Comparing Websites

The Alamo Official Site-- San Antonio, Texas
http://www.thealamo.org

As the official website of the Alamo historical site, this webpage is put together extremely well. It offers a wealth of information to visitors, and maintains a professional appearance throughout the site. The website explains the story of the 1863 Battle of the Alamo, and why the former mission is an important historical site.

Being a very dynamic website, each page is filled with pictures and pop-up menus to entice the visitor into further exploration of the site. The homepage divides the site up into history, visitor information, educational resources, and donations. These categories are easy to navigate at a glance, and when scrolled over, pop-up menus appear that describe what each category contains so the visitor can find exactly what they are looking for.

The highlights of this website are the numerous primary sources provided for the visitor, which include letters from those involved in the Battle of the Alamo. A large picture gallery also adds to the site. All of the links I checked on the site were in working order, and the site appears to be up to date and maintained regularly. There is a large section about planning a visit to the Alamo, with an extensive list of contact persons who welcome any inquiries about visiting. The educational section is also packed with lesson plans and guides for student research about the Alamo. Finally, there is a section for children that contains several puzzles and games relating to the historical site.

The only downfall of this website that I found is that some parts are particularly text heavy. While every page does contain pictures, in the history section, the pages begin to look boring. The text is plain Times New Roman with a white background, and continues on for several long paragraphs. This could be improved by adding more color to the pages and choosing an interesting font. Also, the paragraphs could be shortened or the text could be split up into several pages. Even with this flaw, the Alamo website is definitely worth a visit, and is the best source about this historical site that I have found on the internet.


The Alamo
http://www.americanwest.com/pages/alamo.htm

When searching for information about the Alamo online, this is one of the first websites to appear. This is also one of the worst and most outdated websites that I have come across. It is a single page with a drab tan background and small text, with one small picture of the historical site. The website provides a one paragraph summary on history of the Alamo, including a few sentences about the famous battle.

Half of the one page website is taken up by a "recent" visitor email. There is no date on this email, and it is hardly relevant and provides visitors to the site with very little information. I thought the website could redeem itself through the long list of related links at the bottom of the page. It even divides the links up into information about the Alamo, biographies of those involved in the Battle, and movies made about the Alamo. However, only a few of these links work, and the information provided by these supplementary websites is disjointed and confusing, and does not relate to the original website. Overall, this website is a disappointment and does a disservice to those who are trying to research and learn about the Alamo. It does not even compare to the official Alamo site, and has no similarities to it at all.


The Battle of the Alamo
http://www.lone-star.net/mall/texasinfo/alamo-battle.htm

This website is almost as bad as the one before it, and also does not compare to the official Alamo site. It is another single page site, with a plain white background. This site has slightly larger text that is easier to read. However, all the site contains is text, and lots of it. It explains the Battle of the Alamo, but fails to address the actual Alamo mission building. The site is quite boring for the visitor, with only a single tiny picture of the Alamo historical site.

There are annoying ads in the menu bar, and like the previous website, hardly any of the added links work. The only section of links that work is the libraries and museums section. Some of the links direct the visitor to interesting sites that are of much higher quality than this one. This website should take an example from these other sites and update their look and the information provided. Sadly, this website was updated in September and is still in this bad of shape. Unfortunately for those researching the Alamo on the internet, the only option I have found is the official website. While this makes up for what the other sites lack, it is disappointing to find only one great website about such an important moment in American history.