FREE ESSAY ON WEBSITE ANALYSIS

WEBSITE ANALYSIS

The Rhode Island Department of the Attorney General' s Website is very easily accessed
through any Internet provider. The domain address for this site is
Http://www.riag.state.ri.us. This site was just uploaded in June when Sheldon Whitehouse
took office. The site was completely re designed. When the home page is opened, the
background is a soft white. The logo for the attorney generals office is a banner across
the top of the page. The page shows a small picture of the Sheldon Whitehouse, the
attorney general of Rhode Island. The site links are on the left side of the page. These
links are broken-down into three categories: The Department, Divisions, and Public
Information. Current news is down the right side. Under neither the picture of Sheldon
Whitehouse are some other bulleted links. Below that is a contact line that encourages
questions and comments. Along the bottom of the page is a navigation bar that gives the
user access to any of the links along the left side of the page.
Graphics and Design
The home page is has a classic WebPages design. The two graphics on the page do the best
to not draw away from the overall purpose of the page. The graphics are subtle enough but
give it a nice change of pace, other than just text. The design after this is the same on
every page. The text or information is on the left and the links are on the right of the
page. The links are organized in a block navigation bar. The categories are titled in
white with a blue background. The individual links are in black with a yellow background.
The navigation box is very user friendly and they work. All of the other information on
the page is links also. They are linked in blue hypertext. All information on the home
page is linked to articles with more information once selected. Along the left side is
the current news. 
All of the links that are attached to the homepage are design with the same plain white
background and have the logo across the top of the page. The links are placed in the same
spot. The link turns red when you are actively on that page. And all have the navigation
bar at the bottom of the page. The linked pages are mostly text. There only two other
pages with graphic these are the linked pages call organizational chart and the Tour of
the departments.
Content
The content of the page is mostly geared toward giving people general information about
the office of the Rhode Island Attorney general. The sites content is broken-down into
three parts. First the Department, this links pages about Sheldon Whitehouse, the
mission, past history, a tour of the department, and an organizational chart. The next
part is Divisions; this has links to the four divisions of the office of the Attorney
General. These divisions are the Executive, Adminstrative, Criminal, and Civil Divisions.
Also has a link to their Policy and Prevention. The last grouping is the Public
Information section. The section has links to the Public Information office, Press
Releases, and Access to public records. The links also include the Open Meeting Act and
Advisory opinions. These links can be accessed from any page on the website. 
Other links include the Bureau of Criminal investigation, Consumer Information, Domestic
Violence, Senior protection, Victim/Witness Assistance, Law enforcement and Judicial
links. 
The Content also includes Press releases of current news and complaints.
Ergonomics
This site has above average ergonomics, especial for a fairly new site. The site is
easily navigated through. Each Link is clearly stated what you are accessing when you
click on each individual link. When one clicks a link the page is brought up promptly.
The user is given the option to navigate to any page when one selects a page. The home
link is always at the top of the page. The user will have an easy time moving through the
site quick and smoothly.
Interactivity
The site does not have much interactivity. The only interactivity the site suggests is a
contact link that contacts the user directly to the site's e-mail address. The email
address to the site ContactUS@RIAG.State.RI.US. I did contact the host. An administrator
Jim Martin answered my email. The email was answer within two hours of being sent. I
personally was very impressed with this. My own personal experience is that if the system
does not send you a generic message every time you email them, the response time is much
long than this. There is no real need for interactivity in a site of this type.
Target Audience
The target audience is any one who is looking for information, help or policies of the
Attorney General office. These site is well suited for the target audience the sight is
well update with news and press releases. The target audience should be happy with the
information on the site.
Suggestions
Over all I felt the site was well design. I feel the sight could use more graphics on the
home page. The background could be changed to a dark and more professional looking. The
Content is strong and plentiful. I would try to install a type of search to be able to
sort through past press releases and complaints. The ergonomics are above average. I
would try to add a scrolling topic menu that shows the last news on every page so if a
user is looking through a topic one may click on an article they missed earlier in the
site. Also add related topic links to each page that they would pertain to. I would
hesitant to add interactivity, in fear of making the site look unprofessional.