When websites go bad

When a site has too many elements competing for the visitor’s attention, it becomes overcrowded and inaccessible

When a site has too many elements competing for the visitor’s attention, it becomes overcrowded and inaccessible. Here are some examples of what to avoid when planning a site’s layout.

So busy, busy, busy!
Wow, sites like this are a work of art for all the wrong reasons. By filling every conceivable page area with content, and small content at that, is bad news. All possibility of focus is then obliterated by the myriad of colours, icons, and photos. A screen reader would probably explode before coping with this assault on the senses!

Nasty navigators
Many sites, particularly those that attempt experimental designs in Flash, may look great but can of ten frustrate. Using obscure metaphors for site navigation cer tainly don’t help – so you may need an HTML version if you insist on trying something elaborate.

Hard on the eyes
Using bright and conflicting colours or particularly garish backgrounds is a really poor design move. Blinking text and the use of flourescent schemes is a horrible trend long since abandoned by most – so there’s no excuse. If visitors with perfect eyesight find it visually offensive then just try to imagine how tough it must read for the partially sighted. Be sure to avoid…