What differentiates a useful
and pleasing website from an unsatisfactory one? Is it the color scheme? The
layout? The organization? While there are many ways to distinguish a good
website from a bad one, the best way is to decide based on the features the
site offers, the colors, and the usability within the website. With these three
keys used in the right way, the http://campus.asu.edu/tempe website has been
and will continue to be successful in aiding those who come to the ASU Tempe
campus all jumbled and confused as to where they reside.
Users
of this http://campus.asu.edu/tempe can find out anything they need to know
about the ASU Tempe campus quickly and efficiently. With just one simple click the website can
take the user to the campus map where one can take a virtual tour, find certain
buildings, or find out where the nearest parking structure is. This allows for
newcomers and visitors to find out where they need to go. Students who go to this page can also find
their way to find information about housing and student life, which is
essential to a Freshman in college trying to acclimate to the new surroundings
and ultimately new life they are about to endure. This is very beneficial for
students as it allows them to find out any information about payments and
information about their residence hall. Finally, there is a convenient feed
among the website, displaying news and events that are currently or will be
future on the beautiful Tempe campus.
This is important for all as it allows everybody in the community to be
updated about what is happening at ASU’s Tempe campus.
One of the main
and key characteristics of a good website is an ascetically pleasing layout. Choosing the color scheme of a website can be
very crucial, and can be a “make it or break it” type of decision. What’s behind the colors has a much deeper
meaning than few tend to realize because it is such a common sense to
many. The Tempe Campus website has many
colors, all containing meaning, but one of the main colors that is used is
black, this color “portrays a sense of stability and strength”, states “Precision
Intermedia”, as a marketing company explains the psychology behind colors. These factors can be very beneficial while
designing a website because it allows the user to navigate and utilize the
website at peace without having to worry about the effectiveness they will
really obtain from using it. By giving off a sense of stability the color black
would make the reader feel as though they would be more reliant on this site
which can be very powerful. Another main
color that is used in the website is red. The color red gives off a “flamboyant
energy to the human eye,” as stated in the article, “Precision Intermedia.” Although red can come off as a “lovey” or
“soft” color, it also comes off very bright and tends to draw attention to
itself which can be useful when displaying information that is meant to be seen
by all users. The use of the color red greatly helps a website grab the user’s
attention. For example, on the Tempe Campus website, red is used in flowers to
give the sense of ease and comfortableness and draws you into the site making
you want to read it. This aspect of
flowers also helps relay a sense of relaxation to the campus which is what the
website is ultimately used for in terms of digitally relaying the feelings of
Tempe as best as possible. The last
highly used color throughout the website is white, which portrays purity and
important aspects within the website. Also, this shows the neutrality of the
site which helps with those who don’t agree with everything the site makes
ASU’s Tempe campus out to be. The color white makes the site more trustworthy
to the reader without them really knowing what the campus is all about. It is
also important to note that this color scheme is also the colors of the
school. One can reason that those who
view this site have a connection to the school and therefore appreciate and are
pleased by the colors. “Changing the
Face of Education,” reads in the bottom right corner of the webpage in white,
which really shows that ASU is all about education, not just fun. With all these colors playing a huge role in
the success of this website, they are just a sliver of the whole pie.
Usability is a
tremendous key aspect in designing a website. Future ASU Tempe “on-goers”
attempting to utilize the site will not tolerate the site if it has many
usability errors, such as links not working and other technical issues, which
can repel many intelligent future students. The
Tempe Campus website excels in this category greatly, as all the links work
well without question, and in order to get where you intend to it comes very
easy, starting with the main links in the bottom right corner which act as the
stump of the tree to branch out into branches and leaves as it gets more in
depth to the information the user might be looking for. These links are not too detailed, but detailed
enough to where if the user is looking for something in particular, it would be
easy to choose the main category to find it in.
Another shining aspect of this webpage is the virtual map of the campus. This is a key component because it lets users
have a sneak peak of the map while letting them know if they happen to need
more detail about certain locations, they can click a simple fast link to take
them to it. Even though these functions
are very intricate and it seems there can’t possibly be any better ones, those
are just a couple of the many user-friendly items campus.asu.edu/tempe has in
store.
The campus.asu.edu/tempe website has clearly demonstrated
its purpose through its appearance. It has demonstrated that it is purely to be
an informational resource for students, faculty and everybody in the community.
It is written in a mostly sanserif font with the exception of a few words which
can have a monstrous impact on the website. This demonstrates the site’s desire
to be taken seriously as well as to be seen as a legitimate service, where as a
serif font would make it look more appealing and all about the fun aspect of college,
which is not necessary as it has other features that improve its appeal, all
while sacrificing some of the contents legitimacy.
Unfortunately, for users there are some minor,
insufficient problems with the ASU Tempe campus website. One problem being that
when you first arrive at the website there is no main focal point, which can
lead the user to believe it is a very unorganized and unplanned out website.
You are first presented with four equally sized boxes, which can be confusing
to the eye as it has nowhere to naturally look first. The font, while
appropriate, is on the small side; Thus making it difficult for the visually
impaired and really most people in general to see without making a decent
effort. Another problem with this website as mentioned above there is a box
with information about upcoming events and other news about the campus. However
this box is not updated as much as it should be, which also gives off the
impression that the site is confusing and not up-to-date. Two of the three
stories are the same as they were when we first visited the site almost three
weeks ago. This could be problematic if someone is in need of information and
goes to view the site but are misled with out of date information, ultimately
making them out of date. Finally, at least one of the links appears to be
misleading. It is labeled “student life” and when you click it takes you to a
promotional video that talks about the faculty and staff being great and about
the choice in the degrees that students have to choose from as well as the
other programs that ASU has to offer.
These problems, although, very miniscule, obviously as shown above can
have a huge negative impact on a website as can the miniscule good things can
have a positive impact on the website.
While
many may argue that these are not the most important aspects of a website, it
is self-evident that these traits are indeed among the most important, as the
colors entice the viewers while the usability makes it even more appealing to
viewers, while the only way to keep viewers coming back is the reliable
information that is presented through the features of the website. The
campus.asu.edu/tempe website embodies all of these characteristics which is why
it is one of the best, most user friendly, websites in the community; and will
always help the future student as he or she enters into the whole new,
uncomfortable life we call college.
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