Examples of Bad Websites

A website should have a purpose.  Some are informational, some are self-promoting, most are selling something. It's hard to tell what today's bad website is for.

There are pictures, definitions, explanations and contact information.  There is a navigation option for Video, but there's nothing there but a green background that'll make you dizzy. What's missing?  Something that tells the website visitor what to do.

It doesn't help that the photos and information are being presented in a very old-fashioned way.  Maybe this website's been abandoned, the photos are stamped 2002, which is 15 years ago.

If you have a company that is in the business of selling website development, you'd better have a website of your own that is impressive.  Makes sense, right?

Today's bad website claims to build and host web sites (sic) for businesses nationwide.  This is a strange claim, as it's hard to believe that any modern business would want their website to look like this one.  Would you drive around in a crappy car if you were trying to sell luxury cars?  Wear stained, mismatched clothes if you were trying to sell upscale menswear?  You get the point.  Unfortunately, this website does not.

How are bad websites like baseball?

Flickery, starfield background - strike one.

Flash elements, front and center - strike two.

Shop link that leads to a security warning page - strike three.

Have you ever come across a website that shows an award the business has won?  Of course you have, and good for them!  Companies should show off when they win something.  What's a bit suspicious, though, is when that award is YEARS old.  Are they still in business?  

Today's bad website has just such a statement, winning 'best recording studio for rock' (in Phoenix, anyway) in 2008.  That's nine years ago.  See what we mean?  Have they done nothing impressive in the years since then?

However, that's not the worst thing.  The blurry logo, the glaring neon words against a black background, the utter lack of navigation, or even contact info visible above the fold are what qualifies this as a true boogersite.

Today's bad website requires 35 'page downs' to get to the bottom of it.  It's a website selling a program to help you lose belly fat, maybe we're supposed to use our abs to press the page down key.

The person who submitted this website said they wouldn't buy the product because they'd have closed this window way before scrolling down far enough to see what's being sold.  We agree.  

There are going to be people drawn in by this website, though.  Who wouldn't want six-pack abs in as little as 4 minutes a day?  Everyone!  But if it was that easy, we'd all be swimsuit models.  Use common sense when you see a sales pitch for something that seems to be too good to be true.  It usually is.