Crossroads Urban Center – Featured on StartUpLift for Non-Profit Roast

25 thoughts on “Crossroads Urban Center – Featured on StartUpLift for Non-Profit Roast”

1. Visit https://www.crossroads-u-c.org/. What is your initial impression of what you see? Does the site have a simple, visually powerful web 2.0 home page design? What should be fixed?
   I don’t like the dashes in the website address. Personal preference I suppose. Your Facebook widget is cut in half, perhaps by the banner below it. This occurred in an older Firefox browser and a newer Internet Explorer browser. That, in itself, is a huge turnoff. The Logo seems squezzed into the left corner, perhaps the mission statement would do better accompanying it in the top section. Links are placed haphazardly. I’m not crazy about the pull down tab on the left side. It doesnt make sense the way the page is layed out. It’s not saving space, just cramming it.

   Is the text formatted for easy reading? Is the design consistent throughout all secondary navigation and content pages? What can be improved?
   The mission statement text is in a normal, common font and looks unimportant. I dont like where it’s placed. As I said, I think as part of a (more colorful) banner at the top would be better. The bottom return links in the text boxes are odd. Ive never seen them stacked like that. Not sure how I feel about it. Seems to give off a “homemade” vibe. I feel like I’m looking at a website that was made by a guy sitting around in his boxers, working off some boredom. Somepages are white, some are grey, some open up in a separate window for no reason, some do not. It’s a mess. Stick to a specific color scheme or common theme. Stick to a common font type. The Fiscal Page retuns an error message. Those frames are annoying. I try to click on a home page link and it opens up more frames where there should nt be any.

   Are proper ‘call-to-action’ elements implemented throughout the site to encourage support and participation (for e.g. Donate Now buttons, e-Newsletters, Social Media icons)?
   As mentioned before, the Facebook icon is cut in half. The  Xmission banner looks like an advertisement and is placed very oddly in a nonsensical location.  As a reminder, I saw this on several websites.  I cant tell you how much these frames are driving me mad. I cant click back to the home page without frames popping up where they shouldnt be and making the webpage look like a garbage dump. The buttons are not well placed, including the aforementioned landing page issues. I dont want to have to hunt each page for a link. Give me the same location for donation/news/social media functions on each page so I dont have to begin another search for them If I decide to look at another section of the site.
   
    

   Given what you see (based on website), are you immediately encouraged to donate? Why or why not?
   The impression given by the website is that this is a place for those in Utah to donate and participate, and even at that, a certain area of Utah. I dont know how this is set apart from any other similar site, what its reputation as an assistance program is, how much of my money actually gets to the needy,, etc Where are the visible/tangible results that this program has created? Where can I see them? Who has been helped? How? Who do you empower to advocate for themselves? How? Can anyone in the area participate? do you have other branches? Restrictions and guidelines that people need to be aware of right off the bat? these are some of the questions that would do well to be answered clearly before I considered donating or participating.

   Please share any additional feedback/comments you may have.
   The entire site looks like it was made in-house. I feel like someone had a kid brother that was practicing website building and they asked him to throw it together for $50. Ditch the frames, or learn how to use them. I say ditch them. they serve no use on this site and obstruct functionality. There could be more color and emotion in the pages. Add pictures of community members, people receiving food/shelter, applying for jobs, helping each other, consulting with counselors, etc. There’s no emotion here. Bring a sense of charity and community to the site with the right pictures and colors. Several home page links are broken. Fix the issue with some pages opening up on top of each other and other ones randomly opening a whole new window. there’s no rhyme or reason to it.
    
   Hope this helps
    
   -Will-

   P.s.

   This – “Crossroads Urban Center helps to organize low income, disabled, and minority Utahns to be advocates on their own behalf in addressing essential issues affecting the quality of their lives. We also provide direct services to help meet basic survival needs. We are part of a tradition of service in the Salt Lake area that goes back 126 years. When Crossroads was formed in 1966, an emergency food pantry and thrift store quickly emerged as focal points for community involvement. Crossroads has initiated and developed dozens of new community organizations to provide services not otherwise available in our community.”

   needs to be on the landing page

2. Visit https://www.crossroads-u-c.org/. What is your initial impression of what you see? Does the site have a simple, visually powerful web 2.0 home page design? What should be fixed?
   My first impression of the site was that it resembled a Craigslist ad.  The home page design is simple, but I feel a more professional logo and design for the page would be more trustworthy and enticing to potential donors.

   Is the text formatted for easy reading? Is the design consistent throughout all secondary navigation and content pages? What can be improved?
   The text is formatted for easy reading, and the design is consistent throughout the site.  Again, a more professional appearance would make readers want to read more.

