Benchmarking Web Sites

Brian Kelly

UKOLN

University of Bath

Bath, BA2 7AY

UKOLN is supported by:

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

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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

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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

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Session Aims

This session consists of:• Hands-on exercises with group discussions

By 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

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Benchmarking: A Definition

Benchmarking 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.

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Guidelines Available Now

You 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

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Today’s Exercises

Hands-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

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The Size of Your Home Page

You can find out the size of your home page using various tools:

• NetMechanic• Bobby

http://www.netmechanic.com/http://www.netmechanic.com/

Ex. B1.1

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The Look of Your Home Page

What 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/

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

Ex. B1.5

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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/http://watson.addy.com/

Ex. B2

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

Ex. B2.1, B2.7

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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/http://www.linkalarm.com/

Ex. B2.6

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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/http://www.linkpopularity.com/

Ex.B3.1B3.2

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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/http://www.anybrowser.com/

Ex. B4

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Comparing Statistics

Hit 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/http://www.sitemeter.com/

Ex. B3.4

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Benchmarking Exercises

You will:• Benchmark your Web site in relation to others

in your community• Record your findings

And learn about:• Some of the issues involved when using

externally hosted Web tools• Other benchmarking activities• WebWatch surveys of communities

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Once you have completed the exercises, report on your findings

Once you have completed the exercises, report on your findings

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Home Page Size Issues

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

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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?

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Other Benchmarking Activities

What 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

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Performance Checkers

Applications 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.htmlhttp://www.w3.org/WAI/ER/existingtools.html

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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.

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Independent Testing Services

Occasionally 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

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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?

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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?