The website content does not clearly state the type of product sold or the nature of products. The color scheme is mainly red, with minimum creativity to make the page attractive. There is an attempt to advertise Christmas products and holidays, but the adverts are located away from the cover page hence not immediately accessible to customers. The information is shallow, just stating the activities in bulletin form. The pictures are limited to the top of the page instead of spreading neatly to form a cluttered surface on the page at the top while the bottom of the page is unutilized (United Way Cape Breton, 2013).
In terms of context, the site is clear for a viewer with white spaces making the content more visible. The site contains information on some of the projects that United Way Cape Breton engages in, such as the youth center that provides a safe space to have fun as well as an educational environment to learn and socialize. The provision of basic needs to move people out of poverty and health provision is among the priority issues of the organization. However, clear information on how it is achieved is missing (United Way Cape Breton, 2013).
According to the information provided, there are pictures of project beneficiaries and social workers. There is the monotony of red color and other shades making it less appealing to clients who visit the site. A few adverts are placed strategically for prospective customers with a Christmas advert appearing on the home page. This is an indication that though this site is meant for commercial purposes, a regular update is lacking on the site. Overemphasis on donating makes the site appear to be a scam engaging in soliciting funds but failing to account effectively for the money as indicated by the tag “charity facts not available” present on the site, on our stories page. This indicates the lack of accountability since the organization has been in existence since 1959.
Content is limited to descriptive literature and pictures showing projects. The pictorial arrangement is not well organized to create a flow of activities. For instance, the home page and the main picture on it are social workers wearing the organization’s shirts and some other pictures where people are holding conversations. Lack of graphics such as videos and audio links indicates underutilization of site capacity to avail details for users and other partners as a motivation for continued loyalty (United Way Cape Breton, 2013).
United Way Cape Breton community members are allowed to access further details about the organization and other members by creating user accounts. The use of logins allows for user-user communication. Users may personalize their profile details but not the overall look of the site giving limited flexibility. English is the only language of communication, making the site inaccessible to users using other languages despite them being used by the majority, such as French, Latin, and German, among others. Linkage is limited to adverts on the site and Facebook link. Limited adverts indicate low commercialization and possible low user traffic. The adverts are not relevant to the season, indicating poor management (United Way Cape Breton, 2013).
Based on this, I would evaluate the site as follows:
The site is below average in terms of effectiveness for a commercial site. I would not recommend it to a friend looking for a site that offers a variety of consumer goods.
References
United Way Cape Breton (2013). Web.
United Way Cape Breton (2013). Our stories. Web.
United Way Cape Breton (2013). Donation at work. Web.
United Way Cape Breton (2013). Our stories. Web.
United Way Cape Breton (2013). About. Web.