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Download Web Quality Assurance A workshop for web managers UN
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Web Quality Assurance A workshop for web managers UN Web 4 Development Conference 29 November 2007 Nairobi, Kenya Web Quality Assurance > Introduction Learning objectives Learn how to evaluate your Web site and ensure it is compliant with the top quality standards. In particular: How to define Web Quality. How to evaluate a Web site. How to improve and monitor Web sites. Web Quality Assurance > Introduction Implement quality criteria: Technical quality; Metadata, referencing, SEO; User interface (usability, graphic design, ...); Content and editorial quality. Web Quality Assurance > Introduction To be able to: Develop Web sites that are user-friendly and intuitive; Build trust with the users; Add value to your information; Make sure that your Web site is « crawler-friendly » Learn more about your target audience. Introduction Defining Web Quality Web Quality Assurance > Definition What is Web Quality about? There are various aspects related to Web quality Quantitative criteria (easy to measure) Qualitative criteria (more subjective) Many studies in this field to analyse the behaviour of users to increase the accessibility to information Web Quality is not only about content or Web standards! Chapter 1 Technical Quality Web Quality Assurance > Technical Quality Why technical quality? A Web site of high technical quality enables a wide audience to interact with your site. For example: multi-language users or those with low level Internet connections or old computers/software. These criteria also facilitate Web traffic analysis, which identifies page errors and broken links. Web Quality Assurance > Technical Quality Pre-Requisites for all Web pages What are the most obvious things of a Web site that would irritate you? Broken links Javascript errors Long loading times Pages not printable etc… Every Web page should be compliant with the most common Web standards. Web Quality Assurance > Technical Quality > Rules Rule 1: Links No broken links Use absolute links (use relative links only if they occur within a logical group of pages) Have the link to the current Web page inactive Have the language links on a page point to the translated current page Have links to other languages only when these languages are available Have a minimal amount of links that open in a new browser window (when they do, reuse a browser window that the Web site has previously opened) Have visited links that change colour Have descriptive labels on links Web Quality Assurance > Technical Quality > Rules Rule 2: Images Size & Format Have the correct width and height attributes for each image, so the correct layout is displayed while the page loads Use the correct image format Have JPEG images at the lowest acceptable level of quality, to reduce size Do not use HTML code to resize images Web Quality Assurance > Technical Quality > Rules Rule 3: Compatibility Compatible with Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0+ Compatible with Mozilla Firefox 1.5+ Compatible with Apple Safari 1.0+ Compatible with Adobe Reader 5.0+ for PDF files Web Quality Assurance > Technical Quality > Rules Rule 4: URL, Files & Folders No unnecessary or orphan files Use logical file and folder names Have URLs without parameters or convert parameters to file names Have each URL point to a single resource/page Use lowercase for file and folder names Do not use URL aliases, but use a redirect instead Use the correct redirect for moved and deleted pages [all these criteria apply also for SEO] Web Quality Assurance > Technical Quality > Rules Rule 5: Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) Use an external style sheet rather than embedding CSS in the page Reference the style sheets in the document <head> Use style sheets for all presentation information (e.g. font and tables used for layout) Use CSS for layout and image effects (e.g. rollovers) rather than images (or tables) Have a single CSS file (except if you use a print.css) Web Quality Assurance > Technical Quality > Rules Rule 6: Downloads Have downloads less than 500kB Compress large files and divide a PDF document if necessary Indicate the size of each download Avoid the use of Microsoft Office files (Word, Excel, etc) or TIFF files Web Quality Assurance > Technical Quality > Rules Rule 7: Language Have page content and navigation in at least three FAO languages Have language links in the following text and order: العربية, 中文, English, Français, Español Do not use a country’s flag as a language link Alerts, feedback and instructions to users must be in the language of the Web page Have the language encoding in the <head> section Use UTF-8 (universal transformation format: 8-bit bytes) Chapter 2 Metadata, Referencing, Search Engine Optimization Web Quality Assurance > Metadata & Referencing About metadata and