SharePoint Site Highlight: Your Book is Overdue

Welcome to the third installment of our “SharePoint Site Highlight”, where we have been showing off and reviewing sites that you may not have known were driven by Windows SharePoint, hosted by Apps4Rent or elsewhere.

We’ve seen chocolates and high-end speedsters, so you might not be surprised to know that a library is using SharePoint to drive their website. Well it’s true, but this is not just any ordinary library, it’s the Library of Congress! Yes, the building that houses the “Birth Certificates of America” uses SharePoint hosting as a platform for their Web presence.

As I navigated to the Library of Congress website, I was greeted with a semi-standard layout. The front page is taken up by several different blurbs, each complete with their own small picture and set of links. At first, it was a little confusing. I’m used to seeing pages like this on news sites and such, but I’m not sure what I really expected to see, so I got over my initial reaction.

At the top of the home page, above the navigation, there is a slideshow playing that gives links and previews of interesting areas on the site. I think this is a nice way to get visitors to explore, which is exactly what it’s for. LOC gets a point just for that.

The navigation is easy to find, easy to see, and easy to use. There are no drop-downs, and you don’t have to guess where the links are going to take you. They are very clear in stating where they go. Nice, no hassle navigation.

I have to say that my surfing experience on the LOC website was very pleasant. Everything was exactly where you might expect it to be and easy to find. Once I got to reading and moving around, I forgot that I was surfing the Web or researching for a review, and I got sucked in. I took the virtual tour and checked out what exhibitions they had going.

When it was all said and done, I was kind of sad to leave the site to turn back here and finish this review. For the fact that they have managed a very nice Web experience, the Library of Congress gets 4.5 out of 5 stars. I would give them 5 of 5 stars, but there has to be room to grow.

Until next time, enjoy your surfing, and think about how you can make your SharePoint site enjoyable for visitors! Now sign up with Apps4Rent for Hosted SharePoint 2013 solutions.