   Are proper ‘call-to-action’ elements implemented throughout the site to encourage support and participation (for e.g. Donate Now buttons, e-Newsletters, Social Media icons)?
   The donate button cannot be reached unless you click through the “How to Help” link.  I think it should be on the first page to encourage donating.  If a reader has to click through pages to find the link, the less likely they will be to donate.

   Given what you see (based on website), are you immediately encouraged to donate? Why or why not?
   I am not.  Since the font and layout resemble a Craigslist ad, I am less trustworthy of this site and skeptical to donate.
   Please share any additional feedback/comments you may have.
   Good information on site-a more professional appearance would be helpful.

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4. Visit https://www.crossroads-u-c.org/. What is your initial impression of what you see? Does the site have a simple, visually powerful web 2.0 home page design? What should be fixed?
   Initial impression – I am not a fan of all the panes and panels. I think you should ditch the scroll bars and have all the content on the homepage. To be honest, this site does not compare to upscale sites. To answer your question, it does not compare with 2.0 sites. If you are willing to pay more for a site, then you can have more quality.
   Is the text formatted for easy reading? Is the design consistent throughout all secondary navigation and content pages? What can be improved?
   Text is readable. Again, the scroll bars seem to hide your content. I don’t think you should have 3 panes on your homepage.
   Are proper ‘call-to-action’ elements implemented throughout the site to encourage support and participation (for e.g. Donate Now buttons, e-Newsletters, Social Media icons)?
   There are calls-to-action but your site does not seem like it will inspire people (new visitors) to scroll around on your homepage. Upgrade your visual aesthetics and it have the design to have a certain strategy in which your visitors will look at your site in a certain order. Such as: Logo/banner first, then main picture or theme in middle of homepage, then selling points. That was an example.
   Given what you see (based on website), are you immediately encouraged to donate? Why or why not?
   Please share any additional feedback/comments you may have.
   No. I am not encouraged to donate. From a budget perspective, you have a bare-bones website. Someone with the intent to donate before they see your site, may donate, but I don’t think your site inspires brand new visitors to donate globally. It may inspire local people to donate. Why not poll locals and see if they are motivated to donate by visiting your site.

5. Visit https://www.crossroads-u-c.org/. What is your initial impression of what you see? Does the site have a simple, visually powerful web 2.0 home page design? What should be fixed?
   My first impression was that the site probably was designed some time ago.  Frames are no longer very common, and the web site in general has a very bare bones feel to it.  Though the design is outdated, this isn’t unusual when it comes to nonprofit web sites and it wouldn’t dissuade me from donating.  I fully realize that most charities function with very limited resources, and I don’t think spending thousands on a flashy web site would be a responsible use of donor funds.  Still, I felt there were a few relatively painless changes that could be made to make the site look and work better.  First, the Facebook feed is very difficult to read in Firefox — barely any text is displayed, forcing the user to scroll down practically sentence by sentence.  If the feed is going to be displayed on the homepage, it should be larger and more prominent.  Next, I would suggest that the video linked on the homepage be uploaded to YouTube and then embedded on the homepage — this will save on bandwidth, allow YouTube users to discover Crossroads, and be easily accessible for most viewers.  Links to the Quicktime and WMV versions of the video can still be provided so no one is left out.  Thirdly, the “Upcoming Events” and “UPP” links both open new, frame-broken windows, a design that’s inconsistent with the rest of the site.  Lastly, the “Fiscal Info” link is broken…since this may very well dissuade some potential donors, this should be corrected as soon as possible.
   Is the text formatted for easy reading? Is the design consistent throughout all secondary navigation and content pages? What can be improved?
   I had no problem reading any of the text on the site.  I noticed that the font sizes and background colors changed from page to page — that’s not something I personally minded, but I suppose some design sticklers would frown on there not being a consistent design throughout the site.
   