referencing Metadata and reference information is simply data that answers the who, what, when, where, why and how questions about a Web site/page. It is very useful because it allows users to quickly determine whether the Web page is appropriate for their use. Web Quality Assurance > Metadata & Referencing How reliable is your information Reference information provides evidence of prudent data stewardship: an organization that … acknowledges content authors tags and describes content provides important dates, contact details, and copyright information … is also likely to take the time to develop high quality sites. Web Quality Assurance > Metadata & Referencing Rule 8: Metadata Have metadata in the language of the page Have a title for each Web page (must be meaningful and unique) Use keywords in the page source Have a description of the Web page in the page source Web Quality Assurance > Metadata & Referencing Rule 9: Referencing Include the creation date Include the site owner Include the last updated date Use a disclaimer for archived pages Include the author of the content/page/site Include contact details on each page Include information on how to cite each Web page Include copyright and date Web Quality Assurance > Metadata & Referencing Make your Web site « crawler-friendly » Most of the information is retrieved using search engines (and now also RSS feeds) Search engines will display the information they find on your Web site Search engine optimization (SEO) is about crawling and also ranking Search engine optimisation adds value to a site by allowing it to be easily found by search engine users Web Quality Assurance > Metadata & Referencing Rule 10: Search Engine Optimization (SEO) For Web sites where content is in a database, create a HTML index page Give more prominence to important keywords (and synonims) by using them in headings and subheadings Have meaningful URLs Always use the title tag and use a different title for each page Use robots.txt to tell what NOT to crawl (e.g. the print-friendly version of Web pages) [ see rule 5] Chapter 3 User Interface & Usability Introduction How do people use the Web Web Quality Assurance > User Interface Users scan contents 80% of their time, internet users scan your content rather than reading it word by word Web Quality Assurance > User Interface Many visitors come from search engines Provide explicit headlines with consistent keywords Web Quality Assurance > User Interface Users only see part of the page content First screen Web Quality Assurance > Editorial Quality What do they look at most? …headlines and hyperlinks. Web Quality Assurance > User Interface Reading comfort Reading on-screen is 25% slower than reading on paper. Web Quality Assurance > User Interface User-centered approach Ergonomy vs. Usability Accessibility World Usability Day (November 8th 2007) World Wide Web Consortium (w3c.org) Web Quality Assurance > User Interface Defining Usability Learnability Efficiency Memorability Errors Satisfaction [source: jakob nielson www.useit.com] Web Quality Assurance > User Interface How to measure success? Evaluation Methods User Tests (individual, group, eye-tracking) Surveys (quantitative online) Expert Audits (web gurus, peers, consultants) Web Quality Assurance > User Interface Page Structure Elements Consistent Layout Visual Identity Screen Size Coherent Navigation Header / Footer Web Quality Assurance > User Interface > Rules Rule 11: Fonts Use an 11 or 12 point font size for the content body Use standard and sans-serif fonts (e.g. Verdana and Geneva, Arial and Helvetica) for the content body Keep the use of font size and style consistent throughout the site Use relative rather than absolute units for font size (see the W3C’s checkpoint 3.4 of the “Techniques for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0”) http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10-TECHS/#tech-relative-units Web Quality Assurance > User Interface > Rules Rule 12: Images and Figures Have alternative text descriptions for images Use text instead of images wherever possible, especially in the case of images of text Use styled colours and backgrounds instead of images Use thumbnails for large images and indicate the larger image's file size No animation, unless there is a special need Web Quality Assurance > Technical Quality > Rules Rule 13: Copyright Indicate the copyright and the year on all pages of your Web site The copyright information must be in the same language as the originating page Identify the content owner and copyright holder for content in external Web services (e.g. Del.icio.us and YouTube) Include copyright information for images, audio and video Chapter 4 Editorial Quality Web Quality Assurance > Editorial Quality Is this text appealing? Web Quality Assurance > Editorial Quality Web Quality Assurance > Editorial Quality The headline: five times more read than body text. The lead: looked at by more than 90% of visitors. Paragraph