This document discusses big content and web quality in the age of big data. It defines big content as unstructured information like that found in libraries. The presentation covers what matters for web destinations including content, design, information architecture, search engine optimization, usability, and accessibility. Common errors are outlined for each area as well as recommendations for improving web quality. Tools for exploring sites using technology are also mentioned.

1. Web Quality in the Age
of Big Content
Presented by Steven Fay
Phone: 301-526-5108
Email: steve.fay@activestandards.com
April 10, 2013
Prepared for
DC Web Women

2. Today’s Agenda
• What is Big Content?
• What matters on the web (Think of the Destination):
• Content, Visual Design & Information Architecture
• Can they find it? - SEO
• How does it work? - Usability
• Does it work for everyone? - Accessibility
• Tools and Technology
• Exploring sites using technology

3. WHAT IS BIG CONTENT?
The Age of BIG CONTENT
According to Craig Roth of the Gartner
Group: “Big Content is a term that helps
highlight the subset of Big Data related to
the less-structured side of it. Big Content
isn’t new or different than Big Data; rather it
helps focus on uses of Big Data for
unstructured information for the kind of folks
that think the Library of Congress is filled
with ‘content’, not ‘data.’”
Search 2.0 in the Enterprise: Moving Beyond "Single Shot" Relevancy
Last Updated Feb 2009
By Mark Bennett, New Idea Engineering, Inc. - Volume 3 Number 3 - Spring 2006

4. BIG CONTENT, DISTRIBUTED PUBLISHING and LOCALIZATION
Usability Code
Site integrity
Section Editorial
508
Spelling/ Privacy
Dialect
SEO
Legal
EU Cookies
Laws
Mobile Data
Web WCAG Protection
Social
2.0 Media

5. WHAT MATTERS ON THE WEB
Think of the Destination

6. WHAT MATTERS ON THE WEB
Think of the Destination
Visual
Design

7. WHAT MATTERS ON THE WEB
Think of the Destination
Content

8. WHAT MATTERS ON THE WEB
Think of the Destination
Information
Architecture

9. WHAT MATTERS ON THE WEB
Think of the Destination
SEO

10. IMPORTANCE OF SEO
Impact:
According to a study conducted by
Optify in December 2010, the top three
natural (unpaid) positions on page one
of Google search results receive 58.4
percent of all user visits, or clicks. For
websites that appear on the second
page, the number drops to only 1.5
percent.

11. SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION
Common Errors: What to Do:
 Underutilized Keywords  IA, Site Map, Taxonomy
 Irrelevant Content  Know your keywords
 Missing or Poor Titles, Tags or Metadata  Fresh Content
 Slow Download Speeds  Engage Customers
 Little Time Spent on Sites  Use Metadata
 Broken Links  Optimize Site for Web and Mobile
 Page Duplication  Create Linking Strategies back to your
content
 Clean up site

12. WHAT MATTERS ON THE WEB
Think of the Destination
Usability

13. IMPORTANCE OF USABILITY
Impact:
In a highly crowded landscape companies
who deliver a great user experience can
seize competitive advantage. A Forrester
SATISFIED UNSATISFIED survey of 60 website improvement projects
USERS USERS shows how usability enhancements
translate to clear commercial returns
People are able to find the information
they seek on a website only 40% of the
time.
The other 60% leave the website
unsatisfied.
Research by User Interface Engineering, Inc.

14. USABILITY
Common Errors: What to Do:
 Too Much Content per Page  Clean and Simple
 Difficult Navigation  Remember it is a web site and not a
 Redirects term paper (headings and visual)
 Long Download Times  Use traditional navigation unless you
 Broken Links have non-traditional site
 Inconsistent Structure or Language  Consistency
 Browser or Mobile Compatibility Issues  Test
 Analyze
 Optimize for Web and Mobile
 Clean up your site

15. WHAT MATTERS ON THE WEB
Think of the Destination
Accessibility

16. IMPORTANCE OF ACCESSABILITY
Impact:
On February 7, 2006, Target Corporation
received a lawsuit concerning the
inaccessibility of its web site. NFB and Target
settled the lawsuit on August 27, 2008 for
$6,000,000 plus additional damages and a
stringent ongoing monitoring to ensure
The gray dollar – 1 in 5 mature users (over
61) have sight problems. If your site is not continued accessibility. Since then, Target has
accessible to all users, potential customers made efforts to make its site accessible to
may go elsewhere! people who use assistive technologies.

17. ACCESSIBILITY
Common Errors: What to Do:
 Not compliant with latest Section 508  Read up on Section 508 for US and
or WCAG regulations WCAG - A, AA, AAA guidelines
 Alt Tags, Page Titles and Headers not  Always Tag for Accessibility
populated  Test with readers or
 Non-descriptive Link Text  Contact a consultant
 Deprecated Tags/Coding  Factor in budget and time into
 Blinking Images/Text redesign plans

18. COMMON ERRORS ON LIVE SITES
Technology
Usability Prototyping
Web Quality Checkers
Accessibility Tools
Enterprise Governance Platforms

19. Exploring Sites Using Technology
The Deep Dive