Running head: WEBSITE ARCHITECTURE ANALYSIS-NOTRE DAME 1

Website Architecture Analysis-Notre Dame Name Institution

WEBSITE ARCHITECTURE ANALYSIS-NOTRE DAME 2 Website Architecture Analysis Introduction The architecture of any website determines its effectiveness in achieving the goals it was intended to achieve. When a website is being designed, numerous factors need to be considered to ensure that a website is usable and easily navigable. This is important because the central focus of any website is the users and therefore the website needs to be user oriented. This paper will analyze the architecture of the Notre dame university website. Access to Information The university website has been well organized and information is easy to find. For instance, they have categorized the different information into groups and if one needs information about becoming students at the university, they can click on the future students tab and it will provide a drop down list of all the information a prospective student would require. This makes it easy for a new website visitor to find the information they need without having to search through the entire website (University of Notre Dame, n.d). The naming of the menu items on the website also ensures that a person understands what information is stored under every category. They have used clear and simple wording that ensures that all the users understand the different categories and the information that is stored under it. For instance they have categories like future students and current students, any visitor to the website understands what that means and will be able to navigate through the different areas that are of interest to him (University of Notre Dame, n.d). Scenarios of Use.

WEBSITE ARCHITECTURE ANALYSIS-NOTRE DAME 3 This website allows the potential students to access information about how to join the university, the location of the university as well as the fees that are charged to students for the different courses. In addition to this, the potential students can also download the application forms which they will fill and submit to the university (University of Notre Dame, n.d). Current students at the university can access the universitys online library from the website. This facility enables the students to access articles, journals as well as eBooks from the online library. The students log into the library using their university credentials and can proceed to search for different online resources that have been put at their disposal (University of Notre Dame, n.d). The staff at the university can access their official email services from the website. They can access their email and other facilities that they have been given rights to. Vacancies are also advertised on the website and job seekers can access information about the open positions at the university and the details of the required qualifications. They job seekers can also download PDF documents with the details of the positions that have been advertised. These PDF documents also have the application forms that will be used in the job applications (University of Notre Dame, n.d). The website provides information to the general public about the facilities in the university and people who want to hire some of the universitys halls for venues can also access the information of the various venues that are available. Alumnus of the university can also keep in touch with the universitys news using the facilities that have been provided in the website (University of Notre Dame, n.d). Accessibility of the site

WEBSITE ARCHITECTURE ANALYSIS-NOTRE DAME 4 The websites URL is short and simple and short. This ensures that the users can easily remember the URL. The website also allows for one to control it by the use of a keyboard and one can tab through different menu items. The main accessibility problem with the website is that it does not support visually impaired users. It lacks facilities that can convert text to speech. Functionality of the website The links that are provided in the different WebPages are all fully functional and they all redirect a person to another webpage for instance, there are no broken links on the website. The website also has a search engine in the website. This promotes the websites functionality because the users can perform search functions on the website and they can access the information they require without having to navigate through the website. The only functionality problem with the website is that there is no Home button on any of the pages. This makes it difficult to go back to the main page unless one clicks on the institutional logo (University of Notre Dame, n.d). Does the writing support the architecture? The writing in the website supports the website architecture. This is a university website and the written content should have the potential student in mind. This content is easy to understand and is written in simple language. The tone of the content is conversational and this gives the users a sense of communicating with the university (Princeton University, 2008). Relevance of the spatial references The spatial references enable the user to understand the overall layout of the website. This helps the user get a general overview of the website. In this website, a sitemap has been used to provide an overview of the website to the users. The sitemap is relevant in the website because it

WEBSITE ARCHITECTURE ANALYSIS-NOTRE DAME 5 provides a summary of the web pages and the categories under which they fall (Princeton University, 2008). Ease of access to different facilities The access to various facilities in the website is generally hard. This is because one has to go through more than one page to access some of the facilities that the website offers. For instance, if one wants to learn about the application process, they click on the first link on the main page, the person is then directed to the second page where they have to select the campus. From campus selection, the person is directed to the third page where they can now apply to be a student. This process is long and makes the website navigation process seem complicated (University of Notre Dame, n.d).

Organization of the website to promote Discovery The website has been organized to promote discovery. This has been done by the use of the different categories in the website. The information provided in the website has been grouped into small categories and when a person clicks on a certain category, a dropdown list appears and all the sub menus that are contained in that category are displayed. This helps new users to locate the information they require on the website easily without having to look through different pages (Princeton University, 2008).

Language

WEBSITE ARCHITECTURE ANALYSIS-NOTRE DAME 6 The language that has been used in the website is simple and easy to understand. The naming of the pages, menu items as well as the page titles has been done using simple words. In addition to this, the language that has been used in the page contents is easy to understand and precise. Simple words couples with short sentences have made the content of the website understandable (University of Notre Dame, n.d).

Recommendations. The overall color scheme of the website is not eye-catching. The colors that have been used are dull and this makes the website look dull and unpleasant. A change in the color scheme for the website will give it a vibrant look and will attract visitors to the site. In addition to changing the colors that have been used, the images that have been placed at the bottom of the page could be brought to a prominent position for instance at the top of the page. These images could also be enlarged to ensure that they are clearer. This will promote the overall look of the website (Constantine, 2002). The website looks crowded with too much information on the web pages. This has been caused by the large menu items that are on both sides on the web page. These links make the website content seem too much. I would recommend that the menus be rearranged on the web pages and instead of having them on both sides of the webpage they could all be placed on one side (Constantine, 2002). There is too much empty space on the outside borders of the web pages. This could be reduced and the web content would get more space. The font size and style could also be adjusted

WEBSITE ARCHITECTURE ANALYSIS-NOTRE DAME 7 to improve the look of the content in the website. The font size for instance could be adjusted downwards and this will improve the overall look of the website (Constantine, 2002). The website should provide facilities for students to perform online applications. In this electronic age, universities require online application portals and this website do not have this functionality. An online applications portal will help the university get rid of unnecessary paperwork and will make the student application process more efficient. The application process will also reduce the time that the university takes while performing the short listing of the successful students (Constantine, 2002). The navigation to certain pages is long and you have to click through more than two web pages to access the facility you want. For instance, when a new student is trying to access application forms and learn the application methods, one has to go through two pages to access the information one wants. This can discourage users who want to access the information they are interested in fast. This can be remedied by redesigning the navigation process. For instance if a person wants to learn about the modes of application, they do not have to go through two pages in order to access this information (Constantine, 2002). The sitemap found on the website consists of some technical terms that are not easily understood by a lay man. Due to this, when a person is reading through the sitemap, its easy for them to get confused when they see terms like header comm. engage. I would recommend that the technical terms be simplified to ensure that users understand the various components of the sitemap. Alternatively, the technical areas of the sitemap can be deleted from the sitemap and this will ensure that the website users do not get confused (Constantine, 2002).

WEBSITE ARCHITECTURE ANALYSIS-NOTRE DAME 8 References Constantine, L. (2002). Devilish Details: Best Practices in Web Design. Constantine & Lockwood, Ltd. Retrieved from: http://www.foruse.com/articles/details.pdf Princeton University. (2008). Guide to Creating Website Information Architecture and Content. Princeton edu. Retrieved from: http://www.princeton.edu/communications/services/docs/IAguide2.pdf University of Notre Dame. (n.d). The University of Notre Dame Australia. Apply now. Retrieved from: http://www.nd.edu.au/nav-future-students/how-to-apply