Examples of Bad Websites

There are countless examples of embarrassing website designs and development out there. These are the latest examples we have discovered. For each site below we provide a brief analysis to assist you in avoiding the same pitfalls.

After looking at the websites and critiques below, please visit our free advice area.

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Designed By Chris

You'll probably find it hard to believe that this latest "worst website" was made by a web design company. 

A WEB DESIGN COMPANY. 

Take a few moments to let that sink in.  This recently submitted boogersite is awful in its own right - but to rely on it to sell the design services of the company which created it is an utter failure.

There is no navigation, except for an invisible link to an Index page just below the half-picture of what may be computer monitors on the landing page.  Why in the world would you hide it?   Who knows - the site says right on it that it was last updated in 2009. 

Let's hope "Chris" has found something better to do with his time - because we're betting he does not have a career in web design.  At least not a successful one.

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Sima Restaurant

Bad website design – that’s what boogersite.com was made to showcase.  In some cases, the critique is technical.  In others, it’s purely visual: a bad color scheme, mismatched fonts or silly animated gifs.  In the case of this restaurant – simple common sense is all that’s needed to see what’s wrong.  Where is it?  What are the hours?  How about a menu?

None of these necessary pieces of information are present.  There’s a 42-image slideshow of food pictures, a phone number (thankfully), and links to the Facebook and Twitter pages for this restaurant.  Perhaps those pages show current specials and information?  Nope.  Neither has been updated in over 8 months. 

If you’re going to spend money on a website, you should have it developed by someone who can advise you on much more than the basics, which aren’t even present in this case.

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JP Design

No, it's not Easter, although this website's color scheme may have you believing it is.  Either that, or you have a sudden urge to try on bridesmaids' dresses.  Not that it matters, this 'design' company is currently "NOT Accepting any New Clients!".  They are booked "SOLID!"

Really?  We can't imagine there's a waiting list to get a lilac website.  UNTIL...we clicked on the Custom Banners link.  Everything suddenly becomes clear.  If you'd like to see years-old Custom Banners created for the 2003 season of child 'beauty pageants', you have definitely come to the right place. 

The pricing structure kind of makes sense now.  We've advised you often that 'you get what you pay for' is not only true but glaringly obvious when it relates to website design.  For the low starting price of $65, here you'll get a page including Music, a Guest Book (how quaint!) and a Site meter.  Too bad they're booked SOLID.

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Taxidermy Supply

It's time to play the keyword game again.  A website using keywords of: reproduction horns, rainbow heads, bear rug shells, and blue wildebeest would be for what?

YES, another taxidermy supply site.  Why do you suppose we get so many of these sites submitted?  Are they all bad, or do we have an aging critter out there, ratting out all of the bad taxidermy websites?

Doing it yourself is indeed a money-saver when it comes to websites.  But are you really doing your business any favors?  Not for long, as it turns out.  Websites such as this one, created using FrontPage - are not going to be host-able for much longer.  Why not use this transition time to get a professionally made website, developed using technology that's more secure and certainly more sustainable?

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Welcome to M&W

At first glance, this website seems to be a fansite for showerheads.  But then, you notice that the red hard-to-read words are welcoming you to a website for an electric company.  Or, a company that makes parts for the electrical industry?  It's hard to tell, which is never a good idea.

The navigation options are weirdly in the middle of the page, and inexplicably include "Return Home" although we're already there.  Under "History", we learn that the company changed hands in 2001.  There's no news since then, and it's possible that's when the last interesting notable event occurred.  It's also possible that's when this website was created.

Here's a hint, if you insist on using one of those "build it yourself!" website crap-factories, don't include things like this in any of your page titles: <meta name='verify-v1' content='fqsN9DR0wcf9p75Nv8fX+cjofJH1tuwOSSd2pTofjrs=' />  A professional web development company would NEVER let you enter 123 keywords for a single page either.  !!!

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