| December's WETA goes to... |
| WellingtonTramping and Mountaineering Club |
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Every now and again a site we'll come across a site which only uses the simplest of web technologies - no Active Server or Cold Fusion pages, no Java, no streaming audio or video etc - and, we'll award it a WETA
Why? Simple. The WETA awards are about the value of a site to a visitor. What matters is whether the site works, not how. Over the past year or so, WETA judges have reviewed many sites which have implemented new technologies poorly. Sites with near empty databases which frequently return no results during searches, sites with complex search forms that get in the way of the user accessing information and, sites employing large, slow loading Java applets simply to add cosmetic value to a page such as an animation or reflection of an image. The latter comment often pertains to personal or club sites. Wellington Tramping and Mountaineering Club gets it right. Simple and attractive page layout, albeit using little more than basic html, good quality images, straightforward navigation (with much of the site accessible from the top layer) and, excellent information, in terms of both quality and quantity. Finding what you want to know about the club is easy, no ambiguous links or guessing which page has the information you're looking for. Everything's right where you'd expect. Coloured tables highlight "bullet point" information, a good spattering of pictures punctuates the text and there's a very comprehensive list of other outdoor resources on the Web. What impresses perhaps the most, is the thorough manner in which the club's activities and trips are explained. The "Trips" page for example lists Fitness Grades, Club Transport Departure Information, Appropriate Gear and Food, Trip Lists and Fares and, a full Spring/Summer Schedule. It even recommends doing one of the club's day trips as a way to build fitness before embarking on an overnight trip. Other features include a photo gallery and slide show, links to the latest mountain weather forecasts and a comprehensive collection of club members' stories telling of their "exploits and adventures in the great outdoors". There really was little to fault on this site. One judge commented that the pages were just a little too wide to display in 800 x 600 screen resolution on the computer/browser used. We also thought some of the pages would have looked a bit cleaner with some white space between the pictures and the run-around text (this can be acheived using the hspace and vspace commands within the image tag). These are minor criticisms however and, largely a matter of personal taste. What is clear is that this very user friendly and attractive site deserves a WETA. |