Assignment 1 Digital

Alyssa Thomas
 YouTube 

YouTube is an example of an entertainment website it allows you to  watch videos creators have
uploaded. Furthermore, it can be used as a learning platform (following tutorials).

The target audience age is very vast from kids to the elderly. This is because there are many
different types of content which targets different audiences.
 Registration/ logins-
allows the user to get
content targeted towards
them. And it will track the
history subscriptions, watch
later etc. For easier usability
Aesthetics- improves enjoyment and
the users experience, turns the
colour theme darker shades.
The features of YouTube
Forms- easy way to give
feedback which will improve
the users experience
Hyperlinks- takes
you to another site  subscribing
YouTube
Categories-faster access to content in
Accessibility- allows more users with
the category the user is interested in
different backgrounds to access and use
the site.
Hot spots (hover over to play)- improves
Action buttons- encourages users performance because the videos aren't loading
to click to do an action e.g. unless the user hovers over with the mouse.
 How the features improve the following:
• Presentation –The aesthetics of the site can be customised by the user making it more appealing for the
individual to look at, an example of this is changing from light mode to dark .This turns the colour theme of the
site to darker shades. Furthermore, the videos would stand out to the background heightening interest. If this
wasn’t a feature the site wouldn’t be as appealing for the users causing disinterest.
• Usability – The site has categories and search bars making it more usable as it helps the users find what they're
looking for quicker. Furthermore, the sign in feature heightens usability as the content would be recommended
based off what they have been interested in, in the past this would make them more likely to watch. If this
didn’t occur, then users wouldn’t be as interested in continuing watching videos decreasing users' retention.
• Accessibility – YouTube allows the user  to change the accessibility depending on their needs for example you
can change the language, turn on subtitles and turn on dark mode. This increases the sites traffic as more
people from different backgrounds can now use the site. Furthermore, the black text is placed on a white
background which is contrasting making it easy to read. If this wasn’t the case, then users from different
backgrounds may find it difficult to use the site so they would lose the people from this target audience.
• Performance – YouTubes performance is fast because the videos don’t load unless they
are selected ( hyperlinks and hotspots used). If this wasn’t a feature of the site then every video ever posted to
the site would need to be fully loaded all at once, this would lead to an incredibly slow performance speed if
not crashing the whole domain.Furthermore, the videos quality is automatically decreased/increased
depending on the user's internet speed allowing the videos to load faster. If this wasn’t a feature that YouTube
automatically provides, then users could become frustrated with the site not wanting to use it frequently. 
Strengths of the site
• I feel that because YouTube target audience is so varied in age and backgrounds
this makes the site so popular and successful- Furthermore because it allows
creators to post their own content this furthers the sites popularity because
people with different interests will use the site for  entertainment purposes. If
the content wasn’t so varied, then users may get bored or disinterested in the
site.

• Another strength I have identified is YouTubes algorithm. With the sign in

feature YouTube tracks the users likes and dislikes giving them 'recommended
videos'. This helps keep the user's attention as they don’t need to put any effort
into finding interesting content for themselves. If YouTube didn’t do this users
would have to search themselves for the videos, they want to watch so this
saves the users time making them more inclined to use the site again.
 Weaknesses of the site
• A weakness I have identified is the accessibility. Considering since the target audience is
made up of vastly different people you would expect the accessibility to be a lot better
than it currently is. One example of poor accessibility is the subtitles on videos. Not only
is most of the video's subtitles auto generated ( meaning a lot of the time it is confusing
to understand) but some videos don’t  have captions at all, this will discourage people
who may need this feature to come back and use the site again. To fix this YouTube could
hire employees to write subtitles for their videos.

• Another weakness I have identified is because the site allows anyone to post videos this
could lead to hateful and discriminatory videos being easily spread. Usually, the
managers are quick at removing the videos but for the most part the damage would've
been already done. This will discourage people who are offended by what they have seen
to come back and use the site again reducing traffic. To fix this YouTube could not allow
videos with certain phrases and topics to be posted.
 amazon

Amazon is an example of an ecommerce website it allows you to shop for a

variety of different products and have them sent to your doorstep.

