the bad website

Now I would like to share about a really bad website that I came across. The site is http://www.angelfire.com/super/badwebs/ . the home page is as follow.



The first thing I felt when I saw this website is that I don’t know where to look and focus, there are so many things going on. For example, the big headlines, the very striking background color, the messy contents. Now I would proceed to comment on each part of the site.

lack of information

this website has only one page excluding the hyperlinks. websites usually have alot more pages within it's site but for this there is only one so i am sure there will be a lack of information. i think all users like websites to be informative but this website have fail to do that.

animated main title

Firstly, the head title of ‘world’s worst website’ kept moving from left to right then back again. The web designer must have put on some effects, maybe using flash or others but the moving of the title truly annoys me and very likely everyone else. I think some users will close the site really quickly.

the two screenshots shows the different location of the main title

no menu bar

Next, there isn’t a menu bar which is so inconvenient for users to navigate in the site and it is so rare in a bad sense that a website doesn’t have a menu bar. The users will have problems trying to navigate and back track their steps when needed to. Instead of having the menu bar, the upper part of the web page was occupied by some advertisement. Users are never keen to see advertisements or pop-ups in a website and this website had chosen to put advertisement right at the middle of the webpage which usually is where users first look at.

all the titles.

I do not like it that there are so many titles. First there is the ‘the world’s worst website’ which I guess is the main title. After that, as if the animated main title isn’t irritating enough there is also another animated sub title says ‘welcome to my website’ and another stationary title ‘welcome to the world’s worst website’. A title is to tell people a message, I don’t think there is need to have 3 titles telling a welcome message. It is very repetitive and annoying.

purpose

websites usually have their purpose written under a webpage maybe under 'about us' and they are written very professionally. however , this website wrote their purpose with one sentence which is right below '' welcome to the world's worst website.'' it really shows the users how much effort was putin into this website.

the other thing is that without any title or whatsoever, they just throw in their one line of purpose in the middle of the main body. users will find it weird why there is this one piece of information that doesn't seems to belong anywhere appear in the middle of the webpage which is where people first look at. it will create a total confusion and when thet finally realize it's nothing important, they will find their website very unprofessional.that was exactly how i felt.

background

Then, there is the absolutely awful background which is a mixture of yellow, dull red and muddy brownish color that has plenty of dots. The combination of all does not create a very good outcome. The contrast among all is awful. It is like all 3 colors are fighting to stand out unlike the black background that Singapore art festivals used throughout that is comfortable to look at. This website’s makes my eyes strain when I look at it for a long time and I’m sure it will affects people in that way too.

column on the left

The column to the left is not very well placed. It gives me a feeling that it’s not linked to website. Users may ignore that part. The layout of the page is not good. If that information is linked which it is, it should be placed somewhere else. i feel that it's because of the scroll bar that makes it feels isolated from the main body. another thing about it is that the information is very unorganize even in this small column.

background music

this is absolutely the worst background music that i've heard from a website. the worst thing is, it is so poorly designed that it can't allow the user to off the music. usually, websites that has background music will have a '' on/off'' for users to choose. however, there isn't any of that in this website. it comes down to muting it or listening it and i chose to mute it. i thought it will be alright but then when i wanted to listen to my songs, i can't! i will have to unmute it which means the background music will be heard. for anyone who chose to mute it or listen to it, if they are in my situation, they can't hear their songs or other audio without having the background music playing along. sadly speaking, the background music goes on endlessly unless you close the window which is what i did in order to hear my songs. this just brings great inconvenience to the users and annoyance.

for this, you have to go to website itself to experience it.

background colors for text box

it has the same problem as the types of fonts used which will be explain below. there were simply too many colors. at any point of viewing the website,there will be at least 4 colors covering the page. to make it worst, all the colors combination wasn't great at all.just picture yourself viewing a website that has an ugly background all the time. i do not think any users will enjoy that.

some screenshots:

different kinds of fonts used

another concern is that the different kinds of fonts used in this website.it had used too many kinds of fonts. i understood that sometimes fonts need to be change maybe for the title but this website had used 4 or more fonts type for its content in the body. just imagine users scrolling down the page, reading paragrapgh follow by paragrapgh with different fonts for each paragraph. it will irritate anyone just as it irritated me. it makes the entire content looks messy and so confusing.

examples of fonts used:

conclusion

i think this website is really bad in all sorts of ways. for example, design, the information and that irritating music just show how thoughtless the web designer is.

the good website

i had chosen one website that i think is good which is the singapore arts festival offical website.the link is http://www.singaporeartsfest.com/main.asp .

conclusion: i think the website is good generally in all areas. informative,great design,easy to navigate and attractive.another good thing is when user navigate within the website, it won't open new windows.users will not have to close the windows. for some users like me which is more forgetful, i will open up many windows and forget to close the windows that i no longer need until it became so obvious that there are too many windows. that is another good thing

the home page

The first thing I want to comment about is the website���s homepage. It holds really great color contrast with black background and pink fonts. It makes the fonts stands out that will catch people���s attention to all the important things on the homepage. For example, the menu bar, the links and things that the web creator wants to brings our attention to. The color is a great match that brought out the essence of arts and I think it had reach the effect of making people want to continue looking on the site because that was exactly how I felt. For that, I think the web creator had reached a minimum level of success by creating a website that attracts people.

