2. 2
Elias Group Comparative Review
This is a comparative review for evaluating the design criteria for The Elias Group. The
websites that are being compared are Bob Goodlatte's website (http://goodlatte.house.gov/) and
the Jeffer Mangels Butler & Mitchell LLP website (http://www.jmbm.com/).
Initial Impression
The initial impression of Bob Goodlatte's site is that it is overwhelming with information.
The purpose of the site was immediately noticed since “Business Opportunities with the Federal
Government” is titled in large text. This sites target audience is the constituents from the State of
Virginia. The site looks the same in Internet Explorer, Firefox and Chrome.
The initial impression of Jeffer Mangels Butler & Mitchell LLP’s site is the modern
design and the categorization of the links were appealing. Instantly the purpose of the website
was to provide legal services. This sites target audience is clients with legal issues. The site
looks the same in Internet Explorer, Firefox and Chrome.
Contact Information
Bob Goodlatte's contact information was only available through an email form only.
There were several other office information but they were below the fold. His site is and official
governmental House of Representatives website since the domain end in house.gov. The
different headings were used including paragraphs and links.
Jeffer Mangels Butler & Mitchell LLP’s site has a "Contact us" on the navigation bar.
When hovered over it displays the contact information for the main and additional offices.
Initially the site does not indicate that it is legit but within the "Our Firm" page they show logos
3. 3
of legitimate services they belong to. The different headings were used including paragraphs and
links.
Design and Layout
Mr. Goodlatte's site has appealing colors but the layout was basic. The site has a
horizontal navigation bar on the header and vertical navigational links on the right side bar.
Thenavigation bar has several drop downs that let you see where you want to go. A "Home" tab
is located on every page of the site. The navigation bar is consistent on every page.
Jeffer Mangels Butler & Mitchell LLP’s site also has appealing colors but the layout was
basic. The site has a horizontal navigation bar on the header and navigational links on the footer.
The navigation bar has several drop downs that give you a small description and lets you see
where you want to go. A "Home" tab is located on every page of the site. The navigation bar is
consistent on every page.
Navigation
Mr. Goodlatte's important information is place in headings or use in the dropdown. Each
page in this site has links in the content and in the right side bar. The "Press Release" articles
display links with their dates. The header slides have images that contribute to the user
experience.
Jeffer Mangels Butler & Mitchell LLP’s important information is placed in headings or
used in the practice area dropdown. Each page in this site has links in the content and some
pages have a side bar and there are links there too. This sites individual articles have their dates
4. 4
displayed at the top of the article. The headers slides show the four partners, the different teams
that practice a particular area and this does contribute to the user experience.
Mr. Goodlatte's site has no spelling errors or broken links. The navigational ease on this
site is impressive. The header slides can make a website pleasing to the eyes. This site needs to
have less images and content per page.
There were no spelling errors or broken links found on Jeffer Mangels Butler & Mitchell
LLP’s site. The design and intentions of the header slides are impressive. The header slides can
make a website pleasing to the eyes. The simplicity of this site is good.
These websites provide design features that can be implemented to reach the same
audience that The Elias Group is also trying to reach. We have links to government resources as
well as content about attorney advocacy and government assistance.
