Mac
Purpose
This product page introduces consumers to Apple latest product, the Mac OS X operating system Tiger.
It provides consumers with a comprehensive overview of most of the features available on Mac OS X Tiger.
However, their main goal here is to generate publicity for both their latest operating system as well as the pending release of the Mac OS X Leopard and ultimately, creating a substantial interest in consumers to purchase the Mac OS X Tiger online.
Target Audience
Basically, there are two main groups of audiences.
They are the Budding Apple worshippers who are constantly aware of the pending release of Mac OS X Tiger. These users already have prior knowledge about the product and are looking out for new features that would interest them to buy the product online.
Another group of audience is the Tech Savvy Netcizens who are intending to upgrade / switch their current operating systems to Apple but who do not have any prior knowledge about the product. Hence, they are relying on this web site / page to provide them with the features of the product.
Overall Web Design
aThe page title is descriptive and consistent with the titles in the content area.
a Clearly differentiate navigation elements from one another, Navigation elements are grouped (high-level topic areas across the top of the page) and consistently placed across the Web site.
aThese click able tabs look just like tabs found in office filing cabinets.
aThe width of the top panel are wide enough to clearly present links and navigation information, but narrow enough so that they do not dominate the page, allowing the user to recognize them as navigation and content panels.
aThese logos and their placement remain constant throughout the Web site.
a Text equivalents [alt tag] are used for the navigation tags.
r This Web page provides only the logo link to the main homepage [click able Apple logo at the top]. While many users expect that a logo will be click able, many other users will not realize that it is a link to the homepage. Moreover the sub homepage is located at the bottom-most of the page.
R: By having a sub homepage (Home link placed in one of the tabs instead).
r However, some of these tab labels are not as descriptive which leaves the user in doubt about the type of information available on the destination pages.
r For example, some users may not know the meaning of [switch, midgets]
a Concise tagline [Mac OS X on Intel] is used to help users understand what Apple is selling.
r There are too many passive white spaces [the blank areas between the images and the text] surrounding the display of the large Mac OS X Tiger image. As a result, important information is not made visible above the fold and that may require users to scroll unnecessarily.
R: Removing the redundant white spaces surrounding the image so that most of the content is visible without scrolling.
aThe navigation options for the product page are also placed at the top center of the Web page to facilitate users finding the information.
r However, the Page length is too long. As a result, important information is not made visible above the fold.
R: A shorter page should be used for this homepage so that most content is visible without scrolling.
a Descriptive first sentences set the tone for each of these paragraphs, and provide users with an understanding of the topic of each section of text.
aThese Category labels are also clear and distinct, allowing users to distinguish paths quickly.
aA good design choice, Text links only cover one line and unvisited links are shown in blue, and visited links are shown in purple.
Graphics
aText equivalents [alt tag] are used for the images.
r However, there are too many eye-candy.
r The placement of images cluttered the display of information and disrupts the justification of the paragraphs. In addition, it is visually distracting, drawing the users attention from the sites content.
R: We should use text links rather than image links.
r A point to note is that not all of the images that accompanied the text are click able. As a result, users may be confused about the clickability of the images.
R: The addition of labels is essential for a user to understand the click able image links.
r The page is too dense with information, thus it does not allow for quick scanning.
r In addition, there are too many passive white spaces wrongly placed at the sides.
R: The web page should have a moderate amount of active white space in-between the text and graphics area.
r Formatting text into narrow columns with very short line lengths will slow users reading speeds.
R: We should try to choose more appropriate line length; roughly 100 characters per line to obtain faster reading speeds.
r In this example, the user must read the surrounding text to gain clues as to the links destination. In many cases, users will not read that text.
a Users tend to ignore the text that surrounds each embedded link; therefore, do not create embedded links that use the surrounding text to add clues about the links destination.
Clarity / Brevity
r There is too much prose text on this web page.
R: Limit Prose Text on Navigation Pages
rUndefined headings [Dash Board Center, Automator Center] may leave users confused regarding the link contents or purpose.
R: The designer should define each acronym and abbreviation on the page.
rThe writer assumes that the reader understands some of the technical terms used [PDF, RSS].
R: Use links to provide definitions and descriptions to clarify technical concepts
For example, provide links to glossary definitions, and sections dedicated to providing more information.
r The search capability should not be placed at the bottom of the page.
Credibility
Web readers do not appreciate excessive use of marketese.
r Negative examples: [Its here. Its real. Its amazing.], [Worlds most advance operating system], and [youll enjoy 21st century innovations before anyone else].