blocks group ideas Keywords in bold Visuals with captions. Web Quality Assurance > Editorial Quality Write to your audience Researchers/scientists/academics Media/journalists Teachers/educators/trainers Public managers/government officials Development actors (NGO, UN,…) Students/Young people Permanent delegations and national commissions UNESCO staff members Web Quality Assurance > Editorial Quality For whom is this text written? MOST is a UNESCO programme that promotes international, comparative and policy-relevant research on contemporary social transformations and issues of global importance. For further information: [http://www.unesco.org/most/flyer.htm] Web Quality Assurance > Editorial Quality Do we have to remove all jargon? As we go deeper into a portal, it’s normal to reach more technical documentation that contains jargon However, most of the time, jargon occurs too soon limit it, if possible, to lowest levels or to the institutional pages Web Quality Assurance > Editorial Quality Well Structured Content Short, concise titles Inverted pyramid Lead paragraph contains the "5 W" Engaging conclusion Hyperlinks Web Quality Assurance > Editorial Quality Structure you content: Inverted Pyramid Lead contains most of the 5 W Interesting facts and colourful details are found in the body text Least important information is found here, at the bottom of the story Web Quality Assurance > Editorial Quality Five W’s Five basic questions allowing to handle information: Who What When Where Why How To Whom Web Quality Assurance > Editorial Quality A striking conclusion, offering also some interactivity [At the end of an article about natural disasters] … UNESCO will continue to play an advisory and advocacy role until every country – be it rich or poor – has shifted emphasis from post-disaster reaction to pre-disaster action. Earthquakes are a fatality. They need not be a disaster. For further information: b.rouhban@unesco.org or tehran@unesco.org Web Quality Assurance > Editorial Quality > Rules Rule 14: Control content quality Quality of lay-out Spacing Volume Highlighted elements Visuals Quality of style Spelling and grammar Concision Simplicity of style Absence of jargon Right tone according to the organization Right tone according to the audience Clear-cut headlines and hyperlinks Web Quality Assurance > Editorial Quality > Rules Rule 14: Control content quality (2) Quality of structure Logical thread Inverted pyramid Lead containing the "5 W" Engaging conclusion Quality of content Interest for users Interest for UNESCO Freshness Presence of factual data Contextualization Presence of "to learn more" links Accuracy Multilingualism Web Quality Assurance > Editorial Quality Control Assuring ongoing quality: Control the editorial balance Prevent any topic from cannibalizing the other (except if you can justify the asymmetry) Fill the blanks (e.g. a neglected topic, an abandoned region,…) Web Quality Assurance > Editorial Quality Control Cross-reading NEWS UNESCO initiates creation of International Cultural Center in Mexico UNESCO initiates preservation of Cultural Heritage in Afghanistan Major archaeological discoveries in Aksum Macedonian baritone Trajanov named UNESCO Artist for Peace Web Quality Assurance > Editorial Quality Control Cross-reading (same example after correction) NEWS UNESCO opens the International Cultural Center in Mexico UNESCO initiates preservation of Cultural Heritage in Afghanistan Major archaeological discoveries in Aksum Macedonian baritone Trajanov named UNESCO Artist for Peace Web Quality Assurance > Editorial Quality Control Monitor traffic statistics Number of visits Number of page views Number of visitors Number of returning visitors Most visited pages Average duration of visits Geographical origin of visitors Traffic-generating keywords Traffic-generating websites Web Quality Assurance > Editorial Quality Control Track other success indicators Number Number Number Number Number Number Success indicators that are specific to your programme of of of of of of links to your website RSS subscriptions newsletter subscriptions ordered publications forms sent e-mail messages Web Quality Assurance > Editorial Quality Control Listen to user feedback Frequently asked questions Surveys User tests Press releases External audits Informal feedback Web Quality Assurance > Editorial Quality Control Rule 15 : Monitor editorial quality Control the editorial balance Do cross-reading Monitor traffic statistics Track other success indicators Listen to user feedback Web Quality Assurance > Further information Further information available on the web Trainer Contacts: Useful Links http://www.worldusabilityday.org/ www.useit.com www.w3.org www.w3schools.com www.gerrymcgovern.com www.usabilitynet.org FAO & UNESCO Internal Guidelines http://km.fao.org/webguide http://portal.unesco.org/guidelines Anne Aubert anne.aubert@fao.org Stephen Roberts s.roberts@unesco.org Thank you for your attention!
