Blog Post #8: Website Analysis

Website: Oneminutenews.com

What is the most important feature of an effective Web site? Why?
The most important feature of an effective website is the ease of navigation.  A website that is cluttered, convoluted or chaotic will cause people to lose interest quickly.  Naturally, people gravitate toward simplicity, and easily deciphered information.  Any data that is presented in an unprofessional manner will not intice people and will cause frustration and ultimately, a lack of effectiveness.
One Minute News (OMN) presents their information in an easy to read, highly accessible format.  I appreciate their sleek design and find it navigable.

What features of hypertext hinder a Web page’s communicative ability?
Hypertext can hinder a website if they don't work.  Sometimes, a website may not maintain their links, leaving the visitor frustrated and without the information that would be most beneficial to have.  Similarly, hypertext on a website must be completely accurate in order for it to function properly.  A mistyped link will result in the failure of a site to load.

What features of hypertext most enhance a Web page’s communicative ability?

When done correctly, a website with hypertext is extremely helpful because it gives immediate access to all the information.  Ultimately, this saves the reader time because they won't have to look up referenced article on their own. Simply clicking through a link will bring them to the text in question, giving them the opportunity to perform their own analyzation.


In the case of OMN, the hypertext links from the homepage straight to the piece that is being highlighted.  Beacuse the links are changing frequently, often more than once a day, it is rare for a link to be nonfunctional. I have been using this website for several months and have yet to discover a link that is broken or leads to a 404 error.