Lonely Planet

www.lonelyplanet.com

Target audience: Anyone planning a vacation or researching destinations or travel options.

Usefulness of content: The site includes maps, weather, culture/history, transportation, and brief write-ups of places or activities of interest (with hours, contact info, and websites included) for a plethora of locations. Also included are links to flight and hotel information as well as articles by Lonely Planet writers and a forum where readers can post their own suggestions or stories. Of course, as the main purpose of the site is to sell more books, the information given is just a brief overview of what can be found in each destination. However, for the traveler who is taking only a short trip or hasn’t yet chosen a destination, the information on the website alone would be sufficient.

Consistency of design: The design is definitely consistent. The same color scheme is used throughout the site, and the Lonely Planet logo can be found on each page. In addition, each destination’s page is set up identically.

Ease of navigation: I’ve found navigating this site to be extremely simple. The home page features a world map, so viewers can just click on their region of interest to find a list of possible locations. The home page also includes a search bar as well as links to the site in various other languages. Each destination's page is set up in a similarly accessible manner, including links to everything else on the site germane to that location -- flight and hotel information, travel tips, photographs, related forums -- and, of course, relevant Lonely Planet books are prominently featured.