   Are proper ‘call-to-action’ elements implemented throughout the site to encourage support and participation (for e.g. Donate Now buttons, e-Newsletters, Social Media icons)?
   I noticed numerous text calls to action throughout the site and the “How You Can Help” link is prominent.  However, I think a “Donate Now” banner or other graphic image should be added — sometimes it takes an image to really grab a person’s attention.  It can be easy to gloss over plain text.
   Given what you see (based on website), are you immediately encouraged to donate? Why or why not?
   I would say I was not immediately encouraged to donate.  My first thought on looking at the old-fashioned design was, “Is this charity still active?”  After I looked around, I realized it was still very much alive.  There’s actually a good deal of information about the charity to browse, which I feel is a good thing; I was especially impressed with the video.  As a donor, my main concern is that my money be used wisely and carefully — getting an inside look at what goes on at Crossroads, “meeting” the people behind the organization, and actually seeing people being helped in the video made me much more likely to donate. 
   Please share any additional feedback/comments you may have.
   I noticed that online donations to Crossroads are handled by Network for Good and that there is an option to specify a designation where you’d like your donation to go on their page.  I think this is a really important thing to have because Crossroads is such a diverse organization.  However, it’s not made clear on the Crossroads site itself if such designation requests are honored since I assume Network for Good has a standardized donation form — I wondered if it was possible to actually donate money specifically to, say, the food pantry if you wanted to do so.  Not everyone will be equally interested in supporting both the advocacy and services sides of Crossroads so giving donors the option to control where exactly their money goes seems like a really good idea to me. 
   

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   Visit https://www.crossroads-u-c.org/. What is your initial impression of what you see? Does the site have a simple, visually powerful web 2.0 home page design? What should be fixed?

   It does not catch my eye or grab my attention. It is simple in the heading but no more. The links look very sticky and not attracting at all. If I do not know the people behind the scenes I would be skeptical to get involved trough this website. I would suggest a more clean first impression with a pop up video or photo element that will help the new viewers to gain trust in the site. Of your purpose of the website is just a resource centre with information needed and not on getting new people involved I would say it serves the purpose. My humble opinion is that the site lacks proper structure and have way too many pointers that comes across.
   

   Is the text formatted for easy reading? Is the design consistent throughout all secondary navigation and content pages? What can be improved?

   Yes the text is easy reading but the grammar realy needs a lot of TLC. Also all the pages are very bland. The desighn is consistant but in the same breath What design?? There is absolutely no design. It is more boring words in columbs. Would not call it a design but rather a dull combenation of boring words with no meaning. To understand most of the organizations and ways to donate is very burdansame. What is needed is pictures and visuals. Sound and colour. What is the real passion behind the website. Show me you care for this helpless people and if I give you money that you will look after them well. If you would approach me with this type of website I would get the wrong impression of a maybe real good cause. Maybe 10 years ago this would have been fine, but not today. Unfortunately we are all too much entertained with the latest movies TV shows and special effects.

   What is first needed is a true reflection of what you are about. Being original does not necessary have to be flashy. Having compelling content with a strong human element maybe a great starting point. Then Color schemes and pictures.

   Are proper ‘call-to-action’ elements implemented throughout the site to encourage support and participation (for e.g. Donate Now buttons, e-Newsletters, Social Media icons)?

   Yes call to action. Proper NOOO. I would not call it proper but rather very basic. Just google a couple of similar causes and see who rise to the top. All have current plug ins with world recognized payment methods. Would never donate money to unknown sources. Why not use Pay Pal or at least n known way to transfer funds easily. Again I would say there are too much burden on the user. He or she needs to make too many difficult choices and incomplete information. Make is super simple for you visitors to first relate to you as an organization and then build a long term relationship with winning their trust. This all may sound too much, but if you don’t understand human phycology and how people make decisions and go over to action it would be difficult to explain. To give you a straight answer out of the horses mouth. I would guess the person who wanted this website put a couple of pointers on paper and gave it to a tech guy who has no feeling about the cause. It is like asking someone to paint you a picture and sign your name as the artist. Truly not a good idea. The newsletter is your best feature and should be used to gain trust.

   Given what you see (based on website), are you immediately encouraged to donate? Why or why not?

   No, Sorry to say I rather want to run away and hide. I do not see any hungry people with smily grateful faces. I see no compassionate people who would like to help. All I see is someone asking for money like a million others out there.

   Please share any additional feedback/comments you may have.

   I believe in helping people and creating a way for those who does not have the time is very good. Unfortunately we all want to feel good about what we do and stand for. I would truly say this website should first focus on the people who can give money and what there expectations is. Then only will the needy be served. Hope I was not too hard. I have lots of passion and this is the single thing the website needs. PASSION

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8. Visit https://www.crossroads-u-c.org/. What is your initial impression of what you see? Does the site have a simple, visually powerful web 2.0 home page design? What should be fixed?
    
