Website Review 2: CSS Zen Garden

The website that I choose to review for week two is csszengarden.com. This website demonstrates how beneficial CSS is to the design of a website. The whole site is built around people’s submissions of the same information but showcases how CSS code can make each site feel completely different. Although the site is over twenty years old, it still showcases the point of how CSS can be used to design websites in so many ways.

1. What is the site's URL? Why is it your favorite?

csszengarden.com I chose CSS Zen Garden as my favorite because visually it showcases how CSS can create so many designs but does it in a very simplistic way. I enjoyed the other sites too, but because everyone had the same information to use, this one was better for early learners. I also liked the fact that you can look and see the HTML and CSS code to learn from. Designmodo didn't give that as an option, and although the designs were more visually eye-catching, it would be nice to see how someone created the site to learn from it.

2. Does the site's home page validate?

No, it does not for html, but for css it is good.

3. Find any other page on the site. Does the second page validate?

The second page does not validate with html either, but the css is good.

4. Document how many validation errors and/or warnings may exist on each of the two pages you validate.

The home pages has 4 html errors and so does the second page.

5. How would you rate the site's design, on a scale of 1(horrible) to 10 (fantastic)? Why?

I would rate the site as a 9. I think it is easy to maneuver and get around, plus it gives you the option to see both the HTML and CSS code of each submission to learn from it. The site itself is fairly simple with the focus being on everyone’s submissions and how to learn from one another.

6. How would you rate the site's usability on a scale of 1 (horrible) to 10 (fantastic)? Why?

I would rate this site as a 9. While it is easy to get around and I could find all the designs that were submitted, I did notice there wasn't a quick way to get back to the home page or click through the designs on the submission pages. Although you could click the areas of next design or previous design, it would just bring you back to the same page you were on, which at times was frustrating.

7. Does the site meet its purpose?

Yes, it showcases what is possible when using CSS from many different people.