I decided to do the “D” websites. The first one is https://americanantiquarian.org/NatTurner/, the title of the website is called “Revising Rebellion: Nat Turner in the American Imagination. At first glance the website looks kind of bland, there is much to it with a Home, Portrayals, 1831 Reports, 1967 Controversy, Browse Items, and About section on the left had side of the page. The information on the website is very accessible and easy to get to with just a simple or multiple clicks. I also really liked that the website had an image for each section that connected with the information given. The websites weaknesses were that it is more boring that interesting, it doesn’t really catch your eye. Although there is images there could be more added and maybe some different colors throughout the site.
The second website was https://www.virginiahistory.org/collections-and-resources/virginia-history-explorer/portent-john-browns-raid-american-memory, the title shown on the front page is “The Portent: John Brown’s Raid in American Memory. When I first opened the link the page caught my eye, the blue really mad the page appealing to look at. The information is given really clear and is easy to access with different information slides you can click on on the left hand side and also different sections at the top. There is pictures throughout the text which makes it interesting as you read. The weak spots of this website was that it is just plan white on the left side, I feel like they could have added some more pictures or something to make it look full.
After examining the websites I found that the second website was more appealing to the eye but the first website’s information was given a lot more smooth and accessible. I felt that the first website was also more navigable than the first website. Both websites had their strengths and weakness’ but were all in all set up well. If I had to choose between the two I think I would go with the first even though the second was more appealing to look at.
Although both of these exhibits centralize a single historical figure, the appearance and structure of both websites are very different, as you noted. You may have noticed that the first website looked familiar– that is because it is an Omeka website. Omeka comes with only a few theme options, so there is only so much the website creator could do to alter the appearance. Since the purpose of the website is to house a database, it certainly succeeds in this regard. I also agree that the ease of navigation is an advantage and smoothly guides readers between pages and themes.
I agree with your observations about the second website– although it is “cleaner” the amount of white space doesn’t do any favors. From a content stand point, the first one stands out to me as well.