Section 4

Part  9: Getting Feedback

Assignment

 

In your Website Plan document, state the names of three people who you will go to for constructive criticism. Do not choose a member of your immediate family or your teacher. Of course your teacher will review, critique, and grade your site, but you need a minimum of three others to give their initial input.

Get Feedback on Your Site

 

I follow a general rule about feedback: if one person gives me a critique, I endeavor to listen politely without arguing. I don’t have to agree and I don’t necessarily follow their advice. If a second independent person gives me a similar critique, then I take it very seriously.

For example, when I let five of my advisors go through my website as it was being created, one person came back with a critique about my logo. It originally had a cartoon-like minotaur in it.

 

I said thank you but didn’t change anything. Then within a couple days, two other advisors also shared with me that they didn’t like it. I took it out immediately.

 

Here’s the point: I liked the minotaur but the website is not about what I like—it’s about the perception of my intended audience. My advisors, who also represent my target audience (they’re all educators), alerted me to something that would detract from my ability to be successful. These people are valuable to me and I lean upon their experience and wisdom.

 

It’s good to ask for constructive criticism on your site. If you get criticism on your site, never be offended by what you hear. You don’t have to agree with the criticism that you’re given. Just thank the people for their time and don’t argue. Remember that if you hear the same criticism twice or more, you should think very carefully about changing what you have done.

Assignment

 

In your Website Plan document, state the names of three people who you will go to for constructive criticism. Do not choose a member of your immediate family or your teacher. Of course your teacher will review, critique, and grade your site, but you need a minimum of three others to give their initial input.