Lab 1
XHTML, Layout, Design

Examine 2 well-known Web sites with different layout styles. For each site:

View the site at 800x600 resolution, full screen (you may have to change the desktop size on your computer by right-clicking on the desktop and going to Properties, then changing the size under Settings). Print one page of the home or main page of the site, landscape style. Using a ruler or straightedge and pencil, try to determine the grid pattern or layout scheme used by the site's designer (3x3, 4x3, 4x4, 5x4, circular, etc.).

Site Name: __________________________________________

1. What is your best guess as to the layout pattern, and why? __________________________________________

2. Where is the site's "brand" - the name of the site/product/service? Why do you think the designer placed it there? ______________________________________________________________________________________

3. What kind of navigation choices are there in the first screen full of the main page?
______________________________________________________________________________________

4. Use the site to get to something that interests you. How many clicks from the main page (including searches, if any) did it take you to get to what you were after? Did anything distract you?
______________________________________________________________________________________

5. What design or interactive features do you like best about this site?
______________________________________________________________________________________

6. Does any feature take away from the site's appeal to you?
______________________________________________________________________________________

View the same site at 1024x768 resolution, full screen.

7. How does the page change? Does it stay the same, just centered or left aligned, or does it expand to fill the new screen?
______________________________________________________________________________________

8. Were the most important parts of the page still visible at 800x600? What new features are visible at the higher resolution?
______________________________________________________________________________________

9. Does anything look worse about the site at 1024x768 than it did at 800x600? Better?
______________________________________________________________________________________

10. How would you describe the color scheme of the site? Is it bolder, softer, brighter, darker, primary colors or contrasting colors, etc. Do different parts of the site use different colors? Why? What kinds of images are on the main pages?
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________

You may write your responses legibly on a print-out of this page or type your responses, clearly labeled and numbered, in a word-processing package. Attach the printouts of the two main pages with your pencil marks showing the layout pattern.