There are rules and guidelines for websites. Even if you don't know these rules, you know when websites break them! They're the obnoxious ones or the ones that are so difficult to read or navigate.
We constantly evaluate our site against the following rules in an effort to continually improve it.
1. Purpose:
What is the purpose of the page and why was it produced?
What goals/objectives does this page meet?
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We explain early on the first page the purpose of our site.
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2. Authority:
Who wrote the page and can you contact them?
What are the persons qualifications?
What opinions (if any) are expressed by the author?
Is the information that is presented cited to the correct sources?
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Who we are and our e-mail addresses are prominently displayed
We hope we explain our amateur status clearly.
When the information we present comes from another source we name that source.
Usually our links go to the direct page. They go to the main page if that has more information or interest.
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Some hints to determine authority:
Where is the document published? Check URL domain/address.
Determine if page is a mask for advertising; if so information might be biased.
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Our URL/address is a free site. Others may be from universities or other knowledgable sites.
We have no real advertising, though some sites, if they are informative, may point to companies.
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3. Quality Content:
How detailed is the information?
When was it produced and could it be outdated?
Does the site have credible, original content?
How up-to-date are the links, are they current or updated regularly and how many dead links are there?
Are the links evaluated and do they stay with the general site theme?
Does it offer valuable, timely information to the user, or just lots of data?
Is the information custom-tailored to user preferences
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Our detail grows as our information grows. What we lack in information we try to make up for in knowledgable site listings. We, as amateur's, can only know a limited amount on any one topic.
Our creation date is listed. We also update often to keep the information fresh and up to date. We don't often put site links on to pages that haven't changed or moved for a long time unless the contect is just way to interesting.
Our original content comes from our original photos and experience.
With so many links it's difficult to no have broken ones but we try to keep them all active. This is a consistently ongoing effort.
We only pick what we believe are the best links and only include them if they have actually helped us to create the site or find knowledge. We believe that if the site has helped us it may help our visitors.
Because we consistently find new things to learn our site grows and changes with more information as we learn it.
We check the questions visitors use to get to our site and try to add information that may help them, and in that way help ourselves and others learn more.
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4. Use:
Is it easy to read?
Does the site load fast?
Is it all images or a balance of text and images?
Does it use graphics sparingly and only if they're needed and relevant to the site?
Is it well-organized?
Is it interactive where the user can go where they want and select what they want?
If the page needs extra software, special browser or a down load to view are you missing information if you don't have it?
Is it free or is there a fee, to obtain the information?
Is the site viewable at 800 x 600 resolution?
Does it have a consistent style and look throughout the site?
Does if have a site index or map page?
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Even when we haven't gone out in the field for a while to discover new things we meddle around with the website to economize on wording or change things around to make it easier to read or find information.
With pictures, audio and video it's difficult to make a fast loading page. We sometimes have to compromise with the photos to make the page faster.
We hope the balance is not only appropriate but also looks nice when viewing it. Photos are placed in specific locations to make reading and viewing a nice experience.
We try to keep our site easy to navigate and often test it for ease of use. We count the number of "clicks" it takes us to get from one place to another and try to keep them down to no more than three. For instance, if you start at the first page it should only take you 1 to 3 clicks to get to the poisonous insects or to any other page on the site.
We adhere to the K.I.S.S. principal. (Keep It Simple) The HTML is easy and uses the minimum of code. There is very little java and no flash. No one needs any quick time plug-in's or anything else to view the pages. Because the website is written so simply it is extremely easy to update and even major updates can take less than an hour.
We always watch the look of this site. Even this red text on this side of the page is here because it balances the red on the left side. We tried blue which is easier to read but red just looks better.
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What NOT to do.
Way to many words.
Unreadable text
Huge pictures and graphics
Long pages
Blinking, twinkling, twirling images in garish colors
Animated gifs, scrolling marquees or other text, flashing or blinking text, etc
Music
Busy background image
Never use an "Under Construction" sign.
Cute or obscure fonts
Using only images as links (use text with the image)
Inconsistent site that changes it's look on other pages.
Automatic pop-up windows
Automatic redirects (use only for a short while to redirect visitors to a moved location and notify them first)
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Don't get too chatty. No one really cares how many times your kid spit up today but they may care about the causes and how to prevent it.
When you use a redirect list the url that you are directing your visitors to and supply a link in case the person doesn't feel like waiting and clicks on the link or your redirect doesn't work.
Be careful that your text contrasts with the background and is an easy to read font. This red pushes the envelope a bit but it's a sacrifice to the look of the site.
Be real careful of not just the load speed of your graphics but the size as well. You can't lay out huge pictures in a nice or pleasant page arrangement. No one wants to move their scroll bars to see a piece of a picture, they want to see the entire picture at once.
There's a delicate balance between clicking forever to get somewhere and scrolling down a long page. If it takes us too many spins of our scroll button we'll split the page up. The birds section was once a long scroll page and is now separated into different pages. The alligator page is getting very close to needing splitting but we're reluctant to do it yet. If the subject matter of the page all connects together you should keep it together. There are also other ways to handle a long page. The Visitor's Questions page grew too long to find information quickly so we developed links within the page it's self to make navigation easier. This may be the way we'll go with the alligator page.
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