For this last section of the class, you will bring the things you have learned about audience and message strategy as well as form and content all together in a web audit, which is a careful and comprehensive evaluation of a website in your field. This audit will bring together several elements of writing you should have learned over the course of the semester:

• Secondary Research
• Summarizing Information
• Simplifying the Complex
• Persuasive Writing
• Professional Writing
• Instructional Writing
• Document Design.

All of these types of communication come together on an organization’s website, some of the most important writing your organization will do.

YOUR GOAL IS TO SHOWCASE A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT IT TAKES TO WRITE WITH PURPOSE AND CLARITY BASED UPON THE THINGS YOU HAVE LEARNED IN THISS COURSE.

Before completing this assignment, please read

Directions

Your work for this project will be a reasoned evaluation and strategic recommendations to improve your selected website’s content moving forward. This assignment should be based on your individual insight and unique recommendations, SUPPORTED BY THE COURSE READINGS.

Be thoughtful. Be creative. Above all, it should be clear that you have: 1) considered your client’s objectives and target audience(s), and 2) applied the strategies and guidelines you have learned this semester to align the target audience’s interests with the website’s product/services.

This assignment is to complete a comprehensive evaluation (content audit) of a website’s structure and messaging from within your field.

In a content audit, you typically look for things you can evaluate objectively:

• what audience the content is for
• what the website goals are
• how long the content is
• how easy it is to scan and understand the key message(s)
• the site’s structure around a three-click hierarchy
• whether links are functioning properly
• whether pages are accessible through the navigation
• whether the website is unified verbally and visually.

For more guidance on opportunities for content evaluation, review the “Writer’s Guide: Creating Websites” on page 366 of this week’s reading.

Your primary objective in this assignment is to showcase everything you have learned this semester about writing with purpose, clarity and strategy to achieve professional objectives.

I have created the following basic outline to help get you started for your final project; however, you are welcome to veer from this organization as you see fit. I am simply looking for a detailed and thoughtful evaluation of your selected website’s message strategy and execution.

I. INTRODUCTION (INTENDED MESSAGE STRATEGY)

This section is to ensure you are thinking strategically about your selected company before completing the website evaluation. You should draw upon things you have learned about persuasive writing from the class readings and from your own writing and editing experiences this semester to thoughtfully discuss basic message strategy.

1. Website Objectives (1-2 paragraphs)
   Why does this website exist and what is the company trying to accomplish with this website? What does the company’s objectives seem to be (on-site sales, brand reputation, customer experience, information and referrals, etc.)?
2. Audience (1 paragraph)
   Discuss your website’s target audience(s). Who are they? What are their interests/needs? Previous knowledge, etc.? You may want to include an easy-reference bulleted list of relevant characteristics. Hint: This is a great place to show off those secondary research skills you’ve learned this semester.
3. Points of Interest (1-3 paragraphs)
   Discuss the meeting point(s) between the website’s goals and the target’s interests/needs

II. FIRST GLANCE REVIEW

This section should be based upon an introductory-level, first-time user evaluation of your web content. If you had never been to this site, what would you think about it? Think of it as the first date—it’s all about whether or not the site is accessible, interesting and informative enough to make your audience want to come back for more, either by returning to your website or by doing business directly with the company.

You should rely heavily on the ” Website, Blogs & Wikis

Actions

” readings to help you critique your website’s big picture messaging. Include references to the text as needed to support your assessment.

1. Audience (1-2 paragraphs)
   Based on the basic messaging, tone, etc., who does it appear this website is targeting (this may or may not be the company’s intended target audience)? Explain and provide examples that back up your assumption. If there is a disparity between the intended target audience and the audience the website actually addresses, please discuss.
2. First Impression (2-3 paragraphs)
   Discuss how the content looks and functions at first glance, addressing basic length, chunked text, navigation & links, logical flow of pages, interactivity, etc.
3. Big Picture Branding (3-5 paragraphs)
   Overall, what is working and what is not working about the big-picture messaging that runs throughout the site, paying particular attention to the top-level pages (home and main pages)? Explain and discuss recommendations.

III. DETAILED CRITIQUE

Your detailed critique should include a brief discussion of the things the company is doing well, followed by a much more detailed discussion—including recommendations for improvement—of the website’s weaknesses. You should rely heavily on both of this week’s readings AS WELL AS any other readings from throughout the semester that will help you evaluate the various components of writing with purpose and clarity on the web. Include references to the text as needed to support your assessment.

Consider the following factors when completing your website review.

1. Voice
   Discuss the company’s reputation, objectivity, authority, credibility, etc.

1. Utility
   Is the information within each page useful? Why/why not?
2. Accuracy
   Is the information within each page accurate? Discuss.
3. Comprehensive
   Is the information within each page complete? Do you leave a page or the site as a whole with unanswered questions? Discuss your recommendations and rationale for information that should be cut and information that should be added.
4. User Friendliness
   Is the site easy to navigate? Is the information easy to understand? Discuss.
5. Editing
   What, if any, sentence-level mistakes need to be corrected? Any broken links? Any confusing navigation? Any unnecessary information or messaging? Discuss.

IV. CONCLUSION (RECAP RECOMMENDATIONS)

Wrap up your critique with a quick-reference list of the pros and cons of the current web content as well as a list of your recommendations for improvement.