Goal

• Learn to evaluate and select a software solution, understanding the possibilities and limitations. 
• Graphics skill objective: experiment with infographics as communication mechanism

Instruction

• Pick your (public cloud) product for your class project (good or bad, does not matter)
• Evaluate it. Look for some training material, and play around with the tool. Research the web for information on this webbuilder.
• You must have 3 main “blocks” or topics in your infographic: Product, Cost, Service. 
• The “Product” evaluation must try to cover the subtopics elements where you can find inforamation about (technology, internet marketing, international, back end, functionality, reporting,....)
• The cost should be evaluated in case the tool is used for production. Don’t overlook hidden costs.
• It’s not surprising that the service part might be weak for a public cloud provider...
• Use infographics as visualisation method to present your evaluation. Your infographic must be well designe and attractive

Proof

• Use the public cloud service https://piktochart.com/ to document below answers
• Create subpage"ACT 0.1C.: Evaluate cloud providers" on your e-commerce website as submenu of "Activities" (*) 
• Title: ‘Selecting my website cloud service provider’
• Introduce the activity, and then place the link to your infographics.
• Make sure your infographics is "shared" 
• Your infographics should (1) introduce the cloud solution selected, evaluate the pro and contra of (2) the product, (3) it’s cost and (4) service aspects.

Remark

You should take this activity seriously: Please do stress-test the builder in the "Free Plan" and read the "small print" to make sure you really understand its limitations for building a prototype webshop ! Look into number of web pages you can create, number of products in the catalog, etc... A low max number of pages is a "no go".

Activity tip

You can find some evaluation material on:

• https://www.websitetooltester.com/en/website-builder-reviews/
• https://www.webanddesigners.com/30-places-to-create-your-website-online/

• https://hc.weebly.com/hc/en-us

• https://www.wix.com/support/html5/getting-started/

• https://blog.jimdo.com/
• https://www.jimdo.com/how-to-make-your-own-website/
• https://www.jimdo.com/make-an-online-store/

1. Infographics are more eye-catching than printed words, since they usually combine images, colors, movement, and content that naturally draw the eye.
2. Since most of us have increasingly shorter attention spans, we tend to “scan” material as opposed to actually reading text. Furthermore, we tend to remember information that we’ve seen more so than read.
3. Infographics are extremely shareable for use around the web. For example, an infographic published on a WordPress blog or website usually provides an embed code. This code allows an automatic link from the original site to yours. They are also easily shared on social networks and have a better chance of becoming viral compared to ordinary text.
4. Infographics can be used to reinforce a brand, simply because they are so visually appealing. If you design an infographic with consistent colors, shapes, and messages, along with your logo, you’ll have an effective means of “Brand Awareness”.
5. A well designed and aesthetically pleasing infographic will drive people to your site since they are more likely to “share” and “click” on it. Also, this can help with Google’s “Page Rank” algorithm, which is  important for SEO.
6. Finally, infographics are a fun and engaging medium that can generate a unique connection with visitors to either your site or a location that has featured your infographic