Web Design Best Practices Checklist

taken from Web Devleopment and Design Foundations Book.

URL:
Audience:
Subject:
Developer:

Evaluation Scale
Proficient	Needs Improvement	Missing/ Incomplete	Not Applicable
4	2-3	0-1	N/A

Evaluation Criteria		Points
A. Page Layout
	1. Appealing to target audience
	2. Consistent site header/logo
	3. Consistent navigation area
	4. Informative page title that includes the company/organization/site name
	5. Page footer area -- copyright, last update, contact e-mail address
	6. Displays without horizontal scrolling at 800x600 and higher resolutions
	7. Balance of text/graphics/white space on page
	8. Good contrast between text and background
	9. The repetitive information (header/logo & navigation) take up no more than 1/4 - 1/3 of the browser window at 800x600 resolution.
	10. Home Page has compelling, interesting information "above the fold" (before scrolling down) at 800x600 resolution.
	11. Home Page downloads within 10 seconds on phone connection.
	Page Layout Points Earned
	Page Layout Percentage Divide Points Earned by Total Points Possible (44 - 4 points for each N/A)

B. Browser Compatibility
	1. Displays on current versions of Internet Explorer
	2. Displays on current versions of Chrome
	3. Displays on current versions of Mozilla Firefox
	4. Displays on current version of Other Browsers (as available and appropriate): Safari, ??
	Browser Compatibility Points Earned
	Browser Compatibility Percentage Divide Points Earned by Total Points Possible (16 - 4 points for each N/A)

C. Navigation
	1. Main navigation links are clearly and consistently labeled
	2. Navigation is easy to use for target audience.
	3. If image, Flash, or DHTML is the main navigation, clear text links are in the footer section of the page. (accessibility).
	4. Navigational aids, such as a site map or breadcrumbs, are used.
	5. All navigation hyperlinks work.
	Navigation Points Earned
	Navigation Percentage Divide Points Earned by Total by Points Possible (20 - 4 points for each N/A)

D. Color and Graphics
	1. Use of different colors in page backgrounds/text is limited to a maximum of three or four .
	2. Color is used consistently.
	3. Color has good contrast with associated text.
	4. Color is not used alone to convey meaning (accessibility).
	5. Use of color and graphics enhances rather than distracts from the site.
	6. Graphics are optimized and do not slow download significantly.
	7. Each graphic used serves a clear purpose.
	8. Image tags use the alt attribute to configure alternate text to display if the browser or user agent does not support images (accessibility).
	9. Animated images do not distract from the site and either do not repeat or only repeat a few times.
	Color and Graphics Points Earned
	Color and Grahpics Percentage Divide Points Earned by Total Points Possible (36 - 4 points for each N/A)

E. Multimedia
	1. Each audio/video/flash file used serves a clear purpose.
	2. The audio/video/flash files used enhance rather than distract from the site.
	3. Captions are provided for each audio or video file used (accessibility).
	4. Download times for audio or video files are indicated.
	5. Links to downloads for media plug-ins are provided.
	Multimedia Points Earned
	Multimedia Percentage Divide Points Earned by Total Points Possible (20 - 4 points for each N/A)

F. Content Presentation
	1. Common fonts such as Arial or Times New Roman are used.
	2. Techniques of writing for the Web are used: bullet points, short sentences in short paragraphs, use of white space, etc.
	3. Consistent use of fonts, font sizes, and font colors.
	4. Content provides meaningful, useful, information.
	5. Content is organized in a consistent manner.
	6. Information is easy to find (minimal clicks).
	7. Timeliness: The date of last revision and/or copyright date is accurate.
	8. Content does not include outdated material.
	9. Content is free of typographical and grammatical errors.
	10. Content provides links to other useful sites.
	11. Avoid the use of "Click here" when writing text for hyperlinks.
	12. If standard link colors are not used, all links use a consistent set of colors to indicated visited/nonvisited status.
	13. If graphics and/or media is used to convey meaning, alternate text equivalent of the content is provided. (accessibility).
	Content Presentation Points Earned
	Content Presentation Percentage Divide Points Earned by Total Points Possible (52 - 4 points for each N/A)

G. Functionality
	1. All internal hyperlinks work.
	2. All external hyperlinks work.
	3. All forms function as expected.
	4. No JavaScript errors are generated by the pages.
	Functionality Points Earned
	Functionality Percentage Divide Points Earned by Total Points Possible (16 - 4 points for each N/A)

Summary
	A. Page Layout
	B. Browser Compatibility
	C. Navigation
	D. Color and Graphics
	E. Multimedia
	F. Content Presentation
	G. Functionality
	Final Points Earned
	Final Percentage Divide Final Points Earned by Total Points Possible (204 - 4 points for each N/A)

General Comments: