Nyssa Adackapara

The Internet Navigation

Comp 14 #039012

July 9, 2002

Navigation

Web browsing is a process that is not only easy once used to, but also a system that unleashes a completely different world full of information. The numerous capabilities of the Internet are what make having an efficient website that is easy to navigate through so important. In navigating through the CNN, Study Web, and website for the Louvre Museum web sites, it is quite easy to navigate oneself. Still yet, one stands out among the rest. The CNN website was not only easily maneuverable, but also efficient in that all of its information and links were clear and visible.

As compared to the other websites, the CNN home page had many more links and information to retrieve, all at the click of a mouse. All of these links were also very clear as pictures to attract one’s attention either accompanied them, or were in highlighted hypertext links. CNN also had links to a variety of information that was all relevant to the latest news, whether it concerned a local region or the world. This is compared to the other web sites, which had many minutely relevant subjects, as found on the Louvre website. This is seen as a link on the Louvre website entitled “Latest News” included news besides that concerning the museum.

Yet another attractive quality of the CNN website was its user friendliness. When surfing the Internet or simply checking a website, one looks for things that might interest them, which, as stated before, are plentiful on this web site. Still yet, at times people do not know how to maneuver through the web sites. CNN’s easy to read explanations on the links make it easy for anyone to find subjects that they are interested in. In addition to the numerous links to each subject, the site also has an efficient search engine, which provides for even quicker and easier access. This feature was missing on both of the other webpages.

On the other hand, the Louvre and the Study Web web sites were not as easy to navigate. For example, the home page for the Louvre web site is all in French until the main page shows up. This was a little confusing as it was hard to tell exactly what was going on. If a web site is posted in a different language, it is only proper that it has a clear choice of alternative languages. This is especially the case with such a popular web site as that hosted by the Louvre Museum. Although the Study Web website did not have any language selection problems, it did lack efficient links to other web pages. The home page simply had an explanation of the features of the site as well as contact information and a few links to related sites. The site could have, however, included history on the program, links to success stories, or even interactive study games since the web site seems to be geared towards children.

In determining the CNN as “better” than the other two, two important factors were used: the types and clarity of links and the overall information of the website. These two factors made this decision an easy choice. Still yet, the ease of navigation depends on the information or sites being visited.