SEARCH ENGINE

Another good thing of this website is that there is a search engine which is at the lower left hand side. The purpose of that should be very clear. That is to allow people to search information on a particular performance which will save so much time and effort. It will definitely come in handy because there are many performances so websites like such will need to have a search engine.

sub menu

The links provides more information to the user.

Click ������ about the festival������ and it will bring the user to a page that briefly explains in short and informative paragraphs about the festival like how did this festival came about and how it had transformed over the years. I think it will engage the users to this festival after they read this.

Under ������ festival welcome������ there is a letter from the festival director that is to welcome everyone that come to participate in this festival. It will give people a sense of welcome from Singapore. This will heighten the chance of them going to participate in this festival.

Under ���sponsors���, it give the entire list of sponsors as to give credits to them for making this festival possible. This is good as people will notice who the sponsors are. Usually sponsors are named right at the bottom of the webpage where not many notices but this website put both at the bottom of the page and in the sub menu. For some who may be interested in who are the sponsors, there are hyperlinks to link them to the respective websites. This will save time for user to search for their websites.

Click ������ privileges������ to know all the privilege that each can get. That will act as an incentive to encourage people to buy the tickets for the shows. It���s is good that this information is being put up on the website and that is right in the center of the web page instead of hiding at the bottom. This will ensure the users will see it.

For those who are new to Singapore, click ������ city info + maps������ and they can get basic information they need to know about Singapore right away. The first thing that will capture the user���s attention is that beautifully taken picture of the merlion that symbolizes Singapore. It is no surprise that people may just close the webpage once they saw words so the picture will encourage them to read the paragraphs beside it. It gave important information about Singapore like currencies, weather and transportation. They are also very smart that they gave the link to a website for some information. For example, the currencies conversion rate stated there. Instead of updating it everyday which is so tedious, they provided the link http://sg.finance.yahoo.com/ so that users can check the most updated rates themselves. They also provided links on transportation in Singapore.

Next under ������ see + hear������, it provides a firsthand experience of the Singapore arts��� happenings just as the name implies. There are images on each performances and videos too. It also divided itself into 3 categories which are dance, theatre and music to cater to all the preference of the users.

Under ���press room���, it provides some newsletter that users can read to know more about the recent events. Users will save their time searching on the internet for local articles on the festival. The good thing is that they kept the page very neat with all the hyperlinks rather than showing all the printings on the webpage. The user can click on those that want to view instead of scrolling down long pages.

Lastly, click ���workshop��� to get to know all opportunities that each can get to be engage with arts. There are currently 6 workshops that are coming up. It provides information on how to participate, the cost, instructed by whom and more. Users can easily find out the information.

This are all the good points that I find in this sub menu.in general,i think the website had considered all the possible informations people needed and put it up ont the website.people will like websites that have answers to their questions and i think this website can do that with their well-rounded informations given.

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2ND SUB MENU

Next, there is the second sub menu which consists of 4 parts.the menu color are all different and it blands together

First it���s the ���arts fest club��� which allows people to join this club to get firsthand information on this annual festival.
It is understood that people may not always remember the date of this festival or they may not check the websites for updates regularly so it is wise to come up with this art fest club so as to remind them of this festival. The best of this service is that it doesn���t only serve Singaporeans but internationally as well. Whichever country the person is from, he or she can still get the information on this festival. This will be one way to maintain the participation rate at a constant level. People will be attracted to come to Singapore once they know those exciting event awaits them.

Next, there is also the calendar. Users can know all the upcoming events or performance in the upcoming month. For those that don���t have the patience to browse through the website for details, this section will provide a quick over view of all the events that���s coming up. This is one way to save time and effort on this users��� part and I���m sure they will appreciate this function set up especially for them and have a good impression of this festival. Something that is also very thoughtful is that there are hyperlinks that link to the webpage of each performance providing information on ticket cost, duration and a brief introduction of the performance. This is done as users may be interested in a certain performance and to save time searching, the hyperlinks will come in very useful.
It also allows online booking in this section. User can click on ���book now��� and be directly linked to another website to do the bookings.

