Really Bad Designs

[Sualdam]

I came across this one today. It seems to have just about every feature you don't want to see.

Wear sunglasses...

[url removed at site owner's request - Brittany, Forum Host]

BTW - if you are going to contribute please don't slander anything! Commenting is one thing, but making offensive remarks could get people in trouble, so be careful :)

[jackson992]

Well the colors are ok IMO. But the page is way too long. It nees to be broken down more

[cyanide]

haha, yep !!

b-r-u-t-a-l

Looks like every trick in the book was thrown in.

ah-well

[Sualdam]

Originally Posted by jackson992

Well the colors are ok IMO. But the page is way too long. It nees to be broken down more

You said the colours were OK - could you not see the background images?

They have photographs tiled in the background, and the same photographs on top of it. It is kaleidoscopic and makes your eyes go funny!

They have animation everywhere, use frames (which need to be scrolled - at least two pages on 800x600, I think), use marquees, and so on. The animations appear to be designed for a dark background, so they have gritty edges when shown against pale backgrounds.

And each section is different - it is only the large number of effects used that give any sort of coherence to the design.

It's a shame, because they clearly have a lot of material and it is the sort of thing that would work well on the web.

[softwaresubmit]

Originally Posted by jackson992

Well the colors are ok IMO.

You must have a green, or at least B&W monitor! Please tell me you do...

[matauri]

eeeekkkk...brighter than the aussie sunshine! ;-)

Reminds me of when my daughter first started out playing with web design.

Bet they think its great :-)

This is one of those cases when maybe you smile & nod? ;-)


Cindy

[jackson992]

Why are so many people opposed to bright colors? I used to use bright yellow on my site and my friend hated the color. I thought it was eye catching:P

[softwaresubmit]

Originally Posted by jackson992

I thought it was eye catching:P

This one is eye-burning...

[wenwilder]

While yellow can increase concentration, it is the hardest on the eyes. Paint a room yellow and you will make babies cry and adults lose their temper. Multiple-multiple colors make it hard to focus and will give visitors a headache due to eye strain.

Sauldam I don't know where you found that site, but put it back! :) That is a perfect example of a rainbow site! Thanks for sharing...I think? ;)

[mikmik]

Personally, I thought the designer did pretty good. I looked around under'credits' and finally just every page when I happenned upon their picture.

[url removed at site owner's request - Brittany, Forum Host]

Middle picture, top row. (Ive taken care to prevent injury, only the one frame is linked, no yellow present)

This may sound stupid, but I actually caught myself getting interested in some of the content! They've won an Oscar at the Academy Awards!
Guess that explains the production 'values'. And I thought Maine Wreaths was cutting edge. I didn't notice "Born Free" playing on any of the pages.Hmmm..
I just went back there!

[Sualdam]

Like I said above:

It's a shame, because they clearly have a lot of material and it is the sort of thing that would work well on the web

So, mikmik, are you saying that the design (i.e. the purpose of this thread) is good and likely to appeal to a wide audience?

Discuss.

[matauri]

Originally Posted by wenwilder

Multiple-multiple colors make it hard to focus and will give visitors a headache due to eye strain.

LOL..you would love my house then ! Think only colour I missed out on was pink :-)

And Mik....have you taken your sunglasses off since comin inside? ;-)


Cindy

[wenwilder]

If you find pink in my house it's a receipt from something or other. :)

I like bright, fun colors every where, except where I look. :) That's rather pessimistic isn't it? I"m just a firm believer that a 'professional' site doesn't give the potiental customer a headache. Although I remember well the first site I ever built, probably because it is still standing - And NO you can't have the URL to it! :)

[matauri]

Come on Wen.....play nice :-)
Whats the URL???? :-)


Cindy

[janeth]

The funny part is the owner of this web site is probley thinking my web site is really starting to get a lot of hits.

He does not know it is on a what not to do form.

[Narasinha]

Somehow I knew I would find this in the source:

<meta name="GENERATOR" content="Microsoft FrontPage 5.0">

My guess is that the owner of the company decided they (or a relative) could do a good job of making their web site while not having to pay the amount that was quoted to them by a design firm. Buying FrontPage was cheaper.

The thing I have to ask is this: Do people who are not involved in the web design business (as basically all of us here are) view this page and think it looks okay? Do they see the same flaws we do?

Narasinha

[jackson992]

I think I missed the point of that post. What does FrontPage have to do with the quality of the page?

