WEBSITE REVIEW- final assignment

The website I desired to review was that of the Jamaica Observer. This website is the online version for the newspaper; the website also has a link to its affiliate newspapers, ‘CHAT!’ and ‘TeenAge’. The website which is jamaicaobserver.com has recently been given a face-lift; thus, has received a more modern, welcoming look. Along with these improvements the website is also easier to navigate and use due to new add ons and different outlines.

When one takes up a newspaper it is divided into sections or is very organized. Thus, when one seeks to read the paper online they expect the same ease (or even more) that reading the physical paper provides. Therefore certain sections should be easy to find and specific articles should be easily located. The new design/ layout of the website provides for this. The different sub-headings of the newspaper are listed on the home page. A brief list of the articles enclosed in each section is also listed. To add to the more modern design and to further appeal to the online reader’s attention, a slide show showing different articles in different sections of the paper has been added (inclusive of pictures). This slide show screen is strategically placed at the top of the page, and is the first thing that one sees on the page and to be honest it did catch my attention. To showcase some sort of technological versatility they have also added a video bar, although it is just being used to advertise the ‘Chat!’ newspaper it has the potential to showcase a variety of other things, which the reader anticipates. The addition of these extra visual enhancements enhances the online reader’s experience and shows that the company is experimenting with ways to further enrich the online experience.

The design which now includes a white background with a variation of red, black and blue text brightens the page and the reader’s outlook of the paper. Colours make much of a difference as this white is in direct contrast to the dark blue that was the background colour before the new design; and this is more welcoming. I used to be really turned off by reading the Jamaica Observer online, the dark blue turns off potential readers; this white background is much more welcoming. The improved layout is also a plus, as it makes the task of the reader easier. Now the online reader doesn’t have to go through all the different sections and search for what they want to read as it is clearly presented on the front page (from which there are links that navigate to the specific page you desire). The colour and layout transformation along with the other improvements has enhanced my experience with this website and has definitely made it a better one.

However, with every good thing comes the bad. Although I am enthralled by the improvement made to the website the search engine needs to be addressed. It is very difficult to search for past articles on this website. The presentation of the day’s paper is splendid, however to find an article from a previous copy of the paper is very difficult. I had been searching for an entertainment piece from the newspaper’s online resource and after numerous hours of searching I ended up going to their office and manually going through the archives to find the piece. The search facility needs to be upgraded as well. A good addition would be to have an archive section where the entire copy of previous publications can be accessed; at this time one can only access the specific article that he/she searched for from a previous newspaper copy.