{"id":118,"date":"2026-03-28T19:06:18","date_gmt":"2026-03-28T19:06:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/myweb.fiu.edu\/sloor002\/?page_id=118"},"modified":"2026-04-19T01:36:50","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T01:36:50","slug":"site-evaluation-user-test-report","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/myweb.fiu.edu\/sloor002\/site-evaluation-user-test-report\/","title":{"rendered":"The Movie Diaries \u2013 A UX Review"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

User Test Report for https:\/\/myweb.fiu.edu\/calva298\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prepared by Stephanie Loor for Dr. Vytautas A. Malesh and Carolina Alvarez<\/p>\n\n\n\n

April 18, 2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Introduction<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Everybody loves a good movie. I grew up watching films as a family past time, in my grandparent\u2019s living room and some summers, at my uncle\u2019s house in North Carolina. All the morals and lessons implied in the films raised me in a profound way, so when I came across Carolina Alvarez\u2019s charming website, \u201cThe Movie Diaries,\u201d <\/em>the page spoke to me on a personal level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ll be reviewing \u201cThe Movie Diaries\u201d <\/em>here first, so visitors to my site can know what they\u2019re getting into before heading over to this lovely virtual movie room. Think of it as the kind of warm home movie theater in someone\u2019s den or basement. There\u2019s a classic popcorn maker in the corner beside a concession stand with Buncha Crunch<\/em> and Sour Skittles<\/em> under the glass. Someone\u2019s mother is upstairs making dinner, and the owner of the movie room\u2014a dear friend\u2014is excited to break down plot summaries and character complexes with you on a chill Saturday afternoon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Works, and What Could Be Improved<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Upon deeper analysis, \u201cThe Movie Diaries\u201d <\/em>presents opinions and film recommendations in \u201can easy-to-read, conversational style.\u201d According to the University of Maryland, Baltimore, readers tend to scan pages, so \u201cchunking\u201d content by keeping it to only one topic per paragraph keeps audiences hooked, engaged, and present.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A perfect example of the site\u2019s use of bullet points to list key info is under the \u201cAbout Time\u201d (2013) <\/em>film review on the February 8 blog post titled, \u201cTop 4 Films to watch on Valentine\u2019s Day this year!\u201d <\/em>Audiences get a quick glimpse of vital information such as star actors and where to watch, as well as a link to the trailer so they can check it out while their attention is still focused on the page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One minor drawback I noticed is long bodies of texts that could have benefitted from being broken up into shorter \u201cchunks\u201d. Katy Cowan emphasizes the importance of providing \u201ceasy reading\u201d by inserting \u201clists wherever possible and break up the text.\u201d Adding bullet points or lists will \u201chold people\u2019s attention more.\u201d The site author does this sometimes, but then follows the short bursts of lists with too-long walls of text. A simple page break would increase the ease of readability so<\/em> much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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On a lighter note, the site author\u2019s use of screen stills is impeccable. Everywhere you click, you\u2019ll find an accompanying photo brightening up the page. According to the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI), <\/em>images and graphics \u201cmake content more pleasant and easier to understand for many people\u2026 in particular for those with cognitive and learning disabilities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, the images of choice check all the boxes of effective online imagery. In the author\u2019s bio, we see our beautiful site author. Beneath every film title, we see a movie still from that film. Providing images alongside text improves comprehension and helps pique the memory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conclusion<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Movie Diaries\u201d <\/em>is a breath of fresh air, a joy to read in a modern-day internetscape where beige is the new black and \u201ccool\u201d is a clone of everyone else. The site author\u2019s niche passions are evident and full of joy and whimsy, and she invites the reader into her world for a preview of a variety of her favorite films.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overall, the site demonstrates thoughtful design choices and beautiful creative direction. By implementing a few choice stylistic changes, \u201cThe Movie Diaries\u201d <\/em>could certainly improve its effectiveness for audiences without losing its distinct signature style.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recommendations<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

While the site author created a lovely space for users to kick back, relax, and enjoy some new movies, there are some recommendations I could give for increased site usability.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s my top 3:<\/p>\n\n\n\n