Good Websites and Bad Websites

Hey!

I'm going to be discussing what defines a good website and a bad website today.

So what's considered a bad website?

MLIA - My Life is Average

Although I'm a fan of this website, once I learned the 10 principles of Web Design, I deemed it a bad website in terms of design.

True, the site is funny, but when a user goes to the website for the first time, they would lose interest quickly, because you can't tell what the website is about. Once the user looks at the navigation bar, they will see "submit a story" or "vote on submissions" and guess that the website is about sharing stories, but they will not know exactly what the website does until they search around, or go to the "about" section. There is a very eye catching advertisement right at the top of the page, making it one of the most prominent things on the web page. This is bad because it diverts the user's attention away from the actual content of the website. The final reason why I think this is a bad website, in design terms, is that there is too much white space at the sides (it is cut off in the picture) and everything is clustered in the center.

What's considered a good website?

The Girl Effect

The girl effect is, as quoted on the home page, "A powerful social and economic change brought about when girls have the opportunity to participate." There is an introduction page when you enter the website. If you click AGREE or DISAGREE, it takes you to an introduction video (Which I find very inspiring and I will blog about it later) which you have the choice to skip. After that it takes the user to the homepage. The homepage is very clean-cut and straight-forward. There is very effective writing because you can tell that the site is about an organization for girls in developed countries helping girls in developing, poverty-stricken countries. The site is easy to navigate; on the homepage there are three main options: LEARN, GIVE and SHARE, when you scroll over them, it will tell the user where the link takes them (shown below). The thing I like most about the website is that it's very simple. There is a lot of white space, so it's breathable, and all the animations (which only happen when they are clicked on) are purposeful and effective.

So I hope this post helped you guys see what defines a good and bad website! I shall be back soon!

-Roshni