Web Pages That Suck -- Examples of Bad Web Design

These are the Daily Suckers -- Examples of Bad Web Design -- from WebPagesThatSuck.com. I couldn't predict every new sucky design technique that would come along when I wrote the book because there's always a new way to do something bad. This page will keep you up-to-date. Live examples.

My definition of "daily" is "whenever I'm in the mood."


The Daily Sucker for Tuesday, December 29, 2003

America's Web Site tries to figure out the top 10 design mistakes.

Jakob Nielsen has put together his annual Top Ten List of Design Mistakes and it's always interesting reading. As far as my audience goes, here are the issues he mentions that I would include on my list.

1. Unclear Statement of Purpose -- This has always been one of my pet peeves. As I often say, I should be able to look at a site and within ten seconds know what the site is about.

4. Small Thumbnail Images of Big, Detailed Photos -- Another topic I'm constantly mentioning.

10. Pages That Link to Themselves -- I wouldn't put this on my top 10, but it is certainly annoying.

Here are some of the things that annoyed me this year (not listed in order of annoyance):

1. You're not solving my problems now! -- This is closely related to Jakob's #1 issue. Your web site only exists to solve problems -- my problems ("my" is translated as "the visitor").

2. Splash pages -- There are only a few reasons you need a splash page: you're legally obligated (you're a liquor or pornography site), you offer multiple languages (Canada comes to mind), or you have multiple operations in different countries (Ikea comes to mind). Otherwise, there's no need for them because you don't need to get your customers in the mood.

3. FlashSplash pages -- Let's take a bad concept and make it worse by using Flash. Oh, yeah. #3a is using music on a site that has nothing to do with music.

4. Using Flash when HTML will work just fine or "Just because you can doesn't mean you should." Too many sites are using Flash to create pages that would work just fine if created in HTML. The Byrds said it best, "To everything there is a season...A time to be born and a time to use Flash."

5. Mystery Meat Navigation -- You know the drill.

6. Non-profit sites. For a group that's supposed to be concerned with the disadvantaged, you have almost zero compliance with accessibility issues. Also, most non-profit sites suck and poverty is not an excuse.

7. Too much information on a page -- whether it's text or products you've got to tone it down a notch. I believe the word is "organize."

8. FrontPage Themes -- Anyone who uses AffrontPage themes is telling the world "don't take me seriously."

9. Inappropriate use of graphics -- This happens more than you might think. A recent example is the police site that had a blazing gun on the front page.

10. Lack of contrast. This mistake is so self-evident that I'm surprised that it even exists. Happens with graphics, too.

11. Using pop-ups to load pages -- especially Splash pages -- without providing links to the real home page.

12. Not using to warn people that the link is a PDF file -- People don't like surprises. Unless the link takes them to another HTML page, tell them what to expect. Note the "Important Patient Information" link isn't marked.

13. Not telling people the PDF file is 4.7Mb -- Yes, it's nice you told me the link is a PDF file, but I want to know how big it is so I can decide if I want to wait for the file.

14. Using Javascript for links -- which is closely related to #12. Why sites do this I don't know (see links at bottom) especially since Microsoft is always telling people to turn it off whenever there's a security issue and since 5-15% of surfers have it turned off.

15. Too many links on the home page. Self-explanatory (go to bottom of page).

16. Sites that have no redeeming design qualities. Self-evident and obvious.

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Monday, December 29, 2003

The Daily Sucker Backgrounder

The Daily Sucker contains material that should be considered updates to the book, "Web Pages That Suck." and Son of Web Pages That Suck. I can't see the future -- if I could, I'd be picking lottery numbers and stocks. The Daily Sucker features new sucky design techniques not in existence when the book was written. Since Web designers are stubborn, I also include old sucky techniques featured in the book. Maybe if they see a bad technique featured enough they'll stop using it.

The suckers are based on user input. You see a site that you think sucks and then e-mail the URL to me. No personal pages (personal pages are supposed to reflect the individual's personality, artistic freedom, and lack of taste -- a commercial site is about making money) or Web site designers (it would look like a conflict of interest). If I think there's some merit to your selection, I post it along with some commentary -- and quality commentary helps determine whether I use the suggestion. If you know of a site that qualifies, let me know.

The sucky example will usually be available for only 24 hours (or thereabouts -- weekends and egregious examples are exceptions) -- never to be seen again. Well, probably. Somebody could always suggest them again -- and they do.

E-mail Vincent