The first site I will review is the Histories of the National Mall. This first thing I noticed about this site were the colors. Each category that you could click on, like maps, exploration, people, and past events. Each one had a different color associated with it, which I think made the site more use friendly. There is also a featured explorations block at the bottom which is helpful if you don’t know where to start on the site. The maps on the site were interactive, allowing for visitors to change the filters to look at a certain era and change the kind of pin that would appear on the screen. For example, I put in 1800 to 1829 and I only wanted to look at events that happened on the National Mall. This feature is helpful so that visitors can navigate to directly the kind of information they want and are not overwhelmed by the 300+ items on the map. The map itself also changes with which era you entered, a nice touch to put the viewer in the era. The explorations tab is a section that includes common questions that visitors have. The colors separating the different questions is a helpful, but it makes me wonder how accessible the site is to those who are color blind. The font is a good size and easy to read which is good for viewers of all literate ages. The peoples tab had major historical actors that related to the National Mall and had visuals and metadata for each. The past events tab allows for visitors to look at events that are presented on the map but in a list/chronological view, so if someone cannot use the map or is confused, the information is still presented in an accessible manner. The maps, exploration, people, and past events are located at the top and can be accessed throughout the site, leading to less mindless clicking to get to the tab you want. The site is very simplistic which allows for the visitor to focus on the content and not the design.
The other site I will review is the ADH 2018 class Fredericksburg National Cemetery. I noticed that they have error messages on the top which relate to plugin problem from Omeka and cannot be fixed by the students, but it is still distracting to an otherwise well designed and executed site. The menu on the left side was easy to navigate and labeled clearly. The interactive Google Map was well done and easy to use, the original map tab was not working but I think it is another good resource to have alongside the interactive map. There was enough textual information on the sites to provide context without making the website read like a textbook. The collections tabs were well organized and easy to follow. The titles were clear and I liked the ‘previous’ or ‘next item’ links on the bottom so you can browse without having to go in and out of individual items. The only qualm I have with this site was that the colors were not very inviting, but I think that not using bright colors and sicking with neutral tones makes the site reflect the content and not distract from the information being provided. The ‘how to search’ was an excellent addition so that users can get to the information they need quickly with the correct information. It allows the site to be utilized and (hopefully) minimal user frustration. The search tab itself is self explanatory and very well organized, but for some more tabs means more confusion rather than helping to narrow down a search.