   Well, the homepage of https://www.crossroads-u-c.org/ is not impressive at all, to say honestly. I feel that there are numerous side bars fixed up. And scroll bar for the title of the homepage is not good for visibility. The irregular font sizes and inappropriate colors chosen for fonts are the other negative points about the webpage. The tagline “Creating an Alternative to Poverty” can be altered next to Webpage title. Web 2.0 technology can be applied in a even more powerful way like initiating an animated button, animated or flash subject and content. It is better to remove all those border lines. In the side bar contents, “How you CAN HELP” can be changed to “How Can You Help” because How you can help is not 100% grammatically right and being in the first line of the side tab, it doesn’t give a good impression. It is better to use one color for all headings (Bold) and another color for sub-topics.

   Is the text formatted for easy reading? Is the design consistent throughout all secondary navigation and content pages? What can be improved?
   
   The font size must be reduced and bold subtopics is not appealing. Hence necessary words alone can be made bold, like, all the headings and sub-heading alone can be made bold and in blue color. When having a glance over the site, I was able to find missing uniformity of texts. Hence by applying the necessary changes, the site would look great. Likewise, a few of the secondary navigation pages are in small fonts and few are in big fonts. For instance, Under “Direct services programs” category, Pantry and Thrift store WebPages are in huge fonts whereas Holiday Food and Food Stamp Calculator are in small fonts. Same font size for all secondary navigation contents would be looking good and it is necessary to improve the background template too. As it’s a Urban help center, kids images template, joining hands template would be more informative.
    
   Are proper ‘call-to-action’ elements implemented throughout the site to encourage support and participation (for e.g. Donate Now buttons, e-Newsletters, Social Media icons)?
   
   None of the buttons are properly placed in the site. Actually, for a donation site like this, Donate now button should available in main page as well as in subsequent secondary navigation pages. That’s what makes the viewer to respond. Many would attempt to donate but without the donate now button, how will they donate? So, it should on all pages and it should be bigger than the original button shown on the site. E-newsletters button is OK but do mention “Sign up for newsletters from Crossroads” rather than “Sign up for mails from crossroads”. Moreover, am unable to find any social media icons like Facebook, stumble upon, Digg, It’s better to add one.
    
   Given what you see (based on website), are you immediately encouraged to donate? Why or why not?
   
   Nope, actually. Am perplexed about the site. Many details are not given. While giving up ads, it should be like it is having huge expertise and should post some recommendations too. It’s only for certain parts of Utah and hence not much people would be believing in it. It is better to publish some feedbacks from already donated people so that people would trust it. Even the needy people photographs are not put up on the page. So, anyone would hesitate to make a donation. Information regarding how many people got assistance from it should be posted upon for future people to trust and donate. Already, huge number of internet scams are going on and hence most people are aware of it and this site will also be not believed like those scams, thereby more info regarding the achievements should be posted.
    
   Please share any additional feedback/comments you may have.
    
   According to my perspective, only 40% of the site is over. 60% needs improvement and enhancement. Please ensure that Donate now buttons are properly placed on every page of the website links including the homepage. And font and background should be changed for sure. Message is good but how it is spoken out is important. And that’s what the site lacks.

9. Visit https://www.crossroads-u-c.org/. What is your initial impression of what you see? Does the site have a simple, visually powerful web 2.0 home page design? What should be fixed?

   My initial impression of the Crossroads website was that it appeared to be outdated and uninviting. I think it is great to have the description of what Crossroads is about on the homepage, but it would be beneficial to have additional content: pictures of the outreach center, pictures of people being assisted at the center, and quotes from people that have been helped by the center. It will give the user a visual of how beneficial Crossroads is and may lead more people to donate. Although there is a video, it is quite lengthy and may not hold the attention of too many users.
   As far as the Crossroads logo, I would do one of two things: make it smaller and put the “Creating an alternative to poverty” statement next to it, or I would center the logo in the middle of the page instead of to the left. Either one would create a balanced look at the top of the page
   I would also suggest using a different style font and inviting colors. When searching through the website, I came across https://foodco-op.net/. The homepage is inviting with vivid colors, it is current, and has several nice fonts that step up the look of the content from a basic one.
   Is the text formatted for easy reading? Is the design consistent throughout all secondary navigation and content pages? What can be improved?
   The text is easy to read and consistent, but as I previously stated, the website would look better with another font besides the basic Times New Roman style. Improvements can be made with some of the spelling, on the “how you can help” page, changing “thorough” to “through” where it asks to make a secure donation. I would also change the sentence to say “To make a secure online donation now through Network for Good, click below:”
   Are proper ‘call-to-action’ elements implemented throughout the site to encourage support and participation (for e.g. Donate Now buttons, e-Newsletters, Social Media icons)?
   I think it would be great to add an actual “subscribe now” button on the homepage to get users to sign up for e-Newsletters, or have the subscribe link moved to the sidebar, it is easy to overlook it where it is now at the bottom of the page. Even though there are two donate now buttons in the sidebar, I think it would be great to mention in text on the homepage something along the lines of “It is impossible for Crossroads to help those less fortunate without the generosity of people like you.” There is a great chart on the donate page, but there needs to be something available on the homepage as well to provoke users to want to read more about the organization to lead to a donation being made.
   Given what you see (based on website), are you immediately encouraged to donate? Why or why not?
   Please share any additional feedback/comments you may have.
   I honestly wasn’t immediately encouraged to donate upon viewing the website. It is because there is nothing there to move me to action. There are great descriptions about the history of Crossroads and their mission statement, but I really think that adding personal touches like photos and quotes will make a big difference. I worked for a non-profit agency for at-risk boys, and one of the things you can find on the organization’s website are photos of the boys doing things in the community, and quotes of how grateful they are for the organization. I need my heart strings pulled to move me to donate, especially when money is tight for a lot of us.
   

