Unlike resources in print, pages on the World Wide Web have not been evaluated. 
It is easy and cheap to put documents on the web, and they are unregulated and unmonitored.  Therefore, it is important that web users assess the presence of criteria like those mentioned below.  Editors of printed materials use these same criteria to evaluate printed materials.   This process ensures that the standards of a publishing house's reputation are met.  After answering the questions below, if you feel you have a website that is as good as or better than what you could find in a printed published format, then you know you have a winner of a website!


1)   Who is the author of this website?

• What is the biographical information provided (position, address)?
  

• What is the author's e-mail address and phone number in case further information is needed?

2)   What is the name of the larger organization that published the website?

• What is the URL (address) of the the website?

• What is the name of the website?

• Does the URL domain match the name of the site?

3)   Does this website present accurate information?

• Are the sources well-documented?

• Are there working links to more resources within the site?

• How are the words spelled?

4)    How easy is it to navigate the website?

• How is the information shown on the page?

• Is there a way to get back to the home page from another page?  How?

5)   Is the page current enough?

• When was the page made?

• When was the page last updated?

6)   What kind of reputation does this website have?

• What kinds of awards or commendations have been given?

• What search engines link to this website?

7)   Why was this site put on the web?

• What does the title page tell you?

• Is there an introduction?  What information does it provide? 
  

Use this website evaluation guide to assess the quality of the two websites below :