Guardian.co.uk is the online version of the Guardian newspaper and continues to bring its readers the same quality of information and news that the printed version has done since 1821. Functionality is essential when it comes to an online news resource and as such the Guardian website analysis will focus not only on sound search engine optimisation (SEO) principles in Internet marketing utilized, but also on usability, accessibility, interactivity, content value, and good website design techniques employed to ensure the above.

The Guardian website has the typical online news resource image brought about by the white background, loads of headlines on the home page and a large banner size logo at the top. The user will immediately recognize that it is an online news resource website which is essential for branding and user familiarity with the lay-out.

Unfortunately the Guardian website takes ages to load and the problem is not limited to the home page, most of the child pages take a few too many seconds to load even with fast broadband connectivity. Users with slow connectivity will definitely suffer to get through navigation. Fortunately loading of pages is indicated and with a banner present on top that display an advert, the user will stay interested.

The above is about the only point of critique on the website design of this useful and extremely accurate online news resource. Accuracy is important when it comes to news. Grammar, spelling and the correct writing style are equally important. No doubt, that the contributors to the Guardian website do their homework and that editors work overtime as no mistakes are present. This definitely enhances the website’s image of a reliable, professional and current online news resource.

The use of white as background ensures easy reading of text. The text size can be adjusted and printable versions can be obtained. This indicates that the Guardian website caters to the needs of users and understands the methods to ensure readability on-screen. A cascading style menu is used and by colour coding the main categories when the cursor moves over them, the user can easily see where to go and which page is current. In addition the current page menu opens underneath for further browsing ease. The News menu with its sub-categories is also displayed at the top.

A comprehensive search facility is available and allows for searches within specific categories as well. The title bar displays in the top and maximum usage of the title tag enhances ease of navigation. The A-Z index forms the site map and provides a well organized alphabetical index of the website content. In addition an accessibility statement is provided and help provided regarding audio and videos, text resizing, access keys, and more. Users receive an amazing amount of help for navigation, content, FAQ, subscriptions, advertising, and more.

Orientation assistance is important for an online news website. The Guardian website design includes several features as mentioned above to help users. Since users cannot page through the newspaper, additional help must be provided. This is what makes the website unique. It provides easy to use navigation, search functions, orientation help, and a coherent theme throughout.

The standard copyright notice, privacy statement, logo, sponsor, contact option as well as terms and conditions statements are present. Apart from these, a last updated notice is displayed in the upper right corner of the Guardian website home page. Although the use of this feature on sites that only update once in a while should be avoided, it is an essential feature for an online news resource to indicate how current the information is.

The website analysis of the Guardian website shows that in terms of sound website design principles and informative current content, that the Guardian website surpasses even the highest standards. Although many images are used and videos are present, the use of multimedia has been limited to where needed. Images contain ALT tags and the movies have the play option and don’t automatically start. Advertisements are clearly identified. No dead links are present. The website design supports several browsers and no side scrolling is required. Large amounts of text has successfully been divided to go to other pages or broken up through complimentary images.

In terms of interactivity the Guardian website does equally well to ensure reader involvement through excellent features such as blogs where users can comment. The comment section allows for comments on the latest issues. A discussion board is also present. Feedback options exist. Fun activities such as crosswords puzzles, Seduko, and quizzes are present. In addition the users also get to send bizarre queries and provide answers to such queries. A job section as well as dating section ensures return visits. Viral Internet marketing techniques are employed through share, comment and emailing options. RSS feeds increases message distribution power.

When it comes to search engine optimisation (SEO) the Guardian website does well. There is more than enough content and the archive option also exists. In addition, a Metatag is present with a complete description and keywords. The keywords used are also main categories and links. The keywords are also present in the description. The Guardian website boasts more than 123 000 back links from Google and 4,250 000 back links from AltaVista at the time of the website analysis. There is no doubt that the online news resource can be described as simply inspiring and a must visit.