My final website functions as intended, as a result of my thorough testing. Posts and comments can be made and deleted, and the tiers that users have can effect how then can interact with these features. Users that have not been verified cannot access the perks of their tier. Admins can change users’ tiers and delete comments that may be derogatory or unhelpful.
I stated previously that my website must not allow just anyone to make a post as this could convey misleading information. I have resolved this by making it so that only admins can make posts, whereas regular users can only post comments.
I have made my website very easy to use by following Nielssen’s Usability Heuristics and common website conventions. I used iconography to clearly show users what buttons do, and the website is easily navigable. Pages are kept pretty sparse, as to not clutter the page or add too many distractions.
When testing the final product, we found that users with a vast technological skill set were able to easily use the site and its features.
I found a good colour palette from the website Realtime Colors. I then refined this myself and discussed it with my client. This resulted in the final colour palette the site uses. The colours all complement each other well, and provide an easy reading environment.
Throughout all written information on the site, I made sure to use general language that is inclusive and inoffensive. When testing the site, I asked users if they felt ostracized by anything the site said, and they all said no.
As people can post comments, they may be able to say something that could be considered offensive. As only verified accounts at certain tiers can post comments and not free accounts, this should hopefully decrease any obscenities being said. Additionally, admins are able to delete any comment so they will be able to clear up any offensive comments made. This results in a very safe environment for our users.
I designed the website to be predominantly used for phones and smaller screens. This is because our users will most likely be on their phones rather than on a larger device or computer. Designing the phone UI first made it easy to scale up to a larger screen. This means that the website can be used from small phones to large desktops, meaning it can effectively be used well on any device. This results in a very accessible website.
I can say that I am happy with the final product that I have made, and both my client and I agree that it fulfils the problem that we set out to resolve. Development went smoothly, with me gaining feedback both from testers and my client throughout the development process. I iterated my design significantly throughout the initial design phase and the mvp phase, with small refinements and polish added at the end.