The Useful Web: Review: LearnTheNet.com (Grade B)

I came across this site, while hunting around for something to print off to help an elderly relative (who is trying to learn how to use a computer and the Internet for the first time). Being very much a tech myself, I was concerned that I might jump over some basics (some things that I normally assume people know). So, if you are looking for some information for people who are beginners to the Internet, this is a good site to try out. You will find information on how to Surf the Internet, Use Email, Find Information, Download files, Join Newsgroups, and much more.

I found that the Master the Basics section was a great start, and well broken down. I would highly suggest taking a look at all of the links in the 'How To' section on the left navigation bar.

However, though the content is good, the website itself leaves a bit to be desired. Here's the grade and the reasons why.

WEBSITE GRADE FOR:
http://www.learnthenet.com/english/index.html

A = USEFUL CONTENT (4cr)
B = APPEALING DESIGN (3cr) (Nice and Simple looking.)
B = EASE OF NAVIGATION (3cr) (Personally I would suggest moving the Google search box to the right side of the page directly above the banner ad. Then, moving the menu up so that your website navigation is prominent.)
D = VALID CODE SYNTAX (2cr) (Upon running a validation check on the HTML behind this website, View Validator, it came up with 270 errors. Although I do not expect most website designers to be able to design a 100% error free site, the error amount was excessive and the lack of a doctype declaration quite unacceptable. This needs to be fixed.)
C = DISABILITY AND BROWSER ACCESS (2cr) (Upon running a validation check on the HTML behind this website, View this Validator, it came up with some problems that should be fixed. All images but one were lacking an alt text.)
A = FINDABILITY (3cr) (Excellent Job! There were no errors in the meta tags, and that leads to us being able to find the site easier through search engines.)
B = FRUSTRATION LEVEL (3cr) (Excellent Job! There were no broken links. However, the website (total size including all images that must be loaded: 78.2k) was estimated to take approximately 21.7 seconds to load over a 28.8 kbps network connection. In that long, your visitor has already left the site. I suggest using an image cruncher so the images load faster, and removing as much whitespace from your code as possible)