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An Introduction
Reviewing others' websites seems to be a hot trend among websites. Hell, I hopped on that bandwagon last summer. I'm
not going to lie, I'm addicted to reading and writing them. However, I notice a lot of sites that offer reviews don't do it well. Obviously,
I'm not "Il Duce" when it comes to reviewing, but I know a good review from a bad one. Here are some common things I find in reviews, my opinions,
and my suggestions for fixing them.
Constructive Criticism v. Douchery
I read a lot of reviews where the reviewer pans the site ruthlessly with phrases like, "This sucks. You suck. Fail. Fail. Fail." That
was a bit of an exaggeration, but you catch my drift. If you think
the site sucks, say it more professinally ("This is not very high quality" for example) and most importantly, justify your reasoning.
Bad Criticism (Douchery) This layout sucks. The graphic is bad and so is the coding.
Good Criticism (Constructive) This layout is not well-made. The graphic is pixellated, the neon colors clash, and it could benefit
from textures. The coding is boring in that it uses the same font with no text effects (like letter-spacing, text-transform, etc.) and the colors
used are not colors from the header.
Moral of the story is if you must bash, give suggestions for improvement.
What to Judge, and What not to Judge
Judging the content, the coding, the HTML, the grammar, and so on is pretty much demanded of a reviewer. However, judging personal pages shouldn't
be. I have read many reviews where people criticize others' autobiography pages. Really? You're going to nit pick the way someone lists their interests?
Why not focus on something more important, like the ability to navigate the site, or helpfulness of tutorials. Many times reviewing autobiography
pages comes off as a personal attack, which is completely uncalled for and unecessary.
Ratings
I know a lot of sites do this, but come on, the internet isn't school. Don't grade your fellow sites with numbers. It can be confusing and
I find it degrading to give sites numerical scores. Sometimes the criteria is ridiculous (I once saw a site that gave #/10 for a "splash" page
when she didn't even have one). I think it's best to give an over all opinion at the end (or the beginning) rather than a number.
Be Prepared for Pissy Backfire
People get offended easily. No one forces your clients to apply. If you get angry backlash, just shrug it off and ignore it.
Opinions are opinions, and while you may have been rude in your review, they are no better (as they're doing the same thing to you!).
Of course, if this is happening a lot, it might do you well to be a bit more constructive.
Quality over Quantity
In depth reviews are definitely the best to give. No one expects a novel (at least I hope not) but don't just say, "This site is good. I like it."
Critique all of the content, and give well-thought praise or criticisms. It might take you a bit longer, but it's a lot more helpful!
First posted on February 21, 2009. Last edited on ------.