Bad Website Design

March 18, 2010

Website design can be difficult to get right, with so many important factors to consider, and barriers to communication due to the related technical issues involved.  From the outset significant mistakes are easy to make without careful guidance, and the results are available for the public to judge.  In fact, there are websites dedicated to humiliating poorly designed pages, such as webpagesthatsuck.com and omfgthissucks.com. These sites pick apart all that is wrong with bad websites in a very public fashion, and are a testament to the importance of attention to detail.

It is not only the appearance of a site that can provoke the wrath of critics, but also its structure.  Many of the sites on webpagesthatsuck.com are visually impressive but confusing to the point where visitors are unable to find what they are looking for.  One of the main reasons behind poorly designed websites is a widespread lack of familiarity with important considerations. Many people believe that a good website is simply something which is visually attractive, but they do not consider the structure, navigation, accessibility and numerous other aspects of good web design.

Another significant problem is communication, without a basic understanding of the process, and some of the jargon, it is difficult for a layman to be sure that their web designer understands their requirements.  Breakdowns in communication can lead to sites which do not fit their purpose, and where care has not been taken to ensure that the agreement between a buyer and their web designer is clear this can lead to disputes and expense.

To address these problems we have written an E-book to help SMEs understand the process, issues, and good practices relevant to commissioning a website – find out more about our e-book: How to Commission a Website that will Win You more Business, and Help You Make More Sales.