Web Design Critique of Microsoft
Here is the Microsoft Link if you would like to critique it as well.
- What question(s) do you think the site exists to answer?
The website provides information about features, pricing, compatibility, and effective usage of Microsoft’s products and services. It responds to inquiries regarding software updates, technical problems, troubleshooting, and offers resources for customers looking for assistance with Microsoft products. Questions concerning Microsoft’s most recent news and updates, including product releases and business announcements, can be answered on the website.
- What features help it best answer those questions?
The best feature is the navigation bar and each button goes to one of their services and products, for example Microsoft 365, Teams, Windows, Xbox, Entertainment and Small Business. There are a lot more so having very detailed buttons in the top navigation bar is useful to me.
- What features get in the way of its answer?
I do like the rolodex but the information goes by too fast. I wish it would be more user friendly and give us the option to switch information instead of the code doing it for us.
- Who is the site’s audience and what features tell you this?
The website seems to be directed towards the consumer and the reason why I think this is because the first thing you see is a rolodex of information geared towards xbox users. Below that are more deals for their products such as Surface Laptop 4, Studio 2 and Xbox series x for example. Towards the bottom they also have information for their business consumers.
- How many ways can you find to get to the same piece of information on the web site?
At first I did not notice that they repeated information but after thinking about it I did notice it. On the first page you can see it introduce a new Forza game and you can notice it with a new yellow tag. They repeat the information on the xbox page as well so that the users/consumers targeted will most likely find it there first.
- On first examination, do you know what the site’s goals are (what type of information it will offer, how likely it is to be updated, etc) and how does the site let you know?
When first examining, you can see the different services that the company has to offer and they want you to know about it. The goal of the website is to convert the user into a customer of their many products and services. The website has recently been updated compared to yesterday because Microsoft just finalized their purchase for Blizzard and Activision. This was a legally contested purchase due to monopoly fears so the news was just announced recently so you can tell from looking at the front of the page.
- How well does the site provide initial cues to its successful navigation and what are those cues?
The icons are displayed well especially on the xbox home page, the icons are similar to those found in the User Interface of the Xbox console so the users already know what to expect from which is handy for me because I am an xbox gamer.
- What types of information does the site reference and how does it demonstrate their credibility?
Microsoft is a tech company and they want you to know that. They have a very professional site. The website takes user security seriously and frequently offers advice on how users may defend themselves against online dangers like viruses and phishing scams. This shows a sincere concern for user security. A variety of user resources are available on the website, such as troubleshooting manuals, product documentation, support forums, and user community involvement. These resources highlight Microsoft’s commitment to customer support and happiness. Microsoft’s contact details, including those for its legal and customer service divisions, are easily found on the internet. Its legitimacy is bolstered by its responsiveness to user inquiries and accessibility.
- What could the site do better?
I’m not sure if this is a problem since I did mention that I did enjoy it in the xbox section but each page feels like it has its own unique style based on the product or service that you are going to. For comparison the xbox and microsoft 365 are two completely different products catered to two different users thus the pages reflect it. Though I did enjoy the gamer inspired design the microsoft 365 is more basic but I guess I can understand the reasoning they went with the design. It is very minimalistic and feels like a let down compared to the first page.
- What does the site suggest to you for how you would like web sites you design to work?
I wish you that the navigation bar was a little more detailed CSS wise with using hover and color change so that you know what you are clicking on beforehand since you do get that feedback. I believe that feedback is important because there are a lot of options inside the navigation bar.
- Are there particular uses of CSS that you would like to emulate? Identify them and their CSS rule to help you explain why.
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Although I do like the rolodex component for displaying images and photos I would like to possibly make one but maybe one that is a lot slower to best display the information. I believe it will require a div tag that has multiple img tags nested together. The sliding information is either css or javascript. Usually javascript comes with interactions but css can also have some abilities. I also like the icons and wonder where I can get better icons.
- Are there particular types of content or uses of content that you would like to emulate? Identify them and how they’re constructed and used to help you explain why
I’d like to take a cue from Microsoft’s structured data and metadata SEO strategies. This would assist me in increasing the search engine visibility of my websites. I would observe how Microsoft sets out its user-friendly navigation and content organization. This entails examining their site architecture, menus, and breadcrumbs in order to develop a user-friendly and effective navigation system for my own websites. The Microsoft website is responsive, meaning it works well on desktops, tablets, and smartphones. I would investigate their methods for media queries, adaptive layouts, and responsive design to make sure my websites work and are readable on a variety of screen sizes.
Work Citied
(n.d.). Microsoft. Microsoft. Retrieved October 13, 2023, from https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/
(n.d.). W3 School CSS Image Gallery. W3School. Retrieved October 13, 2023, from https://www.w3schools.com/css/css_image_gallery.asp
