BY TRAVIS KRIMBILL

Web Design and Morningstar.com

Why Morningstar?

Morningstar is a website that rates

• Stocks• Mutual Funds• Bonds• And reports ETF Investment Research

The website is widely known, used and respected in the financial field

Web Design

Important factors that make up web design1. Usability2. Visual Aspects3. Technical Adequacy4. Content5. Security6. Communication7. Prestige

Morningstar HomepageUsability and Visual Aspects and Prestige

What is going on?

Where do you even begin to read?

What do all the numbers mean?

Too much information on the first page

NavigationTechnical Adequacy

Search bar at the top of the website

The search function does not narrow anything down

Really have to know what your looking for

Fund Quote and Stock Quote

Content and Visual Aspects

No contrast on this page from tabs at the top down to news and events

Everything is same font size

Portfolio Manager

Content and Security

Free membership

Can create a portfolio watch list

Private information

All information is Accurate

Investment Tools

Content Issues

Too many advertisements

Everything else is the same size font

Have to scroll down to find useful tools

Morningstar

Important factors that make up web design1. Usability2. Visual Aspects3. Technical Adequacy4. Content5. Security6. Communication7. Prestige

Recommendations

Simplify the homepageAdd labels and proper headingsEffective use of contrastHave more empty spaceImprove search engine result formatToo many advertisements and pop-ups

Sources

Markel, Michael H. Technical Communication. Boston: Bedford/St Martin's, 2010. 

E.K. Huizingh The content and design of web sites: an empirical study. Information Management, 37 (3) (2000), pp. 123–134

Cebi, Selcuk. "Determining Importance Degrees Of Website Design Parameters Based On Interactions And Types Of Websites." Decision Support Systems 54.2 (2013): 1030-1043. Business Source Complete. Web.