Google vs. Yahoo

Web Site Appraisal: Google vs. Yahoo! Jeffrey E. Collins  BiblioTech  The University of Arizona  November 2006 Web Site Appraisal 2 Introduction It goes without saying that there are a multitude of Web sites on the Internet. What may be a little less obvious to the untrained eye is the preponderance of poorly designed, inefficient, or nonfunctional Web sites. This white paper will briefly discuss general criteria for evaluation of a Web site by focusing on two Internet search engines, Google (www.google.com) and Yahoo! (www.yahoo.com), as illustrative case studies. This evaluation will then allow you to establish an effective and user-friendly Web site. This white paper may come in handy for SIRLS students as they develop their professional ePortfolios. The content of a Web site is the most important predicator of value. However, there are also several other key factors in determining whether a site will be successful in accomplishing its goals. These include usability, design, consistency, navigation, and simplicity. The analysis of Google in comparison to Yahoo! contributes much to the understanding of what makes an effective Web site. Web Site Evaluation Criteria The design of a Web site benefits from the studies of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI). HCI is the academic discipline that investigates the interface between humans and computers. As a result, certain aspects of HCI, such as the organization of information, information architecture, and the management of information are all critical components of the design process. The usability of resources and the design of the interface are increasingly important as well (Head, 2000). The most important considerations for the evaluation of Web sites include design, content, and navigation. However, other useful concepts deal with accessibility, graphics/text/color and backgrounds, and search capabilities. High-quality Web sites have certain traits in common. Most important among these is the content of the site. A site that features useful content generally attracts users, regardless of how well or how poorly it is designed. In developing your Web site, it is critical that you are aware of the purpose, tasks, environment, and available technology of the potential user, in order to attract the user and better meet their needs. Understanding and implementing these Jeffrey E. Collins – University of Arizona – November 2006 Web Site Appraisal 3 tools will enable you to create a valuable Web site that will, in turn, enhance your business capabilities. The following is a brief list of some of the more common components of effective Web site design and user interface:      Content (the most important aspect of the Web site) Usability (how easy is the interface to use) Simplicity (easy for the user) Advertisements (best option is to have no advertisements) Cross platform design (different users have different forms of technology and computer settings such as fonts and screen resolution)    Consistency (ensure all pages are similar) Response times (the quicker the better) Navigation (ensure that it is easy for the user to move around on the site) Google vs. Yahoo! Two popular Web sites that offer insight into how a site should be developed are Yahoo! and Google. Each of these sites serves similar functions and share many comparable characteristics. However, despite these similarities, Google is a better example of a welldesigned and useful Web site for a multitude of reasons, which shall be discussed in detail. Interface, Design, and Layout The most obvious difference between these two Web sites is the interface, layout, and design of the pages. Google offers a very clean and simplistic interface, whereas Yahoo!’s is busy and cluttered. Simplicity is one of the best estimators of whether a Web site is aesthetically pleasing, and a simple design should always be used to avoid complexity and confusion to the user. When a user is not bombarded with excessive text and images, they will feel more at ease and comfortable while using your Web site. Ultimately, a simplified interface means that the Web site will be accessible to all types of people with different skill levels, thus increasing the potential for a significant user return. Jeffrey E. Collins – University of Arizona – November 2006 Web Site Appraisal 4 Another key aspect of design and usability is defining or understanding the purpose of the Web site. Due to the simplistic nature of the Google Web site, it is quickly apparent to the user that the purpose of the site is for searching. The user is immediately drawn to the center of the screen where information about the Web site is readily available. In stark contrast, Yahoo!’s home page is a jumbled mess. It can be unclear to the user what the main purpose of the Yahoo! main site is. In addition to a search bar at the top of the site, there are also multiple boxes of information and advertisements, as well as a multitude of links to other Yahoo!-related sites such as email and music. This, in effect, means more information has to be passed over the Internet, resulting in slower response times for the site. A key indicator of a useful Web site is one that is not only easy to use, but also clearly states the purpose of the site, a type of digital affordance for the Web site. Google accomplishes this in both its design and its layout. The use of white space in a Web site is also an important facet of usability. Typically, content should make up fifty to eighty percent of the site’s design (Nielsen, 2000). Google reverses this trend by utilizing white or empty space for the majority of its home page. As a result, Google succeeds in creating a clean interface that quickly allows the user to understand the purpose of the site. In comparison, Yahoo! devotes very little empty or white space to the site. The consequence is a poor design interface and an overall unclear purpose for the Web site. Advertisements Advertising is a necessary feature of many Web sites. However, most users see advertisements as a nuisance. As such, it is important to avoid advertisements as much as possible. This is especially true of any large visual advertisements and especially pop-up advertisements. Both Google and Yahoo! utilize text-based and low-intrusion advertisements when a search is initiated. However, Yahoo! makes use of several other types of visual advertisements through its Web site, which ultimately do not reflect the needs of the user. Advertising should not be an issue for the student’s professional ePortfolio. Jeffrey E. Collins – University of Arizona – November 2006 Web Site Appraisal 5 Consistency Consistency is a significant element of Web site design. Although both Yahoo! and Google offer many of the same features (email, news, and search), the internal pages of each respective Web site are drastically different. Google continues with its theme of clean interface throughout every one of its Web pages. This has the effect of uniformity and consistency. Yahoo!, on the other hand, has drastically different pages in its Web site. For example, Yahoo! Autos looks completely different than Yahoo! Music or Yahoo! News. Each channel maintains a link to the main Web site, but ultimately, there is little consistency within the Yahoo! Web site. Navigation and Usability A final element of successful Web site design is the navigation and usability of the Web site. When designing a site, it is essential to create pages that can be viewed by multiple users with access to multiple technologies. Not everyone has the same size monitor, not everyone uses the same Internet browser, and not everyone utilizes the same font type or size. Thus, it is imperative that one keeps the user in mind in developing a functional Web site that can be accessed and used by all. Finding your way through a Web site should be relatively easy to do. Utilize devices such as breadcrumb trails (strings of text), headers or footers, and tabbed browsing to further alleviate the confusion of navigating a Web site. Some of these devices may not be available utilizing Drupal for the student’s ePortfolio. Conclusion Designing an effective Web site can be a daunting task. However, if one follows the tenants and principles outlined here, a successful Web site can be developed. By comparing two similar sites (Google and Yahoo!), valuable insight is gained into effective Web site design. Most importantly, provide valuable content, utilize a clean interface and layout, and keep the user in mind. For students, creating an ePortfolio can be a daunting task. Utilizing a few of these guidelines will, hopefully enable the student to create a thorough and effective ePortfolio. Jeffrey E. Collins – University of Arizona – November 2006 Web Site Appraisal 6 Resources Head, A. J. (2000). Design Wise: A Guide for Evaluating the Interface Design of Information Resources. New Jersey: Cyber Age Books. Nielsen, J. (2000). Designing Web Usability. Indianapolis: New Riders Publishing. SIRLS ePortfolio Web site. http://eportfolio.sbs.arizona.edu/drupal/ SIRLS ePortfolio Web site competencies. http://eportfolio.sbs.arizona.edu/node/87 SIRLS ePortfolio Web site reflections. http://eportfolio.sbs.arizona.edu/node/70 Jeffrey E. Collins – University of Arizona – November 2006