Charlottesville City Public Schools
- Date Accessed: August 15, 2003
- URL: http://www.ccs.k12.va.us/
- Content: Content is available in the form of links.
Web Standards
- HTML 4 or XHTML validation: DOCTYPE! included for HTML 4, failed with 74 errors.
- Text-Browsing: [INLINE]s and [LINKS] along with usable HTML links in text
- Proprietary Code: Microsoft-generated JScript
- Editor Used: Frontpage 5
- Number of lines of code:202
Even though the DOCTYPE for HTML Transitional was included, the use of Microsoft-specific attributes deny the page to live up to web standards. Curiously, in Mozilla, the page had differenet formatting (see below), in Internet Explorer 5, the page was all centered. Centered looked best, but there's no reason why all the content could not be centered in both browsers if web standards were used.
Usability Concerns
With three main areas for links, the typical user may have difficulty, or waste time, looking around to where to go. The use of the drop-down menu (referred to elsewhere as a 'jump' menu) is novel, for it allows one to cram 50-60 links in one spot, when well organized (perhaps as a listing of states in form). For so few links, it may have been better to simply list them on the front page.
The link and message that "All documents on the CCS site need Adobe Acrobat Reader to be viewed properly" is unneccessary and misleading. For instance, this page: http://www.ccs.k12.va.us/TechSupport/passwords.htm is in HTML and did not require the use of the plugin. It is a convenience to offer the link for Reader on your site, however HTML is preferred in all but the most specific instances where PDF is a necessity.
I would also make the link to the superintendent more clear, as some users will not expect, or not wish, to send e-mail to the superintendent.
Accessibility Concerns
ALT attributes for images, and structural HTML markup would be preferred to aid in reading through non-traditional browsers. The use of the pull-down menu might be problematic on some text-based browsers.
Because the school's address and phone numbers are housed in a graphic, visitors using text-based browsers will not see this information. There's no reason this information cannot be provided in a text-based format on the page.
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Copyright © 2003 by John G. Hendron. All Rights Reserved.