Augusta County Public Schools
- Date Accessed: August 24, 2003
- URL: http://www.augusta.k12.va.us/
- Content: Content is not available on the homepage.
Web Standards
- HTML 4 or XHTML validation: DOCTYPE! was not included.
- Text-Browsing: All links not available in text form; [INLINE] images found at bottom of page
- Proprietary Code: HV Menu
- Editor Used: Claris Home Page, Microsoft Front Page
- Number of lines of code:76
The use of a Javascript menu blocks users out of the rest of the site.
Usability Concerns
I purposely placed a picture here, showing why drop-down, Javascript menus are a poor choice for navigation within a website: they cover up potential content. The choice for menus is also curious; why is "Instruction" under "Central Office" with e-mail addresses? E-mail addresses should not be included as links within a drop-down menu structure, alongside links to other documents.
What might we find under miscellaneous? Clearly, a reorganization of the menu system is due on Augusta's site. While some options are available by sliding over, others do not offer 2nd level choices. This menu system breaks usability conventions: when sub-options are available, the option you slide away (or over) from, should not itself be a clickable link. These are.
Curiously, the statement below: "it is the policy [...] to comply with all applicable state and federal laws regarding non-discrimination [...], yet the page is inaccessbile to users with non-traditional browsers.
I did not consider the legal notices content. If necessary, they should go on a separate page. Authentic content ought to be on the front page, instead.
Accessibility Concerns
This is what a text viewer displays the top of the page as:
True, it doesn't support "script" but we ought to at least have an ALT attribute
with the title of the site. Including titles in graphics only blocks a true
title for the page, for users with non-traditional browsers. No links are
available on the front page for users of text-based browsers.
Return to Operation Deconstruction and examine other sites.
Copyright © 2003 by John G. Hendron. All Rights Reserved.