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

Submitter’s comments: This page is so horrible I had to share it with SOMEONE.

Vincent Flanders’ comments: I thought the page hadn’t been changed since it was created in 2004; however, the header indicates it was last-modified on “Mon, 05 Dec 2011 03:53:46 GMT.”

Yeah, it’s for kids, but it’s still poorly done. I especially love the “About the Author” and “About the Illustrator” sections which are just pictures with text used as graphics which you can’t read.

You need Java to hear the music. Java? What? I haven’t seen the Netscape 3.0 button in years. Wow.

George The Moose

Submitter’s comments: Here is a good one.

Vincent Flanders’ comments: I’ll give it credit for being readable. No artsy-fartsy #777 text. Nope. You have lots of text in lots of different colors and it’s all readable. I must be getting old (my daughter would say, “No, dad. You’re already very, very old) but it doesn’t really annoy me like so many other over-the-top websites. Probably because nothing is animated.

Yes, music does automatically play and the choice of music is surprising. It’s the theme from the movie “The Sting,” which I don’t think it’s the kind of message you want to send. A more logical musical choice would be Prince’s “1999.” Yeah. We’re gonna party like it’s 1999. In this case, we’re going to build a website like it’s 1999.

Parties by Debi

Submitter’s comments: Here is a good one. Surprisingly, it’s GMC. Everyone here who has to use the site is constantly complaining about how bad the font is. It has rendered parts of the site completely unreadable.

Vincent Flanders’ comments: Interestingly, screenshots of the home page make the menu text at the top look better than it looks on a monitor. While text is readable on a monitor, the text isn’t crisp and looks amateurish. The text navigation below the trucks is practically illegible and it lacks sufficient contrast. If you look at the very bottom of the page, there’s some legalese that’s totally impossible to read unless you highlight it and stick your face six inches from the screen. Since it’s legalese, it’s perfectly OK to make is unreadable.

If you mouse over Trucks, Crossovers/SUVs, or Vans, you get even more text that’s difficult to read and “choppy.” (Sorry about “Choppy” but it’s almost 4:00 a.m. here.)

Disclaimer: I have relatives who currently work for Ford. I also had lots of relatives who worked for GM subsidiaries or may still work for them (haven’t seen them in 20 years).

GMC

Submitter’s comments: Slow, difficult to navigate, missing items, pretty.

Vincent Flanders’ comments: I didn’t find any missing items, but that doesn’t mean they’re not missing <grin>. I would change the submitter’s comment that the site was “slow” to read “very slow.” I could have cooked a meal by the time the second tab (One-Dish Entrees) loaded.

There are two other major, major problems:

1. Flash. Steve Jobs killed it. If you look at the site on a mobile device you get a bare-bones site that states, in hard-to-read text, “For a better experience, you’ll need to have JavaScript enabled and download Adobe Flash Player 10.” For a better experience, why don’t you make a mobile website I can use without Flash and JavaScript?

2. Image sliders / carousels. The article Don’t Use Automatic Image Sliders or Carousels, Ignore the Fad makes a persuasive case that they are “…a poor way of implementing home page content.”

Marie Callender’s Meals

Submitter’s comments: Found a website that I thought could be a strong contender. Love the gear shaped “oo”s in the name “Crestwood.”

I don’t know why a minivan is for sale on the front of a municipal website. Additionally, the bottom of the page says ” NOTE: This site is not officially associated with the Village of Crestwood. DJM Technologies is funding this project independently…” They are, however, soliciting new ideas for the village’s website and “If you would like to support my efforts in creating the Village of Crestwood web site feel free to make a contribution.”

To make matters even better, I called the village (for a work-related matter) and was told by the person who answered the phone that the offices were closed and that I couldn’t speak to anyone during non-business hours. Why she answered the phone, I don’t know.

Vincent Flanders’ comments: There’s a lack of contrast between the text and the background, which makes the text hard to read; however, the real problem is the “site” is just a bunch of links to other community websites. Speaking of community websites, if you want to see a site that really sucks, try the Crestwood Fire Department.

Village of Crestwood