About the
GCC Web

Wrecking Balls and Bulldozers:
Your Web Site in the Real World

1. PC laptop with a 28.8 modem connected to an analog phone line, running Netscape Navigator 3.0
2. PC (Pentium 166) running Netscape Navigator 4.5
3. PC (Pentium 266) running Internet Explorer 5.0
4. Wyse terminal running LYNX 3.2
5. Mac OS running Netscape 4.7
6. Simulation of WebTV (an emulator program running on a PC)

Naturally, the results of the tests varied with every page the visitors opened. The common lesson: Always open your web pages on machines other than your own.

Some practical tests to try on one's own in imitation of this exercise correspond to numbers 1, 4, and 6 in the list above:

• The important feature of the first machine was that it used a "slow" Internet connection in contrast to what Maricopa employees are accustomed to accessing at their desks; this test may be imitated with a typical dialup (not digital or cable) connection from home.
• The fourth machine represented plain text delivery of web sites and served as an excellent test of the ADA compliance of a site; one can learn similar information by turning off the graphics, Java, JavaScript, and graphical plug-ins on one's browser program, but should also try accessibility testing software such as the tool available at http://www.cast.org/bobby/.
• The sixth machine presented a look at WebTV, a fast-growing format of Internet access which also seems to respond the most kindly to page formats dominated by plain text; web developers may download the WebTV emulator program (for PCs) from http://developer.webtv.net/.

Other practical tests for a web site:

• View the site at different screen resolutions -- one can adjust one's own monitor to pull this off. Most users view the Web at whatever resolution for which the monitor was set when it came out of the box; this is often the lowest screen resolution. Other users have larger monitors or higher screen resolutions which effectively enlarge the viewing area and shrink the contents of the page. Either of these variations can help the web developer discover where the readability of a page might be hurt either by changes in the alignment of page content or by large background images.
• Check the web site on both Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer (both of which may be installed on the same computer).
• Try a couple of different standard font sizes; the usual default of 12 point type for Macintosh displays tends to resemble 10 point type on a Windows machine. Many users adjust the font size for their own preferences.
• One cannot count on Java, JavaScript, cookies, and various plug-in programs to be available or working on every browser. Web developers should test the functionality of their sites with these features deactivated via the "Preferences" settings in Netscape Navigator and/or "Internet Tools" in Microsoft Internet Explorer and determine how the target audience will be affected by any differences in these functions.

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