Website Critique The Drudge Report

M.J. Banks

Overview1. Introduction

2. Appearance

3. Reletivity

4. Content

5. Presision

6. Image Quality/Quantity

7. SEO

8. Layout Concerns

9. Layout Suggestions

10.Review/Predictions

Introduction

• A good website ensures that its visitors have the best experience possible, in spite of technical aspects created, a user will likely spend mere seconds assessing a page without scrolling and make their decision instantly.

• Each site is built with a targeted audience in mind, www.drudgereport.com targets a demographic of news seekers, and is political.

Appearance

Appearance (design)

• A single page website,

divided into three

columns, each

sectioned by story.

Notice that each

section has a topical

image, succeeded by

descriptive links.

Relevance

• Keeping relevant with current issues. Date accessed, 25 March 2013. Topics include:

-Easter (current holiday)

-Scandals

-Civil Unrest

-Media Scrutiny

-Politics and Entertainment

-International Conflicts

Content

• The site's popularity is regulated by relevant and interesting information.

• Readers can easily click-thru to the parts they are seeking (convenience).

• Information isn't difficult to locate, active-links, correct-links, alt tags display the hyperlink, all links are labeled. Link color and visited link color, are the same, black.

• Drudge Report has no sponsored content other than ads it seems.

Precision

• Single page design. www.drudgereport.com

• Keywords: Site is primarily text based.

• Descriptions: All links double as descriptions

• Titles: Sections all go untitled without necessity.

Image Quality/Quantity: 1

Image Quality/Quantity: 2

• Having images on the site improves navigation or assuages perception. The images used seem to be of a good quality when browsing the site, and to copy and paste in PPT.

Current President

North KoreanDictators Panda Fertillity

News

SEO: Can you Google it?

Design Problems

• Layout issueso No email subscription serviceo RSS-feed links are dated forms of update serviceso The layout is reminiscent of most html-based sites

popular to the early 1990s

Layout Suggestions

• Separately divided into multiple pages by topic, news sections can be provided with a page/post comment system, as are many/most blogs given.

• A discussion forum, a place for feedback from site vistors to influence the political learnings of the site to their requests.

Review & Predictions

• Does the site:o Increase sales? Yeso Build brand awareness? Yeso Improve/build customers relationships? Yes

DrudgeReport.com optomizes the conversation of visitors into fans by having such a simple interface, objective knowledge is readily availible, and opinions are made from blunt news advertisment by topical trending issues with a human spin, despite the basic html format.

Conclusion

• News aggregation services are aplenty, example news.google.com, or twitter, but the simple aggregate sites are becoming rare.

• Drudge headlines, October 2008:

The Drudge Report Report