10. Visit https://www.crossroads-u-c.org/. What is your initial impression of what you see? Does the site have a simple, visually powerful web 2.0 home page design? What should be fixed?
    My first impression was that I really liked the very top of the page with the buildings and the the sun in the background. It make me think of brighter future for our urban communities. Right below that you have a large gap of white space which looks visually odd as if your mission statement should be moved up. I must say that the layout of the page does nothing for me. I not to keen on several sliding pages on one page. Tabs and easy to read headers clean up a site very nicely. I think that if you shift some of the information on the side about your company it would allow you to increase the size of your facebook section and make a adequate size adjustment to the font of your “watch your video” line. It’s so small it’s almost over looked. The most important information about your company is placed on the side of the page where it doesn’t get that direct line to the eye for quick viewing. I would even consider moving everything to the center with only one scrolling page and just have neat and precise sectioning for every section/topic of information. You have a large amount of space next to your title, it seems that you could put some of your company info their to be easily viewed.
    Is the text formatted for easy reading? Is the design consistent throughout all secondary navigation and content pages? What can be improved?
    As I stated before a revamped layout with drop down boxes, fewer scrolling pages and decreasing the white space would make your site more functional. All of the pages opened right up and the info was detailed and straight to the point. Nothing seemed to be lacking in this area.
    Are proper ‘call-to-action’ elements implemented throughout the site to encourage support and participation (for e.g. Donate Now buttons, e-Newsletters, Social Media icons)?
    I see that you have the “how can you help” section underlined in blue but you also have several pieces of information the same way. I think you need to create a “picture” button to click on and have it look like nothing else on your site. On each page for the most part all I see is just info meaning you don’t have much that stands out. As I stated below I watch the video and it would nice to see some pictures on the site itself. I see those as call to action increasers. Of course people can read but pictures, testimonials and then a nice button to click on near buy would be very helpful. I would also like to see a cash goal meter. When people see that they make feel more drawn to help your organization reach its goals. You may even want to give a small write up featuring the three highest donation givers in 3 month intervals as to why they wanted to give.
    Given what you see (based on website), are you immediately encouraged to donate? Why or why not?
    I on the fence about this. The website is just not visually engaging but the cause of the purpose of your organization is what would make me want to donate. Again the video is the biggest push to me. It really put the emotion behind everything that typed on your site.
    Please share any additional feedback/comments you may have.
    Under the newsletter section the word “project” needs an S put on it. I liked that you had a video and it gave great information. I would like to see it just a touch shorter and increase the size of the video. I saw no way to make it larger which made viewing a little hard. I would like to see a fresh, clean, organized layout with tabs and drop down boxes. There needs to be more color to your site the intensity of the white is a touch disengaging.

    I really commend your work as a former youth advocate for non-profit company it’s nice to see people help people.

11. Is the text formatted for easy reading? Is the design consistent throughout all secondary navigation and content pages? What can be improved?

    The text is easy to read. I like that there is a video link.

    What is your initial impression of what you see? Does the site have a simple, visually powerful web 2.0 home page design? What should be fixed?

    Visually the website it blah. It doesn’t catch your attention. The message they are trying to get across is very clear though.

    Are proper ‘call-to-action’ elements implemented throughout the site to encourage support and participation (for e.g. Donate Now buttons, e-Newsletters, Social Media icons)?

    I would probably be more apt to donate if there were individual stories of the people who are benefitting from the service.  I also didn’t see any contact information which would make me question the legitmacy of the company.  I would want to know exactly where my money is being sent.

    Given what you see (based on website), are you immediately encouraged to donate? Why or why not?

