ProPublica - Web Design

About 30 percent of ProPublica's main page is content (without scrolling down). The other 70 percent consists of navigation, images and links. I think most of the images are bigger than they really should be. However, the Web site does provide links to other stories. On the main page, it provides the first two paragraphs of the main news item/story, followed by a link to the rest of the story. It also provides several links to more stories. Also, there are a lot more content on the main page once I scrolled down. I'd say it's close to 70 percent. Since ProPublica's a nonprofit news organization, there are no advertisements on the Web site, which I appreciate more as a user/reader.

The Web site has a white background and used Sans serif typeface for both the headlines and stories. Font sizes are also pretty consistent - 18 point font size for headlines and 12 point for the stories. The site also loads pretty fast using the Internet connection at Sac State. It's probably about three to four seconds.

The Web site does not use ALT text attributes for images. Some of the images do have captions underneath. The image for the main story ("Contractors in Iraq are Hidden Casualties of War") doesn't have a caption. By clicking on the image, I saw a more detailed description of the photo.

The Web site uses structural and associate links and links to other references. At the top of the page, underneath the banner, there are links to other sections within the Web site. Throughout the Web page, there are links to other stories and ongoing investigations. Also, the Web site provides links to stories from other news organizations, such as The Los Angeles Times and The New York Times. Links are also well-described and users would know where the link would lead. However, I think some of the descriptions are longer than needed. The link colors don't change when the links are clicked on. So there's really no way for users to know all the sections that they've gone to.

Finally, I think the Web site uses frames efficiently. It's easy to see how different stories are separated from each other. The site, as a whole, organized and professional.