Surfing on the Web...

Where do I go when I go into the land of websites? Who do I visit? I have to admit that I tend to favor websites that involve some kind of booking for travel whether it be an airline or hotel site. I do not tend to surf much on the web; I like my surfing to be done on water! I usually go to websites for a reason.

Some of the websites that I visit I usually access via links in their newsletter.  This is how I often view the news articles on the Huffington Post and the specials for the flights to Australia on Qantas. This time I went directly to the websites of both these companies in order to review them. Their urls are: www.huffpost.com or www.huffingtonpost.com to access the Huffington Post and  www.qantas.com for Qantas.

1. The effectiveness of the websites -
Huffington Post - makes it easy to look at news related to what a person is interested in
Qantas - makes it easy to book a flight to different destinations. People can also book hotels, cars, and vacation packages.

2. What specific principles of good design do they include and why
Concept -
Huffington Post - to disseminate news on different topics
Qantas - to sell flights
Both  these websites definitely show what their purpose is.
Contrast
Huffington Post - the home page has a big image and large headline to attract attention
Qantas - the colors of red and white provide contrast to allow visitors to see the important areas.
Repetition
On both websites the top section with the logo and the navigation never disappears when a different page is opened. This makes it easy for visitors to explore these sites.
Alignment
Huffington Post - there is enough white space around the images so they can breathe. The text is not too close
Qantas - things are aligned to the left.
Both website layouts have been designed to attract rather than distract the reader.
Proximity
Both sites allow the reader to see how things relate on the page by keeping the appropriate text near the images and the headlines.
Hierarchy
Huffington Post - has a bigger photo at the beginning of the page with the story that the editors consider most important
Qantas - the first thing you see is the box to book flights.
The reader does not need to guess what is the most important content and where to begin.
Typography -
Both  websites are easy to read - there is no concern with not being able to read any content. Headlines stand out and grab attention.
Ease of Use -
Qantas has its logo on the top left.
Huffington Post- their title/logo spans across the top. They have links back to the top on their pages that are content-dense.
As soon as the reader sees the home page on both websites, there is brand recognition .The navigation bar is very obvious on both sites and both are situated at the top.
Depth of Content
Both these sites have numerous pages making up their website. They also both have their social media icons prominently displayed to link to their social media sites where they can have dialogue with their customers.

3. What makes you come back?
Qantas - I use this airline to fly back to Australia to visit family about twice a year. I am also a member of their frequent flyer program.
Huffington Post - the articles are well written and there is always something to interest me.

4. What could be improved?
The home page of Qantas is beginning to look dated. However it is still user friendly
The ads on Huffington Post are very annoying however they are there to bring in revenue for this company. If there were no ads, the access would be subscriber-based.

Both these websites are user-friendly for me - they provide the information I need without making me work too hard for it. I very much appreciate that!