Institutional Web Management Workshop - 25-27 June 2001

This page provides details of the "Benchmarking your Web Site" workshop session facilitated by Marieke Napier, UKOLN, University of Bath, at the Institutional Web Management: 2001 workshop held at Queen's University Belfast on 25-27 June 2001.

Abstract

In this hands-on session delegates will use a variety of Web-based tools to analyse their Web site and compare their Web site with others in the community. Delegates will discuss the findings and the implications of the findings. Delegates will provide suggestions for further benchmarking activities, which can be implemented locally, regionally or nationally. Questions to be addressed in this workshop include:

What is benchmarking?
Why do should we do it?
What tools are available for us to analyse our Web sites?
What issues do we need to consider when using these tools?
What other benchmarking activities can be carried out?
What Web site design guidelines are available for Institutional Web sites?
What is the next step after benchmarking?

This session will include presentations of relevant tools, discussions/group work and hands-on activities.

Draft Timetable

The following timetable is subject to change.

Time	Topic	Comments
14:00	Introduction	Session aims, introduction from facilitator
14:10	Introduction to Evaluating your Web site	Quick look at the tools you will be using and an introduction to qualities of measurement
14:15	Hands on exercises	Hands-on exercise in which participants evaluate their own institutional Web site
15:00	Report back	Participants report back, benchmarking of everyone's Web site
15:15	Benchmarking issues	Slides on issues that have arisen
15:20	Final Discussion and conclusions	Group discussion on the benchmarking results, completion of the report back slides.

Materials

Slides

Benchmarking Slides: [HTML format]-[PowerPoint 97/2000 format]

Exercises

Exercise 1-4 Benchmarking Exercises: [MS Word 97/2000 format]

Facilities Required

This session will require a PC cluster plus a networked PC for use by the workshop facilitators.

URLs used during Workshop

1.1 Netmechanic	<http://www.netmechanic.com/toolbox/html-code.htm>
1.2 Bobby	<http://www.cast.org/bobby/>
2.3 W3C HTML Validation Service	<http://validator.w3.org/>
2.5 Web Stress	<http://www.web-server-tools.com/tools/WebStress/> (No longer available)
2.6 Link Alarm	<http://www.linkalarm.com/>
3.1 Link Popularity	<http://www.linkpopularity.com/>
3.4 Statistics	<http://www.cultivate-int.org/>
4.2 Browser Emulators	<http://finnegan.metamatrix.se/dejavu/>

Other URLs

Browser Extensions

Bookmarklets	Browser Extensions	<http://www.bookmarklets.com/>
Cacheability Engine	Browser Extensions	<http://www.ircache.net/cgi-bin/cacheability.py?action=show_ext>
Extending Your Browser	Browser Extensions	<http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue19/web-focus/>
WebWatch Services	Browser Extensions	<http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/web-focus/webwatch/services/>

Checking Web Site Performance

EchoEcho	Checking Web Site Performance	<http://www.echoecho.com/>
Entuity	Checking Web Site Performance	<http://www.entuity.com/>
e-TEST Suite	Checking Web Site Performance	<http://www.rswsoftware.com/>
Freshwater's SiteScope	Checking Web Site Performance	<http://www.freshwater.com/SiteScope.htm>
Keynote Systems	Checking Web Site Performance	<http://www.keynote.com/iw.html>
MercuryInteractive	Checking Web Site Performance	<http://www.mercuryinteractive.com/>
MercuryInteractive	Checking Web Site Performance	<http://www-heva.mercuryinteractive.com/>
Prutsman	Checking Web Site Performance	<http://www.prutsman.com/>
Servicemetrics	Checking Web Site Performance	<http://www.servicemetrics.com/>
Somix	Checking Web Site Performance	<http://www.somix.com/>

Evaluating Different Browsers

Anybrowser	Evaluating Different Browsers	<http://www.anybrowser.com/>
DejaVu (Browser Emulators)	Evaluating Different Browsers	<http://www.dejavu.org/>
Evolt.org (archive of old browsers)	Evaluating Different Browsers	<http://browsers.evolt.org/>
Lynx	Evaluating Different Browsers	<http://www.slcc.edu/webguide/lynxit.html> (No longer available)
Wapilizer	Evaluating Different Browsers	<http://www.gelon.net/>

Evaluating Link and Search Engine Popularity

AltaVista	Evaluating Link and Search Engine Popularity	<http://www.altavista.com/>
LinkPopularity	Evaluating Link and Search Engine Popularity	<http://www.linkpopularity.com/>
NetMechanic	Evaluating Link and Search Engine Popularity	<http://www.netmechanic.com/powerpack/tracker.htm>

