WebWatch Trawl of UK University Entry Pages (5)
The WebWatch trawls revealed some interesting hyperlinking issues, which are described below.
The histogram of the numbers of hyperlinks from institutional entry points shows an approximately normal distribution.
Six sites were found to have fewer than 5 links.
One site contained over 75 links.
The analyses do not give a completely accurate view for a variety of reasons:
- The address of one of the sites with a small number of links was incorrectly given in the input file list (obtained from HESA).
- The analysis did not exclude duplicate links.
- Sites containing "splash screens" were reported as having small number of links, although arguably the links on the second screen should also be included.
Many Links:
- Provide useful "short cuts" for experienced users
- Can minimise numbers of levels to navigate
Few Links:
- Can be confusing for new user
- Can cause accessibility problems (e.g. for the visually impaired)