[wenwilder]

Originally Posted by jackson992

I think I missed the point of that post. What does FrontPage have to do with the quality of the page?

The point of it is: Anyone can create a website using Front Page or any other editer, but just because they can, doesn't mean they should. And it definately doesn't mean that they know what they are doing.

And it's no surprise to find Front page was used in this case - it truly looks like someone just threw the site together.

[jackson992]

I use Frontpage for everything:)

[vwebworld]

jackson992 wrote:
Well the colors are ok IMO. But the page is way too long. It needs to be broken down more

Here's a l-o-n-g site too:www.thinkingcritically.net/

...and I also use FP...tweaked with CSS,
and other coding.

Sorry, I'm just reacting to all the "bashing"
above. I dare say some of us have room for
improvement (and some real ugy sites in our past)
yours truly included. Luckily most of my old sites
are off line now.

Check out http://www.archive.org/web/web.php to
see what your "favorite" site looked like in the
past.

That's why I participate here, to learn and share
some thoughts.

~Roland

[wenwilder]

I have to agree with you, my site (thinkingcritically.net) is extremely long. The services page is horrible, I don't even like to look at it. In fact, I can't say that there is really anything I do like about my site, except the logo. I could probably give you a hundred and one things that are wrong with my site. I did the initial site and hated it, I had someone do this version of my site and hate it just as much as the original one. So tear it apart all you want, I love the feedback, but...this isn't site review, although I did post my site for review in there....twice a think. You might be able to find the thread if you look.

I have seen fantastic sites done with front page, but they were done by people who know what they are doing. Unfortunately there are more people out there who don't know what they are doing. Not all of them use front page, they use many other programs and hard code. I was simply stating that the person who used front page to create [url removed] truly didn't know what they were doing and used front page thinking that was all it took. Front page is the most used program for website creation, it is NOT a bad program. Your neighbor across the street could use front page to create a site, but just because they can does not mean they should! I could use front page to create a site, but just because I can does NOT mean that I should!!! If I could think of the URL to one of the sites I created forever ago with front page I'd be more than happy to post it, just to prove that I should NOT have!!

Oh, and if you want to critique my site some more here's a better place to do it: http://www.webproworld.com/viewtopic...564&highlight=

And now back to [url removed]...... :)

[mikmik]

sauldan =

Like I said above:

It's a shame, because they clearly have a lot of material and it is the sort of thing that would work well on the web,

So, mikmik, are you saying that the design (i.e. the purpose of this thread) is good and likely to appeal to a wide audience? Discuss.

You were refering to my comment -

Personally, I thought the designer did pretty good. I looked around under'credits' and finally just every page when I happenned upon their picture.
Middle picture, top row. (Ive taken care to prevent injury, only the one frame is linked, no yellow present)

maybe should've been put this way -"Personally, I thought the designer did pretty good considerring his background." And then you were supposed to click on the link I provided and looked at the picture I was referring to (middle picture, top row) and would've seen 'the designer's' picture as presented here - [url removed] and all would make sense then (I hope, sometimes even I can't tell what I'm saying!) BTW, if you click the pic you will get the real image used for the 'monkey' that was fit into the page by using good old width and height attributes...
My favourite Ozzie said this at me:

And Mik....have you taken your sunglasses off since comin inside? ;-)

Well(sheepish grin [o; ), I forgot to put them on before I looked at the site so just now has my vision recovered enough to see (and hence the long delay for my reply)

[JayDrake]

Originally Posted by jackson992

Why are so many people opposed to bright colors? I used to use bright yellow on my site and my friend hated the color. I thought it was eye catching:P

That's actually an interesting question, and many people who work in print media have learned that bright, eye catching colors are important to lure people over to their work. If you put thirty magazines on a small news stand, the ones with bright colors and high contrast on their covers will stand out quickly.

This isn't necessary in web media, however. If the person has reached your site, they are already focusing on it. The goal at that point is to guide them to the appropriate areas of the site, possibly making spartan use of bright color, and keep them from leaving.

In the example of a magazine cover, once the magazine has been picked up, the person turns the page to see what is inside which in most cases doesn't follow this same 'in-your-face' style. It yelled for you to pay attention to it, and now that it has your attention it needn't yell anymore. In fact, if it does, you'll probably get tired of it quickly and stuff it back into the newsstand.

The cover for a web site is whatever way you managed to get your visitor to get there in the first place. Banner advertisements, high placement in a search engine, etc. There is no need to yell at your visitors once they are in the doors.