Evaluating Site Accessibility

Bobby	Evaluating Site Accessibility	<http://www.cast.org/bobby/>
Color Readability Test	Evaluating Site Accessibility	<http://snow.utoronto.ca/readtest/>
WAVE	Evaluating Site Accessibility	<http://zing.ncsl.nist.gov/webmet/>
Wave 2.01	Evaluating Site Accessibility	<http://www.temple.edu/inst_disabilities/piat/wave>
Web Accessibility Report Tool	Evaluating Site Accessibility	<http://www.w3.org/WAI/report/>

Evaluating Your Organisational Home Page

Dr HTML	Evaluating Your Organisational Home Page	<http://www2.imagiware.com/RxHTML/>
NetMechanic	Evaluating Your Organisational Home Page	<http://www.netmechanic.com/>
WebSiteGarage	Evaluating Your Organisational Home Page	<http://websitegarage.netscape.com/>
InternetSeer	Evaluating Your Organisational Web Server	<http://www.internetseer.com/>
NetMechanic Monitoring Service	Evaluating Your Organisational Web Server	<http://www.netmechanic.com/monitor.htm>
Watchdog	Evaluating Your Organisational Web Server	<http://watchdog.mycomputer.com/>
WebWatch Services	Evaluating Your Organisational Web Server	<http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/web-focus/webwatch/services/>
Dr Watson	Evaluating Your Organisational Web Site	<http://watson.addy.com/>
LinkAlarm	Evaluating Your Organisational Web Site	<http://www.linkalarm.com/>
NetMechanic Maintenance Service	Evaluating Your Organisational Web Site	<http://www.netmechanic.com/maintain.htm>
SiteValet	Evaluating Your Organisational Web Site	<http://valet.webthing.com/>
This Old Mouse	Evaluating Your Organisational Web Site	<http://www.thisoldmouse.com/>

Guidelines

Government guidelines	Guidelines	< http://www.e-envoy.gov.uk/publications/guidelines/webguidelines/websites/>
SOCITM - Society of IT Management	Guidelines	<http://www.socitm.gov.uk/>
SPIN (Society of Public Information Networks),	Guidelines	<http://www.spin.org.uk/>
Survey of	Guidelines	<http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/web-focus/surveys/pub-lib-search/>
WebWatch Articles	Guidelines	<http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/web-focus/webwatch/articles/>

Link Checker

Linkguard	Link checker	<http://www.linkguard.com/>
Netmechanic	Link checker	<http://www.netmechanic.com/>
Nodeworks	Link checker	<http://www.nodeworks.com/>
Site valet	Link checker	<http://valet.webthing.com/>
Xenu	Link checker	<http://home.snafu.de/tilman/xenulink.html>
LinkTool	Link checker	<http://www.linktool.com/>
Usable Web	Link checker	<http://usableweb.com/topics/000811-0-0.html>
Software in Use:	Monitoring Visitors To A Web Site	<http://www.exploit-lib.org/issue5/software-used/>

Next generation Validation tools

Freshwater Software	Next generation validation tools	<http://www.freshtech.com/>
Web Criteria	Next generation validation tools	<http://www.webcriteria.com/> (No longer available)
WebKing	Next generation validation tools	<http://www.thewebking.com/products/webking/>

WebWatch

A Survey Of Institutional Web Gateways	WebWatch	<http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue22/web-watch/>
A Survey Of Links to UK University Web Sites	WebWatch	<http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue23/web-watch/>
A Survey Of Numbers of UK University Web Servers	WebWatch	<http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue24/web-watch/>
A Survey Of Web Server Software Used In UK University Web Sites	WebWatch	<http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue25/web-watch/>
Conclusions From The WebWatch Project	WebWatch	<http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue19/webwatch/>
Showing Robots the Door	WebWatch	<http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue15/robots/>
Surveys of Search Engines on UK Public Library Web Sites	WebWatch	<http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/web-focus/surveys/pub-lib-search/>
UK University Search Engines	WebWatch	<http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue21/webwatch/>
Web Watch: 404s - What's Missing?	WebWatch	<http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue20/404/>
WebWatching eLib Project Web Sites	WebWatch	<http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue26/web-watch/>
WebWatching Telematics For Libraries Project Web Sites	WebWatch	<http://www.exploit-lib.org/issue7/webwatch/>
WebWatching UK Universities and Colleges	WebWatch	<http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue12/web-focus/>
What's Related To My Web Site?	WebWatch	<http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue27/web-watch/>

Report Back: [HTML format] - [Powerpoint format]

"Institutional Web Management 2001" Workshop

Parallel Session on "Benchmarking your Web Site"