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

Submitter’s comments: First of all, FLASH!!!!  It’s everywhere, the entire site is built in Flash with animations, flashing, auto playing background audio and not to mention that the intro audio file on the splash page sounds like I’m going to see Ron Jeremy appear on the screen any moment.

Vincent Flanders’ comments: I don’t think I want to see Flash or Ron Jeremy appear on the screen. I certainly don’t want Ron Jeremy to appear in a Flash video.

I swear I’ve used this site before , but I can’t find any record of its existence. I suspect there’s some sort of horrible Flash template out there that reminds me of this site. There is nothing on this website that requires Flash. Why use it?

Industrial Painter is a classic example of Mistake #6 from Biggest Mistakes in Web Design 1995-2015 — “Have you ever seen another web site? Really? Doesn’t look like it.“ I wanted to find out if every painting company looked like today’s site. I conducted a search using the term “military painting” (which Industrial Painter also performs) and clicked on the first link I found, which was for Breton Industries. While the site won’t win many awards, it’s infinitely better than today’s sucker.

Industrial Painter

Submitter’s comments: This is a viable candidate—it’s actually been mentioned many times in the national media. But actual content is harder to read than a circa ’05 Myspace page.

Vincent Flanders’ comments: Many people have said “Military Intelligence” is an oxymoron. I don’t think anyone ever said “Military Corruption” is one. Then again, you can put almost any organization’s name in front of the word “corruption” and it makes sense.

This is just another Over-The-Top Website where nobody in their right mind is going to believe a word that’s said simply because of the site’s look.

If you have an OTTW like this one, make it look like Pinterest. whose design is over-the-top but it looks like a normal site so it’s not an Over-The-Top Website. I know it sounds confusing, but it isn’t.

Military Corruption

The Drive By Truckers (DBT) are one of my favorite bands. I bought tickets for their last concert in Seattle, but I got violently ill and couldn’t make it. Back in 2010 DBT were playing in my birthplace on my birthday and I thought about flying out for the concert. It would have been cosmic to hear them play their great song, “Birthday Boy” on my birthday in the town where I was born. Trifecta Perfecta. They’re coming back to Seattle and so I checked out the venue, Showbox, to see prices, etc. I noticed that…well, I’ll let the video do the talking.

httpv://youtu.be/Z_1b4Yyo9w4

Submitter’s comments: The Havenworks website might be dead, but there’s another website that seems to love the Never Ending Scroll of Death. Pinterest is a social networking website that seems to cater to middle-aged women. You can share and comment on various things like shoes and clothes, but all I see is a bunch of crap loaded onto one extremely long page. Crap and social networking sites go hand in hand, but this is really bad. All that is missing is some obnoxious Flash.

Warning: Scrolling down the home page of this website could cause vertigo and nausea.

Thank you for considering this site. I actually have friends who think that Pinterest is great.

Vincent Flanders’ comments: I’m definitely not Pinterest’s target audience. Our submitter says the site caters to “middle-aged women.” Om Malik of Gigaom says “It is especially popular with young women.” Of course it is. That sounds better to investors. Either way, this site represents  the pinnacle of achievement for Over-The-Top websites.

The only difference between Pinterest and Dreams of the Great Earth Changes is the quality of Pinterest’s web design. Initially, it looks gorgeous—and it is—until you start to focus and then it becomes a long, blurred jumble of scrapbooking, inspirational quotes, cute animals (Cute Overload comes to mind), food and pastries, and—well, just look at the site.

I can’t stress enough how impressed I am at the quality of the design. However pretty the pictures and layout, it’s still a extremely long (61,250 pixels) crazy quilt of material It’s a very beautiful mess, but it’s still a mess.

Pinterest

Submitter’s comments: Who puts a diaper around the world?  And a badly drawn one at that?  Never mind the logo, this site does not take ‘a fresh look at diapers’.   It looks about as fresh as 1998. Read the rest of this entry »