Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Website Goals - Portfolio Site

To validate the website using XHTML 1.0 Strict and CSS 2.1
I will validate the site because if the coding is not valid the browser that the site is being viewed in will correct any errors itself. The correction of the errors varies quite a lot between browsers so to achieve better consistency between browsers I will ensure that they are validated.

This could be measured by using the HTML and CSS validators on the W3C website.

To meet priority 1 of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
I want to meet priority 1 of the checklist because this enables a wider range of users to access the information. Features such as “providing a text equivalent for every non-text element” and “organising documents so they may be read without style sheets” make the site much more accessible.

I would be able to measure this goal by simply checking if I had managed to meet each checkpoint.

To have the site usability tested by 5 of my peers and 5 people outside of college
This will enable me to gather vital information on the functionality and the overall impression of the site. I feel that it is important to have it tested to have it tested by both groups of people to reach as wide range of people as possible.

This will be measured by collecting the results from each person tested.

To display my technical expertise by using a variety of technologies
I would like to use XHTML, CSS and PHP in the creation of the website. In addition to the work on the portfolio site this should also help to showcase the skills that I have learnt over the duration of the course. This will also provide a chance to gather further experience with PHP which will be advantageous for the future.

This will be measured by effectively using XHTML, CSS and PHP in the portfolio.

5 comments:

Craig Burgess said...

I think as it stands, your final goal repeats your first goal. Would it not be better to make this goal into a solely PHP one so it doesn't repeat the other goal?

Also, don't forget that there are many 'priority 1's in the guidelines. If you are planning on meeting them all, that would be called Level A Conformance.

Craig Allington said...

When you say '5 people outside of college' is there a set target audience you are looking for? Or is it literally pulling people from the street style?

Marc Pugh said...

Your target audience ideally would be potential clients would it not? They would be your ideal guys to test your site? Don't know how you would manage that though.

Ben Waller said...

Thanks for your comments everyone:

@ Craig B - I agree that turning the last goal into solely using PHP may be more appropriate to avoid repeating myself. I was planning on meeting all of the priority 1 checkpoints so I could change the wording to state "Level A Conformance".

@ Craig A - Ideally this would be tested on 5 potential employers. If this is not possible however it would be a wider range of people.

@ Marc - Potential clients may be a target audience but I would be aiming it more towards potential employers. I think it depends really on what you are looking for after the course, I think if you were to go freelance then potential clients would certainly be the target audience.

Julian Dyer said...

I think the last goal needs a little clarification. I think that currently it is a bit open to interpretation, and that you may need to specify specifically the use of one technology. This will help you to focus on what you will have to learn to achieve it, and will allow you to create the evidence needed to meet that goal.