    I would make the website my visually appealing and if there is contact information for this company I didn’t see it.  I don’t want to have to search for too long otherwise I would move on.

12. Visit https://www.crossroads-u-c.org/. What is your initial impression of what you see? Does the site have a simple, visually powerful web 2.0 home page design? What should be fixed?

    My initial impression is that the site looks very bare and the Facebook logo is very large and cut in half.  It is actually so large that it automatically gives the website a cheap, unprofessional look.  The home page is in fact simple, which could be a great thing, but it is definitely lacking the Visually Powerful element.  This gives the site a weak, thrown together look. The opening title should be larger, the user shouldn’t need to scroll down to view the page title.

    Is the text formatted for easy reading? Is the design consistent throughout all secondary navigation and content pages? What can be improved?

    The text is formatted for easy reading, everything is large enough so that the user doesn’t have to strain to read. The secondary navigation and content pages are nice, the “Upcoming Crosroads Events” (tab) is misspelled, but the navigation page is neat and understandable.  “The Community Food Co-op” page is lain out in a way that is understandable and easy to navigate.  The secondary navigation and content pages should be moved from the left of the page to the mid-bottom portion of the main page so that it doesn’t take so much effort to navigate and click on these sites.

    Are proper ‘call-to-action’ elements implemented throughout the site to encourage support and
    participation (for e.g. Donate Now buttons, e-Newsletters, Social Media icon

    The majority of the call to action elements  are implemented to the left of the main page.  It would greatly improve the site if they were moved.

    Given what you see (based on website), are you immediately encouraged to donate? Why or why not? 
    

    No.  Because of the main page and haphazard manner it is lain out, I am in no way motivated at first glance to donate.  The secondary pages, however are well done and make me warm up to the idea.  To avoid losing user interest, I would invest time in revamping the main landing page so that the user doesn’t base his overall decision  of the website, and the cause, on the awkwardness of the landing page.

    Please share any additional feedback/comments you may have.

    Overall, I think that if the changes listed above are implemented, Crossroads Urban Center could have a wonderful site with a great amount of donations.  The challenge is to motivate the user to want to be a part of the great things that are going on there at Crossroads Urban Center in Utah. It would be a shame to lose a potential volunteer or donor because of an unappealing, lackluster landing page.

13. Visit https://www.crossroads-u-c.org/. What is your initial impression of what you see? Does the site have a simple, visually powerful web 2.0 home page design? What should be fixed?
    I can see the desire to make this a web 2.0 home page, and there is still considerable work that needs to be done to make this site effective.
    Web 2.0 denotes connectivity and interaction. Therefore, the Facebook information comes the closest to this. Seeing that 977 people like this page provides a feeling that this is already a successful organization.
    However, there are so many scroll bars that navigation through this home page feels like work. It even requires scrolling to view the entire header. If you want people to read the information . . . if you want them to contribute, make it as easy as possible for them to do so.
    I cannot view the entire width of the site on the screen, so I even have to scroll right to view part of many of the windows.
    Is the text formatted for easy reading? Is the design consistent throughout all secondary navigation and content pages? What can be improved?
    The site could be considerably easier to follow:
    * I believe, a navigation bar below the header would be easier to follow. That way we would only see the main headings. We could then, click on the heading to see more information.
    * The formatting of the navigation is a confusing. Some places bullets are used; in another place, numbers are used. It is not easy to tell from the size of the font or the bolding or italicizing how the pieces of this site fit together.
    * The fonts and formatting vary from page to page.
    Are proper ‘call-to-action’ elements implemented throughout the site to encourage support and participation (for e.g. Donate Now buttons, e-Newsletters, Social Media icons)?
    There are some calls to action. And you are more likely to get responses if you make it easier for:
    * People to locate them
    * Avoid requiring a person to click through so many pages.
    For instance, the home page’s calls to action are:
    * Is to “Like” on Facebook and
    * “How You Can Help”
    With “How You Can Help,” I have to scroll down. If I don’t scroll down, I don’t see it. And should I scroll down and click on “How You Can Help,” I am taken to another page which provides links to other pages. Once I click on those pages, I am able to see specific content regarding a specific way in which I can donate. However, if I want to donate, I then have to click through to another page to get contact information. This is too much work!
    This could easily be solved by having a navigation bar just below the header instead, it would be visible. You can have a heading “How You Can Help.” People can click to see the sub-headings of how they can help. They can then click on one of the sub-headings in order to go directly to the page that discusses the kind of donation they want to make. This can be further simplified by including the contact information on the page with the donation information.
    Given what you see (based on website), are you immediately encouraged to donate? Why or why not?
    Unfortunately, I am not. A website is the internet representation of an organization, business, or individual. I look at your site and consider that the site is not as functional as it could, therefore, the organization might not be as function as it could be either. I would sincerely wonder if my contribution would reach the people I am wanting to it to reach.
    Please share any additional feedback/comments you may have.
    As someone who has lived in Utah for several years, I have anxiously been waiting for an opportunity when I could take a few minutes to take a look at your website. I am disappointed.
    There are so many things you can do to improve this website.
    * The one that comes to mind first is to put the video on the home page in a format that is viewable by most computers. You might want actually put the video on YouTube and, then, imbed it in your site. Also use photos, as well as testimonials throughout.
    * Consistency is another major point, that I’ve already touched on. Consistency in the navigation area: use the same size, type, and color of font for each level of heading. Have the same fonts on each page. If you are going to have links to other sites either: have the pages open within your site or in a separate window; and not some one way and others another way.
    This can be a fantastic site. It will just take a lot of work. Maybe someone will be willing to donate his/her time toward this.

