Heather Lomas

Evaluation

When it came to receiving the brief off OZ Backpackers I knew that no matter what the website needed to advertise different hostels to stay in and also advertise the country to the potential visitors. To begin with I had to take into account all the target audience that will be viewing this and also I had to think what I wanted to put into the website.

I began by making storyboards to show each page to make it easier for me to then create the website to its full potential. Each storyboard showed where pieces of information would be and also shows where each photo will be placed. Since I created the storyboards there have been a lot of changes that I have made to the site.

To start off with I have added a lot of different animations into the website that I did not plan on. I have also made sure there is a lot more information included in each page and there are plenty more bits I have done to keep the website flowing. My booking form and Requesting a brochure page had the options for the user to fill out a form to let us know whether they want further contact with us. To make this more realistic I added a ‘Submit’ button for the user to submit the form. As this isn’t a website that will be published to the World Wide Web I made another blank page instead so that when the user selected ‘Submit’ they would be taken to a thank you page stating the next steps in their booking. The homepage was one of the pages that I was most proud of in the different steps I took to make it different. I made each title fly in to keep the user interacting with the website. The main title bounces in and then both subtitles fly in from a certain direction. Each user will experience this every time they select to go back to the homepage. As the user progresses through the website they are faced with all sorts of different animation and interactivity that they need to use in order to view certain things. When talking about his I mean in my Accommodation page I have entered three images, each of a different place. When the user highlights over the image they can then find out the necessary basics of that place. It also shows the place title, this corresponds to when making a booking as they are presented with a drop down menu asking which Hostel they prefer to stay in.

My buttons were another part in my website where I made them more advanced than just a simple click. I made my buttons when hovered over change colour so that the user knows they are selecting the right button. MY buttons based at the main navigation bar were black so I made them change to yellow when hovered over. ‘Request a Brochure’ was based at the bottom of the page and this was in yellow. By having this I made the rollover become black which kept the theme of the website throughout.

Font – When it came to the fonts I stuck with two main fonts throughout the entire website these were;

- Buxton Sketch- Calibri

Both of these fonts were perfect for my website as I found that having the titles and headings in ‘Buxton Sketch’ would jazz up the website and make it feel a lot more entertaining. I also chose ‘Calibri’ as I preferred it as a natural font for any explanations and when I went into more detail I needed to make sure that the user could read the information I was putting across to them.

Heather Lomas

Colour Scheme – The colour scheme was important as this is what I needed to especially keep consistent throughout the website. As I was progressing through my website I kept all the colours consistent using basic colours such as blue, yellow, black and white. These colours may sound bland and when I was creating my storyboards and initial website I thought this too but as the website progressed the colours fitted well. I wanted the user to get a warm feeling to the website so I thought by using yellow and blue this would give the summer feel to the website and they also contrasted quite well as I kept the colours warm and soft so they weren’t outstanding and too bright to read.

As I continued to create my website I was faced with an obstacle when the software I was using for this creation crashed when I was in the middle of my website and the file corrupted. I had made previous versions in case this happened but as I opened each one the file corrupted yet again. Eventually they stopped corrupting and I made many different versions of that one file to ensure this didn’t happen again. Although I had lost a vast amount of content and was disappointed with what had happened I managed to look back into my website diary and retrace my steps through the document and I am now grateful for having a diary.

The part I am increasingly pleased about with my website is the amount of animation and transitions the website has included into. Looking back on my plan there is no mention of any sort of interactivity for the user but as I was creating the site I continued to add as much information and images as possible also including scroll bars and rollover images. In my opinion overall I am proud of the success that came with my website and the work I put into it.

To evaluate my website to its full potential I needed to get some feedback off another member of the class so below I have shown what they have said about my site.

What the user liked –

“I like the fact that this website is interactive as soon as you open up the site the writing bounces onto the page straight away you can tell it is an entertaining site more aimed at a backpacker’s age range.”

“On the accommodation page I like how when you rollover an image the title of the hostel comes up on the image and a description of the hostel also appears at the bottom of the image. Plus on the booking page an image again bounces on to the page.”

“At the bottom of every page there is a ‘request a brochure’ button this is good as this means at any time the viewer can click this button and there is an order form to fill out.”

What the User didn’t like-

“Much of the writing is a very plain font and colour; although this does work well with the website it could look even better if the writing could be made bold or every now and then different colours other than black.”

Heather Lomas

“The home page of the website when you are on has different text saying ‘Welcome to Australia, everything you need to know and more’. A backpacker trying to look for backpackers websites may mistake this just for a website on information just about the country Australia, even though on a few other pages it does mention backpackers. It is just simply because the home page which is the first page that the public will see does not mention anything to do with backpackers.”

From the points made above I have decided to take into account what has been said and change a few things on my website.

Within the comments above the user stated that I could change the colours about more on my website when it comes to the colour black. It was also said that the user would prefer me to make certain text bold and change the way I have laid it out. Because of this I will be changing my font style on the website as I think it will help my house style. Previously I have stated that I was happy with my layout and house style as it was consistent throughout with black text on a blue background as I thought that having yellow text on a pale blue background would be brail for the user to read. But taking this into consideration I will be keeping my text black but changing the style to bold where the user has mentioned.

As you can see in the screen shots below I have shown this;

Heather Lomas

Another point to add is that the user stated they would prefer is my main title was more aimed at backpackers instead of generally about Australia. I took this into account and changed my title from saying ‘Welcome to Australia’, I quite liked the introduction page and thought it was best to keep it the way it was as when the user searches the website they will discover more than they first thought. Overall I enjoyed making my website and have taken in the points the user has made towards my site. Having made changes that were needed I have now completed the site.