development_mistakes_redux/)

[mkphillips]

Thanks a lot! I finally got a copy in that the client seemed satisfied with :D

I thank you for your input......and I did reference this very post in the article! :)