14. 1. Visit https://www.crossroads-u-c.org/. What is your initial impression of what you see? Does the site have a simple, visually powerful web 2.0 home page design? What should be fixed?

    The logo is visually stimulating, but should have your home page URL tied to it. This way when people click it, it takes them back to your main page.. The site map on the left has good information, but visually does not prompt me to follow along. It seems very bland and not organized well. It doesn’t provide the proper structure you would normally see in an index. The right side is just as bland. The Facebook plugin is the largest and most colorful thing on the right side. This does not seem good. Again black and white, no color and no real graphics makes it hard to really care about. Possible solutions would be mouse over icons, some flash, a donate now logo and some call to action. When you talk about survival needs you should have links (images) connected to some support options. The video link could be an image of an old fashioned TV, or a YouTube frame. <iframe> programming, java, and color should be your best friends here when making some changes.
    2. Is the text formatted for easy reading? Is the design consistent throughout all secondary navigation and content pages? What can be improved?
    The text is not consistent and the flow seems at odds. Use the same font size for the same type of items. Maybe designing a 3 column page for Events, Projects, and Advocacy Projects. Then place About us in a horizontal position at the bottom. Also, PayPal increases donation significantly for non-profits. Definately get a PayPal link on their for donations. It is the most recognized donation method in the industry. Some links open in the same window and others in a new tab. New tabs should only be used for directing people away from your website (this way they always have a tab open with your site on it). Use the same page when they navigate within your site. This provides continuity for us OCD types.

    3. Are proper ‘call-to-action’ elements implemented throughout the site to encourage support and participation (for e.g. Donate Now buttons, e-Newsletters, Social Media icons)?
    No. A donate now button should bee seen in the same location on every papge. Such as the top right or bottom right. Also pages like Staff and Board should look the same. check Wikipedia for examples. Different layouts prevent the eye from naturally flowing through the information. You should also have very small Face Book, Twitter, and other social media plugins visible in the same location on each page. Kind of a template you make and each page you just add the main information but all the packaging remains the same.

    4. Given what you see (based on website), are you immediately encouraged to donate? Why or why not?
    No, I don’t feel like Crossroads Urban Center is a professional group. Sorry, based on website alone. Again it is hard to get over the fact that you don’t use PayPal. I don’t have the urge to donate because I can avoid thinking about it by scrolling up the left side and not seeing a donate now. The very top right corner on your banner is completely blank. A very small statement like “Supporting the Survival Needs of Our Community”. Small print and then a donate now logo, PayPal, Credit cards, and your current service. That way it’s always there asking for the donation.

    5. Please share any additional feedback/comments you may have.
    When you click on How you can help in the top left, and then in the right panel click on Back to home, it gives you a 404 error. That is a broken link and very frustrating for potential donors. It also looks very unprofessional.
    Go here https://www.addthis.com/ and be sure to add this little feature. It will help your social media go far.
    Kind of think of this as a book. You want the pages to run smoothly, appear the same, share the same font, and also include pictures to keep it interesting.
    I wish you all the very best. Your work looks very praise worthy.