Thirdly, there is the ���interact��� key that allows users to interact with other users that���s had the same passion for arts through FACEBOOK. Also, users can interact with people in the organizing committee like the director of Singapore arts festival through YAHOO ANSWER. Through all these, users will definitely feel more connected to this festival and thus more keen to come again in the subsequent years.

Lastly, in ���ticketing info���, there is a long list of groups or individuals that are eligible for certain discounts or privileges. This will also serve as incentives that encourage people to join this festival.

I think this sub menu have provided very good information on this festival. The page layout and the design are very consistent with the others so it will not look very confusing.
The contrast is also greatly done. The use of bright color fonts makes the web pages more alive and exciting instead of dull and boring.

i think this website had done all it can to attract people which is why i think it's good.

NEWS UPDATE

The next thing is about the ‘’news update column’’ that is at the bottom of the web page. I think it’s a good idea to have this column being situated on the homepage. As we all may have guess this website is targeted to mainly local or foreigners who are arts lovers. For local, they can easily know what are the upcoming shows or events but for a foreigner that just happen to peruse this website, they wouldn’t spend time searching. Therefore, the column can catch their attention immediately about the upcoming events and to stir up their interest for the website and ultimately draw them over to watch the shows live.

THE MAIN MENU

The main menu bar is very well positioned at the upper part of the web page that spread throughout the width of the page. That will ensure people know that that is the main menu because as the homepage have 2 other sub menu.

The menu bar is categorized to dance, music, theatre, festival spectacular, kidsfest, outreach and festival club. Each will link to their respective pages. It is also good that a small picture is put beside each button so that the menu bar will not look so ordinary.

dance,music and theatre

For the contents in terms of all the words which I said was at the right side of the page, it���s not bad with the grey background and the white fonts that matches together. It is good that they did not use black again but grey this time. It provided a really informative introduction of the performance and other information like time and date. There is also a small picture of the performance the user is viewing which is the same at the menu by the side, this will ensure that the user know which performance he or she is viewing as time goes by. That will avoid all the confusion. There is also a link for the video and booking the tickets. It is good that these links are put at more than one spot in the website so that users do not have to retreat their steps to find those links. There is also a small photo gallery that shows the users some shots of the performance.

The layout for MUSIC and THEATRE is the same as DANCE so it maintains a visual consistency for the users.
I think this layout is very well done because it provided all the information anyone would need to know of all the performances. Also, it���s is not all too long and filled with words that just bores people.

the images will be as below:

MUSIC:

THE PAGE THE WORDS CONTENTSTHE MENU

THEATRE:

THE PAGE

THE MENUTHE WORDS CONTENT

DANCE

THE PAGETHE WORDS CONTENTTHE MENU

festival spectacular

Under ���festival spectacular��� there is a slight change to the design. More striking colors are used for example the red border and the red title. It did give the page a fresh new look as it make me felt a little refreshed. This page shows the information on the opening and closing of this annual festival. It showed all the details on what will happen and more on this page. Once again, it provided the necessary information for anyone who wants to participate.

KIDFEST

Theatre shows









In this ���kidsfest���, as the name implies, it is cater to kids so as to let them participate in this annual festival in one way or another. As it is for kids, the page I find is more graphical than others. More and larger pictures, lesser words and more informal fonts used.
For example, the fonts for the prices and the sub headings were using less formal fonts.



taster workshops














For the introductions, it all comes down to at most one and a half paragraphs so that it will not make the kids feel bored.
Lastly, the puzzles pieces and the pictures of the play are sort of larger. For the puzzle pieces, instead of having square and standard boxes to fill in the words, they use puzzle pieces. Kids will it more interesting and be more attracted to it.
It also provides a link for online buying the tickets which is good because they had provided that service for other areas like dance and music and more so it shows the consistency.

singapore streets festival under 'outreach'

Under ���Singapore street festival��� it is like an announcement board for this festival that shows basic information about it. It is good that they even put up something that in line with the arts festivals so as to let people know more about the other events in Singapore. They even put up the direct link to the official site which will bring much convenience to the users that want to know more. To specially highlight that link, they had use yellow instead which will stand out more. The header���s alignment is also the same as the rest.
They also put up the logo for the Singapore street festivals which is good as people will recognize this logo in the future. It had done well in promoting the street festivals.

asian showcase,community arts under 'outreach'

Under ���Asian showcase and community arts���, the design are slightly different from the rest. All the events are all put on the left which let users to scroll down themselves. It is alright because the content isn���t very long which will not frustrate the users when they scroll down. As usual, all the information available should be very sufficient. They also provided numbers of each showcase so that any enquires can be answered. The header is aligned the same way as others, even for the hyperlinks, the same color-yellow is used for all pages. This is good so that users will not get mixed up.

The pictures for Asian showcase and community arts will be as follows.

community arts:

asian showcase: