Rubric for reviewing a website:

The following system will be used to rate the website:

1-strongly disagree; 2-disagree; 3-agree; 4-strongly agree; 5-not applicable

Website reviewed: LitPick, available at http://www.litpick.com/

LitPick is an educational website that focuses on provision of free electronic books to students mostly that are in grade four to twelve. The students usually critic books through this website. In addition, they develop and participate in the posting of reviews. Discussion forums are available to the members where they can discuss with the authors. Parents who want to participate on the issues of these young ones can also involve themselves and get to learn.

A glance at the website shows a good organization and has a captivating cover page. The cover page is designed with some enticing colors that make one want to spend some time playing with the site. At the top, some bulletin is organized from the left to the right on the icons one can visit on the website such as the home page and if one wants to learn about the organization. The website also has an icon that leads to the forum site where discussions take place. Another icon leads the visitor to the books that have been uploaded on the site. It also has an icon for a contact person, and also for those who would want to submit their reviews. Below the top cover, the website has an area that shows some of the books at a glance. A book is passed by at a period of approximately twenty seconds then another is passed by. The website is also organized to show top reviewers. On the side it also shows top books and the new releases in the website. It has also placed a list of the most talked about books, and arranged into a list, the most talked about topics. The website also has an icon for member log in and lastly, it shows the copyright with the current year 2014.

Critique of the website

Any visitor visiting the LitPick website even for the first time will agree that the website is well organized. The visual appearance of the website is pleasing. The default though in the visual appearance is that it is very childish. The colors that have been used and some of the graphics may not appeal much to adults. To some extent, this is right for the designer because the main target group for the website is children. On the other hand, the host also targeted adults who would be interested in this stuff. The adults may thus not be appealed to by the graphics.

Time is very essential resource to every user of a site. The time span that this site uses to open is very reasonable. This is a strong point to the designer and the organization. One other aspect of this aspect that one would agree with it is navigation. It appears easy to navigate through the website. The links to this website also open easily without redirecting the user to some funny places. The organization of the website to some icons that lead the visitor to what they are searching for comes out very clearly.

The information provided in this website seems very useful to the users. One strong point that has made the organization achieve this is inclusion of many books in the website. Another thing they have taken care of in terms of materials and information is their efforts to include new books as soon as they are available.

The classification of books by the site too, as per the most reviewed and the top ones, as well as, the newest assist the users in their search. This is a strong point for the organization. When compared to some other sites that provide the same service, this website seems to be ahead of them. For example, some of the sites take a very long time before they update the books, and even the web page. This LitPick web page is an updated one, and has included a lot of current educational materials.

The email for the contact person in case of a query is provided in the site. Also, in case one would like to contact quickly, there is a provision for that. The name of the institution, LitPick, is provided in the site.  What also makes one to make a conclusion that this is a well-organized and very sufficient website is the provision of the team members who run the organization. This enables the user to have a grasp of the people who are providing the educational service and their qualifications, as well as their educational background. After going through this, the customer is in a position to make an informed decision. The web site also stated the mission, as well as, the vision for the organization. It also explains the problem statement and how it contributes in providing a solution to bridge the gap in the education sector.

Finally, the design of the website is appealing. The organization of every section portrays professionalism. Perhaps LitPick needs only to look at their choice of colors and graphics in order to appeal to the adults. To conclude, LitPick is a website with a high score.