The Brainerd High School website is a fairly representative example of most high school websites, so we’ve chosen it for this week’s initial feedback test. This is what the site looked like at the time of the test:
Brainerd High School

What Does This Website Do?

  1. The website provides information about Brainerd High School. The site lists everything a student or a parent would need to know what is in progress and who to contact for further information. It also links other schools in the district.
  2. This website gives information for students attending Brainerd High School. Information for parents such as when open house will be held is also useful. Class scheduling is available for all to see.
  3. It’s a website for Brainerd High School to communicate to students.
  4. This website provides information about Brainerd High School that would be necessary or needed for parents, students, faculty and the community.
  5. A website for a public high school, provides information to students, alumni and thier family as well as the community
  6. This is the website for Brainerd High School. It gives school information about staff, departments, clubs, athletics, school schedule and calendar,etc.
  7. It is a high school website. It has schedules and current events.
  8. This seems to be the official website of Brainerd High School. This site gives detailed information about the school, news and announcement relating to school activities.
  9. It’s a school website that provides information that students or prospective students may need.
  10. Informs students and parents on the goings on at Brainerd High School, and help to keeps everyone up to date. It also seems to be extremely informative about the high school, and encouraging for anyone who is considering attending the school.

There was little doubt that the reviewers would know the purpose of the website.

What do they like about it?

Best Current Feature

  1. I like the 2009/2010 school calandar link, my kids’ school does not have that on their website.
  2. The “student connections.”
  3. At a glance, students, faculty and parents can obtain the most pressing and current news–classes, schedules, open houses and contact information for the school.
  4. The menu on the left hand side for navigation.
  5. Listing of the events for the current day is a great feature. Adding the link to full calendar directly underneath is a good design choice. I also like the student/school pictures at the top.
  6. Today’s events are prominantly displayed on the front page, as are contact numbers.
  7. I love having all the links on the left side of the page. This is a very detailed menu which means I can get to the specific information I want quickly.
  8. The best current feature of this web page is the “Student Connections”.
  9. The links given on the left are really helpful. They help people find relevant information relating to the school.
  10. The School Tour because it’s an actual layout of the entire school, and would be very helpful to new students. Additionally, the map is directional and color coded.

Some reviewers appreciate the design choices; the left side menu provides quick and easy access to the site’s pages. Others appreciate the content choices, providing students and parents with more than just announcements and staff contacts. The website editors have done a good job utilizing available tools to allow students to get acquainted with the school prior to attending, and all throughout their attendance.

What would they like to see improved?

1 Thing to Improve

  1. The only thing I don’t like is the page is too narrow.
  2. The print could be larger for easier reading.
  3. Provide relevent content that is aligned to the classroom curriculum.
  4. This web page could best be improved by using a different font size and type face. The size is too small and the letters in the menu titles down the left side seem to be crowded together. This might be due the background color behind those titles though. Also, a lot of white space as you scroll down the page.
  5. Prioritize the information and rearrange the front page.
  6. I would put a link specifically for PSAT and SAT information. I’d have a section for practice end-of-course testing.
  7. Have as much information as possible regarding colleges and universities.
  8. I would love to see some intro at the top and ‘School dates’ shifted a bit below to create space. Some more pictures of the school will be preferable and instead of listing the BHS class schedule at the bottom, you can have a clickable link which shows this schedule.
  9. Maybe have a student featured article.
  10. I think if you made the website a bit more interactive, and/or changed the font to something less boring and altered the color scheme it would grab your attention more efficiently.

Most of the suggestions are related to the layout; larger, easier to read font, less white space, a wider middle column, and a different color scheme. The height appears to be fixed, so if there isn’t enough content to fill the space above the footer, there will be some unnecessary scrolling and a large, blank space. This could also give the impression there could be some kind of content in that space that just isn’t loading, which is not an impression you want to give.

I agree with the reviewers that the font size should be increased, not just for easier reading, which is very important, but also for continuity. There are multiple font sizes and types all throughout the page, which is distracting and messy. Column titles should be consistent, and column content should be consistent. Additionally, any website not marketing products to young children should avoid Comic Sans.

These are very slight adjustments to the layout, but if they made the changes and re-ran the site for feedback, they could see how much of a difference they would make.