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The Daily Sucker - Current examples of bad web design

The Daily Sucker

Sites featured in articles like Worst Websites of 2010 often are redesigned, which explains why some sites mentioned in my articles don't match their current look. The Daily Sucker features current examples of bad web design which haven't been fixed (yet).

If you see a site that you think sucks, email the URL to me. No personal pages (personal pages are supposed to reflect the individual's personality and artistic freedom) or web site designers (it would look like a conflict of interest), or others of their ilk.

If I think there's some merit to your selection, I may post it along with some commentary. If you know of a site that qualifies, let me know.

One big reason why Javascript sucks

December 16th, 2008 10:10 pm by Vincent Flanders

I know, I know I use Javascript. You have to if you want detailed analytics (or any kind of advanced features) but there are lots of reasons not to use JS. Almost every time there’s a security alert about an unpatched Internet Explorer vulnerability — and there’s a big one out now (with a patch due Wednesday) — Microsoft suggests you turn Javascript off.

Here’s a screen shot and I’ve highlighted the applicable parts.

Microsoft isn’t the only browser that has ever had JS problems and it isn’t the only problem with JS. Until recently, JS has been a drag on web site performance. It’s still a drag unless you place your JS correctly on the page or delay its delivery.

Posted in Software, Usability, Web Design |


Seth Godin is brilliant, brilliant, brilliant

October 13th, 2008 1:01 pm by Vincent Flanders

I’ve often said that if you have a web site and aren’t reading Seth Godin’s blog, you don’t really belong on the web. Seriously. The man is brilliant, brilliant, brilliant. The only thing that keeps him from ascending to the heaven’s is that stupid, unmarked home page bar across the top of his blog. On the other hand, I mentioned that he really should find a way to use the picture of his head and he came up with a, naturally, brilliant concept.

In today’s post, Mr. Godin sums up why you should care about bad web design.

Every time you visit a new website, enter a new airport, visit a new store, examine a new book… the question you ask first off is, “what’s this like?”

At a strange airport, if it’s ‘like’ your airport, you know just what to do. It’s easy. If it’s totally different, you have to stop, regroup, and start to understand what’s involved.

… Visit a website with a brown on brown color scheme, a stock photo of a nautilus, some flashing graphics, a bunch of widgets and a typeface that’s not quite right, and you’ve already decided how you feel. Entirely based on the fact that this site is like those sites, and you didn’t like those sites.

He gets it. You got it? Get reading his blog.

Posted in Not a Daily Sucker, Usability, Web Design, You Should Read |


Daily Sucker for Thursday, September 18, 2008

September 17th, 2008 10:10 pm by Vincent Flanders

Submitter comments: After seeing this site, my engagement is off! I now totally, absolutely, 100% vow a life of celibacy.

Vincent Flanders’ comments: I remember the priests and nuns at my Catholic grade school telling us that if we thought we were facing immanent death, we should say an Act of Contrition and our sins would be forgiven — or something like that. After viewing this site the only thing that’s keeping me alive is the thought of death.

You have to love the keyword stuffing that’s going on. Most people try to hide the fact. Because of all the color combinations on the page, they just put the keywords at the bottom.

You must click the ENTER YVETTE’S link and see the home page. OMG. This site is a shoo-in for inclusion Worst Web Sites of 2008.

Yvette’s

Posted in Daily Sucker, Usability, Web Design |


Bad Web Design From The Vaults of Web Pages That Suck

August 4th, 2008 12:12 am by Vincent Flanders

Has anybody seen this sweet kid?

To celebrate the beginning of WebPagesThatSuck’s 13th year I thought I’d go through my vault of bad web design and show you some of the classics.

Sadly, a lot of the mistakes you’ll see are still being made 13 years later. Fortunately, most of the companies I’ll feature learned the errors of their way and fixed their sites. They’re hoping and praying that these mistakes will remain buried because they don’t show up in Archive.org.

My first example is from 1998 and the company in question is Janus — “a global investment manager offering institutional and intermediary clients and individual investors complementary asset management disciplines including growth and risk-managed strategies.” Really? You’d never know it by looking at their site.

Here’s the YouTube video (and here are more of my videos at YouTube)

A nicer and higher resolution version at WebPagesThatSuck.TV

Posted in Daily Sucker, Usability, Web Design |


Architects: Your Websites Suck!

July 25th, 2008 5:05 pm by Vincent Flanders

I’m not the only person who recognizes that architects have problems with their web sites. treehugger takes architects to task over their web sites. I’m going to add these suckers to my Bad Architects Sites.

Here are some more articles about bad architectural web sites: bd and the Guardian.

Posted in Daily Sucker, Usability, Web Design |


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