[JayDrake]

Originally Posted by jackson992

I use Frontpage for everything:)

It's very simple, really. There are certainly people who use Front Page and have a good grasp on design and know how to use the tool. On the other side of this, an overwhelming number of people who don't know what they are doing also use Front Page because of visibility and availability.

Using Front Page doesn't make you a bad web designer. It's just simple fact that many bad web designers use Front Page. I could make equally bad web pages using any such tool if I put my mind to it. ;)

[alienzhavelanded]

I have just informed my government, and the armies of Mars will be invading shortly to rid Earth of all ugly web pages. Please stay at home and surf while we quell this blight from the world! ;D

The Martian

[mikmik]

janeth said it!

The funny part is the owner of this web site is probley thinking my web site is really starting to get a lot of hits.

He does not know it is on a what not to do form.

That's funny as heck, janeth! I wonder how much traffic this post has generated, and like said, the owner is ecstatic that so many people like the site all of a sudden, but if they only knew!

That's a pretty good one janeth, I think you are becoming one of the "break from reality room" all-stars.[o;

[CLBridges]

Originally Posted by wenwilder

I"m just a firm believer that a 'professional' site doesn't give the potiental customer a headache.

Perhaps if they were selling pharmaceuticals.. er.. maybe? Hey! It COULD happen!

ACK! Just looked at the site.. and reaching for the codeine.

[Memo]

I just made the mistake of clicking through to this site using the same yellow -- but as a background color!
[url removed]

One discussion of colors and color combinations I've read says: "Yellow is a warm color that, like red, has conflicting symbolism. On the one hand it denotes happiness and joy but on the other hand it's the color of cowardice and deceit." Based on this, I think I'd be very reluctant to sign up for one their programs.

I have used a yellow on other sites before, as it's supposed (as stated by usability experts) to be a good, easy on the eyes background for text, but it's a soft, "canary" yellow: #FFFFCC.
Memo
_______________
Travelblog about San Miguel de Allende:
http://smaarts.com

[minstrel]

Originally Posted by JayDrake

It's very simple, really. There are certainly people who use Front Page and have a good grasp on design and know how to use the tool. On the other side of this, an overwhelming number of people who don't know what they are doing also use Front Page because of visibility and availability. Using Front Page doesn't make you a bad web designer. It's just simple fact that many bad web designers use Front Page. I could make equally bad web pages using any such tool if I put my mind to it.

Exactly - using FrontPage doesn't guarantee bad pages any more than using Dreamweaver or GoLive or NotePad guarantees good pages.

(furiously scanning my site trying to hide all references to the fact that it has been edited with Frontpage.)

[simonm]

Originally Posted by narasinha

The thing I have to ask is this: Do people who are not involved in the web design business (as basically all of us here are) view this page and think it looks okay? Do they see the same flaws we do?

Narasinha

Too true. We all risk focusing on:
The next contract thus making site designs that sell web design;
The customer of the web site, ie the boss of the company!

We mustn't forget the real customer or user, the person who hopefully buys something from somebody else based on our work!

[Sualdam]

Originally Posted by narasinha

The thing I have to ask is this: Do people who are not involved in the web design business (as basically all of us here are) view this page and think it looks okay? Do they see the same flaws we do?

It IS a good point.

Well, they say that 'beauty is in the eye of the beholder', but I suspect that that is a truism rather than an absolute truth.

Personally, I'd guess that only a very small number of people would see beauty in some web sites that are out there. And most of those would be the people who designed them or paid for them.

Like most things, I think it falls into various categories which are difficult to define. In the middle you have designs where some people like them and some don't. At the extremes you have the majority either liking or hating them.

But I bet you'd never get a 100% agreement in any group :)

[TRICK]

Ok ... I think my eyes are permanently disabled.

[matauri]

I think there is lack of experience, and then there is bad taste. I won't say which element this site fit into ;-)


Cindy

[Brittany]

Hey everyone,

I just wanted to remind you all that the purpose of this forum is to provide CONSTRUCTIVE criticism, not public humiliation. I've removed the site's URL from this thread at the request of the site owner, who claims to have been receiving some "very nasty" emails in response to this thread.

Would you want your site to be used as a "really bad example" of something? Probably not. Please keep that in mind when reviewing sites and discussing design techniques. As Sualdam said at the start of this thread, commenting is fine but slander is not.

And now, back to discussing... ;)

Brittany

[carbonize]

I wonder if any of the emails he received offered to make a new site for him? for a fee of course.