How should you analyze a Web design?

I've been doing regular design critiques on and off for years now. Some of the things that are important to me include:

• speed - pages should download quickly (or on a dialup connection, not too slowly)
• valid XHTML (or HTML) - it's not critical, but writing valid XHTML solves problems before they happen
• images that match the tone - I hate sites that only use stock photos or try for cutesy images when their audience is business people
• small color palette - More than five colors is overwhelming in most cases
• understanding of basic design principles

But I've never really put down the steps I might take to analyze a site's design (perhaps I should?). Ardis Creative Web design blog did just that - How to Analyze a Website in 10 Steps. I agree with most of the steps, but then again, how do you define "WOW factor"? I mean, what's WOW to me may be blah to you. This is a good article to use to think about your own site designs.