Web Pages That Suck - learn good web design by looking at bad web design

One of the candidates for Worst Website of 2012 (who shall remain anonymous) wasn’t thrilled at being included and suggested WebPagesThatSuck as a candidate for the Daily Sucker. The e-mail said my site qualified because:

Inaccurate content.

Garbage layout.

Boring.

Follows the “same old – same old” trendy sheep sites.

Has NOTHING of any interest in its rubbish pages.

Is self-opinionated antichrist digital pigswill…

It seems like somebody else suggested that I was the FBI’s “conduit for absurd and irrelevant attacks.” I’ll have to add that to the above comments.

Proud to be America’s Website.

Submitter’s comments: Let’s have a game of “spot the bad design mistakes”

• Music on every page (different on each page too – I’m pretty sure that most of them break copyright laws)
• Broken links from menu
• Too much on the main page
• Comic sans as a font
• Fonts in several colours in the same paragraph
• GIFs all over
• No consistency on opening in new window/parent

I’ve probably missed some points

Vincent Flanders’ comments: You might be confused because the title says this site “Isn’t the Daily Sucker.” The submitter is absolutely correct about the design mistakes; however, I’m letting this one slide because of the intended audience. Yes, parents are going to be the ones to use the site, but they’re going to look at it as their kids would look at it and it won’t bother them. I’d like the address and phone number to be a little more prominent.

Actually, there’s a possibility the music on the site is legit. Skating rinks have to license music (just like bars). Then again, maybe they haven’t. I’m sure somebody will report them to BMI, ASCAP and SESAC.

I realize that this contradicts what I said about a skating site I included in one of my worst websites of the year lists, but I’m not a politician so it’s OK to have a change of heart.

United Skates of America RI

An excellent article that partially explains (to me) why people who have sucky websites don’t understand their websites suck.

The key phrase is:

People will interpret the same information in radically different ways to support their own views of the world. When deciding our view on a contentious point, we conveniently forget what jars with our own theory and remember everything that fits.

If any of you folks out there are looking for a good research project, I think examining people who have sucky websites but think they don’t suck, would be pretty darn interesting.

How and Why We Lie to Ourselves: Cognitive Dissonance

Here’s Your One-Stop Guide For Everything You Need To Know To Make It In Tech

CSS3 Rainbow Dividers

The author commented that he was disappointed I didn’t catch that the whole page was wrapped in a <sarcasm> tag. I apologize. It was that kind of day. On the other hand, a lot of other people are going to be fooled. After all, when sites that use Mystery Meat Navigation are lauded, why not rainbow dividers. Nah. You’re right. I should have seen it coming.

It’s been removed from Daily Sucker status and placed in Not a Daily Sucker.