Benchmarking Web Sites

Brian KellyUKOLNUniversity of BathBath, BA2 7AY

UKOLN is supported by:

EmailB.Kelly@ukoln.ac.ukURLhttp://www.ukoln.ac.uk/

2

A Bit About Me...Brian Kelly:

• UK Web Focus – a JISC-funded post to advise HE and FE communities on Web developments

• Based in UKOLN – a national focus of expertise in digital information management

• Based at the University of Bath• Involved in Web since 1993, while working in

Computing Service at University of Leeds• Strong links with Computing Service and Library

communities• The workshop has been informed by UKOLN’s

WebWatch work and the WebWatch column in Ariadne

3

A Bit About You...Could you turn to your neighbour and ask:

• What do you want to get out of this workshop?

• What do you think benchmarking is?

D

4

Session AimsThis session consists of:

• Hands-on exercises with group discussionsBy the end of the session you should:

• Be able to benchmark your Web site in relation to other sites in your community

• Have had hands-on experience in using auditing and evaluating tools

• Be aware of some of the limitations of this approach

• Have considered other types of benchmarking activity available

5

Benchmarking: A DefinitionBenchmarking is about identifying and measuring best practice processes that work elsewhere and then emulating them.

The aim is to reduce duplication by learning from others who have already found the solution. It is about:

• Understanding your weaknesses• Comparison with your peers

Note that best practices are constantly evolving.

6

Guidelines Available NowYou may feel it important to monitor:

• Compliance with technical standards• Compliance with institutional guidelines• Compliance with (e.g.) Government guidelines

and legislation

You may also wish to make:• Comparisons with your peers• Comparisons with other communities

7

Today’s ExercisesHands-on exercises to evaluate:

• The look and size of your organisation’s home page

• The accessibility of your Web site• The validation of your Web site• How popular your Web site is

How many sites link to it How many people visit it

• How your Web site looks with different browsers

8

The Size of Your Home PageYou can find out the size of your home page using various tools:

• NetMechanic• Bobby

http://www.netmechanic.com/

Ex. B1.1

9

The Look of Your Home PageWhat type of entry point is yours?

A “rolling demonstration” of University entry points is available at:http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/web-focus/site-rolling-demos/universities/

Ex. B1.5

10

Does it Work?It is useful to check key pages for accessibility, validation and functionality.

Web page validators include:

• NetMechanic• Dr Watson• DrHTML - single pages

only• LinkTool• Usable Web• EchoEcho

http://watson.addy.com/

Ex. B2

11

Is it Accessible?• The Bobby Web service can check the

accessibility of individual Web pages• The Bobby Java application can check the

accessibility of Web sites

http://www.cast.org/bobby/

Ex. B2.1, B2.7

12

Are there Broken Links?Monitoring the number of broken links on your Web site is very important

Desktop and Web-based tools are available:

• Xenu • LinkAlarm • Linkguard• Nodeworks• NetMechanic• SiteValet• …

http://www.linkalarm.com/

Ex. B2.6

13

How Popular is Your Site?There are a number of services that will tell you how many pages link to your Web site

• WebSiteGarage

• LinkPopularity

• Netscape’s What’s Related service is used through the Netscape browser

http://www.linkpopularity.com/

Ex.B3.1B3.2

14

Using Other BrowsersDoes your home page (and Web site) work in:

• Netscape very popular in UK HE)

• IE (the most widely used browser)

• Significant (all?) versions and platforms of above

• Lynx (text browser which may be used by visually impaired)

• AnyBrowser • DejaVu

http://www.anybrowser.com/

Ex. B4

15

Comparing StatisticsHit counters have developed into comprehensive Web statistical services that can give immediate feedback:

• Web-based statistical services such as SiteMeter provides information on the whole site

• Nedstat provides information on individual pages

http://www.sitemeter.com/

Ex. B3.4

16

Benchmarking ExercisesYou will:

• Benchmark your Web site in relation to others in your community

• Record your findingsAnd learn about:

• Some of the issues involved when using externally hosted Web tools

• Other benchmarking activities• WebWatch surveys of communities

E

Once you have completed the exercises, report on your findings

17

Home Page Size IssuesThere are certain issues necessary for consideration when using these tools:

• What is a home page? Splash screens Spawning new windows

• Frames• Graphics and graphics folders• Dynamic pages• robot.txt files

See: http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue28/web-watch/

18

How Did Your Home Page Look?Types of entry points:

• Traditional menu structure• Changeable page, with news• Personalised page• Dynamic page • “Splash screens”• Spawning new windows• Pages requiring specialist browser functionality

(e.g. plugins, Java support, etc.)

What type was yours?

19

Other Benchmarking ActivitiesWhat other type of benchmarking activities are useful?

• Monitoring Content Quality and ‘Freshness’• New developments and technologies - scripts, other

markup languages, personalisation• Stress and security• Search engine used on site and 404 pages• Server numbers• Visibility on search engines • Usability e.g. by evaluating user feedback• Performance checkers and Independent testing

services

20

Performance CheckersApplications can be used to check the performance of your Web site but often at a price

• E-Test Suite• Keynote• Somix• Entuity• Prutsman

Keep your eye on:

http://www.w3.org/WAI/ER/existingtools.html

21

Next Generation V.ToolsThere is a need for sophisticated testing tools which:

• Use rules: which allow you to ignore types of errors can output special error messages for personal

errors can be time or area dependant

• Can check all aspects of your Web site - network, machines, processes (code) and individual files

• Can mimic Web browsing behaviour (browsers, cookies, etc.)

Examples of such tools include WebKing, Freshwater Software, WebCriteria, etc.

22

Independent Testing ServicesOccasionally it may be necessary to outsource testing.The benefits of doing so include:

• Saving time and resources• Tapping in to outside expertise and experience

dedicated to testing• Testing tool independence• Objectivity

23

Discussion• What WebWatch surveys would you like to see

carried out? • Is there a need for a government funded

WebWatch-type survey across all institutional Web sites? If so:

– Who should do it? – How comprehensive should it be?– How would it be funded?

• Would you prefer to outsource your testing? • Would you be interested in benchmarking

regionally?

24

Conclusion• Different tools give different results and results

can be limited. The results should be analysed carefully - like statistics

• Independent testing services can be beneficial• Comparison is useful• However a league table is not enough, for this

type of evaluation. To have a point there should be follow up action

Any questions?