I do not recall being assigned a specific site to evaluate so I offer this humble evaluation of the site at http://closingthegapMi.org
The layout and design of the site is intended to be viewable by the lowest possible online machine. Specifically, a novice user (new graduates) who have a 66mhz machine with 16 Mb ram and IE 5.5 with a 15 inch screen set at 640 x 480 - 256 colors. Some of our more recent machines are capable of 800 x 600 and hi-color. While the page may exceed the limits, all the text is viewable and readable without having to scroll side-to-side.
The mission statement on the site welcome page clearly states the Mission of the organization and how it benefits the community (once you get past the first page about the events of September 11th). This meets the need of providing the answer to the question "What is the purpose of this organization?" for the potential candidates, contributors and volunteers. By the use of limited graphics, the page loads quickly. A white border around the text-based links is used on the top to help the links stand out. A mouse-rollover effect is used changing the link color to white so it can be easily read.
The Staff section and Location section provides information and images which do take some time to load but they were created at medium resolution with a click-thru to larger images that open a second browser window. These pages provide Contact Information for all the intended users.
The next three links provide information specific to the needs of the intended audience we wish to change from surfers to users. In order of the organizational needs they are Donations, Volunteers, Applicants. The sections need further development. While they provide some basic information such as the tax number and a mail to link, the donation section should have a contributor form that can be filled out with the items to be donated. This could be used for tax purposes and also inventory control. The volunteers' section needs a link to a page like the Staff page that will contain a picture of the core volunteers and some information about the volunteers. A link to the volunteer's resume would also be a good gesture. The applicant section should have a link to an application form that could be used to easily place the information into an Access database. This would save a tremendous amount of time spent entering this information and insure proper spelling of names and correct phone numbers. The form could be designed such that it could not be submitted unless all the needed information is properly filled out.
The Graduates section is designed to help further the mission of providing computer literacy and to promote the graduates. It contains information and links to further educational opportunities and additional Internet resources. More pages promoting the graduates are yet to be created including a Picture section and a list of graduate names. This will demonstrate to the sponsors of the program that the need for developing computer literacy is not a color issue. The graduates are a cross section of our entire nation.