ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines the distinctive characteristics of the World Wide Web have both positive and negative implications for Web evaluation. The special challenges related to dynamic Web content and mobile-based applications are briefly discussed in this chapter. Dynamic URLs represent another unique feature of database-driven websites. Each time a Web user types a query into a database-driven site, a new "dynamic URL" is generated. Web authors need to design Web-based resources that can be accessed using both traditional and mobile computing devices. Some demanding evaluation challenges posed by the Web, however, are not found in traditional media. These unique Web-related challenges include: use of hypertext links, the use of frames, and required use of specialized software to access selected information, and the potential retrieval of pages out of context by search engines. The challenges also include the susceptibility of Web pages to alteration, the redirection of URLs to different websites and other malicious activities, and the instability of Web pages.