The target audience age is mainly middle age to older adults, this is because
people of an older age may not have the ability to go to a store, so it makes
their life a lot easier.
Registration/ logins – the user can create
an account to save and track the items their
buying and see recommended content
Forms- allows users to leave feedback
to help improve the site and users
experience.
Accessibility- allows you to Categories- faster access to content
change the language of the site in the category the user wants
making it more accessible to more
people.

Hot spots- if you hover over the hot spot with the
mouse a banner pops down with related information
Aesthetics- contrasting colours easy
to read and appealing to the eye Action buttons-  the user can
Animated banner- improves click the arrows on the banner to
aesthetics and viewer interest. scroll to the next image
E-commerce- shopping basket
allows users to see what they are
buying

The features of Amazon

How the features improve the following:
• Presentation – Amazons colour scheme is black white and yellow, and this continues on every
page on the site this gives it an overall profession look. This not only makes the site very
recognisable but because the colours are very contrasting it makes it easy to read and navigate. If
this wasn't the case, then the site could come off as unprofessional discouraging people to buy
from there as they wouldn’t trust.  
• Usability – The search bar allows users to quickly find the products they want without having to
sift through the entire products list. It brings up products with the correct key words so users can
choose between similar products and compare prices. If this wasn’t a feature on amazon users
would have a hard time finding what they want to buy getting frustrated with the site and
discouraged to use it in the future.
• Accessibility – The site auto adjusts when zoomed in allowing people with poor eyesight to be
able to read the products leading to more sales from within this target audience. Furthermore,
Amazon allows you to change the language of the site allowing non-English speakers to shop
easily. If this wasn’t the case, then users from different backgrounds may find it difficult to use the
site so they would lose the people from this target audience.
• Performance – Images are reduced in size on products pages (JPG file types) this means that the
site will load quicker as there is less to load this allows users on different speeds of Wi-Fi to
shop quick and without frustrations. If this wasn’t a feature that Amazon automatically provides,
then users could become agitated with the site not wanting to use it again.
Strengths of the site

• A strength of Amazon is that there is a huge variety of different products this is a strength because
users wouldn’t have to go on multiple sites for the different products they may need. This would
save time for the users making them more likely to use Amazon over a different site increasing the
sites traffic. If Amazon didn’t have such a variety of products, they would make less money as users
would use different sites to shop. Furthermore, it is very easy to find what you're looking for with
the use of the search bar feature, users can search for any product they want, and a list of products
Amazon provides within this search category will immediately pop up (the use of keywords
in products names). If this process wasn’t so fast users may close the site due to agitation and
Amazon would lose customers and sales.

• Another strength I have identified is Amazon allows users to shop from home this is a strength
because some people may not have the ability go to the shops for example a person with difficulty
walking. This increases the popularity of the site as it reaches this target audience in ways other
stores can't. If this wasn’t the case, then people with disabilities wouldn’t be able to shop with
Amazon.
Weaknesses of the site
• A weakness I have identified is Amazon allows anyone to sell products on their site,
this is a weakness because uncredited buyers will be able to get away with
scamming users. This would cause people to lose trust in the site and not use it in
the future.To fix this Amazon could hire people to do a check on all the sellers to
reduce the chance of scams

• Another weakness of Amazon is the accessibility I found as I was using the site it
was difficult to access any of the accessibility features meaning that others are
likely to have the same issue. Furthermore, a lot of the product names are long and
confusing meaning users who need text to speech enabled would struggle to
understand what they are buying. Both of these would discourage users with
disabilities to use their site over another's. To fix this Amazon could do a dedicated
accessibility page to help users understand how to use these feature. Also, Amazon
should ensure all products have simple names and descriptions helping users to
understand easier