15. Visit https://www.crossroads-u-c.org/. What is your initial impression of what you see? Does the site have a simple, visually powerful web 2.0 home page design? What should be fixed?
    I always run a search engine check on any site to see if it’s meta tag set up will give proper search relevance an I complement you for doing an excellent job in this
    
    My initial impression is that the site has been set up by someone well acquainted with “Crossroads.” This leads to a very common error in that there was a failure to follow normal reporting techniques. The Who, What, When, Where, How and Why of the site and organization should be in the main page center. Also a listing of organizations associated with would help.
    There also should be an invitation to individuals needing aid and explanation on how to receive said aid. This will demonstrate a willingness and ability to deliver on your promise
    
    Your Facebook widget is cut in half but of no major concern. I suggest you look at the Facebook page as it is more reverent to what I feel is your goal.
    I don’t really understand why you top logo is set in an adjustable frame. When scrolling your page a person may inadvertently hide it completely.
    When following links from the “Home” page and then clicking on “Home” at the bottom of the page you got a broken link message  ,  where as if you click on “Main Frame” you are returned to the Home page  https://www.crossroads-u-c.org/
    I personally am not thrill with the left column as the 5 W’s aren’t followed. Prime example is ” Advocacy.” I have no doubt the workers and board at the organization are well antiquated with what it stands for but it is confusing to others.
    The site has been overly simplified and in so doing it is very confusing for persons not members or workers associated with the organization.
    Is the text formatted for easy reading? Is the design consistent throughout all secondary navigation and content pages? What can be improved?
    The text formatting is easy to read and the design content contains the same flaws through out the site in that a new to the site individual will be confused. I suggest a complete redo with the 5 W’s foremost in the new design. I do believe there was a failure to use a story board layout in the original design and that this is a haphazard “we need” add this layout.
    Are proper ‘call-to-action’ elements implemented throughout the site to encourage support and participation (for e.g. Donate Now buttons, e-Newsletters, Social Media icons)?
    The “Call-to-action” implemented throughout the site are non nonsensical. They work if you are internet savvy but for the needy only confusion is created. Again the 5 W’s need to be followed. I can’t stress the 5 W’s to strongly. A web page is a report on the organization and only by following them will success be achieved
    Given what you see (based on website), are you immediately encouraged to donate? Why or why not?
    I would not be willing to donate to this organization based on this site. I would not be willing to do the work to find out who they are affiliated with. What they have accomplished is hard to find and hte how and why to donate to them is ambiguous at best.
    Please share any additional feedback/comments you may have.
    The site seems as if it was put together by an organization member on a volunteer basis. It appears as if he thru the thing together and them came back and made a bunch of add ins. Again I have to hammer on the 5 W’s. The use of frames is ok if used properly but in this case they are a mess. If you want donations please show what you have done with some pictures. There is no emotional attachment showing that would elicit sympathy or empathy with your cause. It definite doesn’t promote the needy to contact you and fails in showing them how to receive help form you. Please take the time to test out all your links and see if they work! Also insure they open the way you intended as so many are confusing!
    
    I do believe your a good organization doing good work and are worth contributing to. You need to pan out your site to better serve your needs and have it proofed before publishing it next time. Also please get someone who is basically internet ignorant to review what you have done. Don’t ask them question let them ask and you take notes them fix things so they can follow things. Your donation contributors will be internet savvy and will be looking to see if you are helping people so key on their emotions and they will follow up with the food and money you need
    
     

16. Visit https://www.crossroads-u-c.org/. What is your initial impression of what you see? Does the site have a simple, visually powerful web 2.0 home page design? What should be fixed?

    Yes, very simple, I like the side bar to get all the latest links, and it’s very easy to navigation.

    Are proper ‘call-to-action’ elements implemented throughout the site to encourage support and participation (for e.g. Donate Now buttons, e-Newsletters, Social Media icons)?
    yeah, I would help support this site. it’s a very good site. and very use full. 

    Given what you see (based on website), are you immediately encouraged to donate? Why or why not?
    I would like to donate, but I don’t have that kind of money. I would though.

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25. Visit https://www.crossroads-u-c.org/. What is your initial impression of what you see? Does the site have a simple, visually powerful web 2.0 home page design? What should be fixed?
    My initial impression fo the site was that it was very clear and easy to understand. I like the navigation buttons on the left hand side where you can find different services.
    Is the text formatted for easy reading? Is the design consistent throughout all secondary navigation and content pages? What can be improved?
    The text format is very easy to read it has a very nice size font and the colors are very clear and straightforward. The site is easy to navigate through without any problems.
    Are proper ‘call-to-action’ elements implemented throughout the site to encourage support and participation (for e.g. Donate Now buttons, e-Newsletters, Social Media icons)?
    I like there is the buttons for donations since this is a non profit organization for people that need help and services in the community.
    Given what you see (based on website), are you immediately encouraged to donate? Why or why not?
    Yes I am very encouraged to donate to this site. Especially for those people that need help and services where they can’t afford the services. More people should do this to help each other.

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