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Biggest Mistakes in Web Design 1995-2015

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41–50 of 56 posts

Re: Biggest Mistakes in Web Design 1995-2015

#41

I think this particular site (Hacker News) is really bad when considering contrast. Just look at this comment after a while.

Are you assuming that it's going to get downvoted so much that it becomes illegible?

Well, I may have made a bad prediction there. We can't be sure though... :)

Re: Biggest Mistakes in Web Design 1995-2015

#42
While many, if not all statements made there are true, the page seems to be adding the biggest mistake itself: The virtual tag-line is apparently, "How to make a flashing website, if you've nothing to say and no intention to do so, but for your interest in making money from it." (At least for me, this is oozing through most of the lines, since there is seemingly no notion of any interest behind engaging in a website at all.)

To paraphrase #1: Do you really think people will visit your site just for you to make profits on it? – Actually, there has to be some honest and credible commitment, one way or the other, in order to create some link to your visitors. This is your major investment.

Re: Biggest Mistakes in Web Design 1995-2015

#43

"A long web page means you have failed to organize your site properly." I think this is outdated. Longer homepages—ones that scroll down and appropriately present the content with good flow, organization, and spacing—are just fine. The Docker homepage[1], for example, is not afraid of the scroll bar. I only bring this up because I think the opposite idea of trying to cram everything above the fold or spread it out ac…

But there's a related problem with docker.com: The site is so afraid that you might miss any of its very important links that it misses any comprehensible organization of its content (at least on the main page). Instead, it presents the content in various ways, often in parallel, leaving you without a (mental) map. Thus, you will probably miss some of the content advertised there ...

Re: Biggest Mistakes in Web Design 1995-2015

#45

I agree with most of these, but as others have noted, the comments about JS are out of date. I'd like to nominate as an honorable mention "giant popover that tries to get you to subscribe to the newsletter/install the app before you've even seen the site.", because that's not happening with me. Ever.

I wonder why bugging someone with a big modal has gotten so popular, I still think doing that leads to less engagement.

They look at the extra 50 people that sign up for whatever or install the app, but don't think about the 500 people that clicked the back button and resolved to never go to their site again.

A better way of handling this, IMO, would be to let the readers see (some largish number to be determined) pages from the site and then ask them if they want to install the app. That way you're directing the pitch toward people who might actually be interested in seeing continuing content from the site.

Re: Biggest Mistakes in Web Design 1995-2015

#46

#2 is still a huge problem. Half the time I can't figure out what a new startup or project actually does for me. All I can tell is that they claim to be innovative and better than their competitors.

Right. When people are so engulfed in what they are creating they forget how much of it other people don't know. My own personal rule is "start by stating the obvious", and then refine as appropriate.

Re: Biggest Mistakes in Web Design 1995-2015

#47

"A long web page means you have failed to organize your site properly." I think this is outdated. Longer homepages—ones that scroll down and appropriately present the content with good flow, organization, and spacing—are just fine. The Docker homepage[1], for example, is not afraid of the scroll bar. I only bring this up because I think the opposite idea of trying to cram everything above the fold or spread it out ac…

Longer home pages are not just fine. The current trend to have a huge scrollable page is generally bad design.

Re: Biggest Mistakes in Web Design 1995-2015

#49

"A long web page means you have failed to organize your site properly." I think this is outdated. Longer homepages—ones that scroll down and appropriately present the content with good flow, organization, and spacing—are just fine. The Docker homepage[1], for example, is not afraid of the scroll bar. I only bring this up because I think the opposite idea of trying to cram everything above the fold or spread it out ac…

For a landing page, it's a bad thing.

For a content page, you should absolutely not split content, except on major logical boundaries (e.g., chapters or larger sections within a book).

A site I refer to with great frequency is the Project Gutenberg copy of Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations. This packs over 1,000 pages of printed text on a single web page.

It's actually pretty usable, and it makes searching for text a lot easier than separate pages.

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/3300/3300-h/3300-h.htm

Re: Biggest Mistakes in Web Design 1995-2015

#50

I agree with most of these, but as others have noted, the comments about JS are out of date. I'd like to nominate as an honorable mention "giant popover that tries to get you to subscribe to the newsletter/install the app before you've even seen the site.", because that's not happening with me. Ever.

I wonder why bugging someone with a big modal has gotten so popular, I still think doing that leads to less engagement.

I increasingly 1) back out of such sites and 2) add them as a 0.0.0.0 routed entry in /etc/hosts.
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