Latest posts by Jedith N (see all)
- There Are No Excuses For Having An Ugly Website - December 30, 2012
- Foods to Avoid to Lose Belly Fat: Top 3 Foods You Should Avoid Eating at Restaurants - March 3, 2012
- Reasons Why I Love Reading Books So Much - February 3, 2011
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A few days ago, as I was browsing the internet for some travel information I ran into a few websites along the way that made me gasp in complete horror. Why you may ask? These particular websites I ran across were UGLY! – I mean HIDEOUS to the human eye!
My memory quickly took a turn for the worst, taking me to the year 1999, then the year 2000, then forward to the year 2001 and so on and so forth. 1999-2002 was the decade where ugly websites reigned. – After all, platforms such as WordPress, Blogger, Typepad, Weebly etc. didn’t exist to provide web presence services to the extent that they do now.
How many seconds would you stay on this website?
A Trip Down Memory Lane
The trip down memory lane took me to a time when websites consisted of neon colored banners and headers, twinkling animated gifs, inconsistent use of font size, colors and types. Background color so distracting that you could barely read the content…the list goes on. My shock came mainly from the fact that its 2012 and even if it came down to cost, there is no need to fret because most blogging platforms such as Blogger, WordPress, Weebly etc. offer free options if you don’t want to pay a monthly hosting fee on a self-hosted website!
First Impressions Count
Appearances are everything and human beings are superficial by nature ( i know, sad but true). Even though the main goal of a website is to be found on search engines and not on the 100th page, but rather within the first page or at least near the 1st page, -the real truth is, the amount of time visitors spend on your website also has a lot to do with its appearance. If you have lots of ads on your website, poorly designed, don’t care about stealing other people’s content and using it as your own (this is plagiarism by the way, which can land you into heaps of trouble), use font inconsistently and have little to no useful content to offer your readers, chances are your bounce rate is going to be very high!
Ugly Websites Happen To Good People
The URL of the websites visited will not be named because the point of this article is not to single out anybody, but rather to provide hope to people who may be stuck in a rut by rebelling against change. I’m a firm believer that you do not need to spend tens of thousands of dollars to set successfully setup a website. Anybody who tells you that you need to shell out thousands to get a successful blog or website it likely lying through their teeth and selling you services you don’t need. You are better off saving your money.
If you are unable to come up with an idea as to what you want your website or blog to look like, online WordPress theme reviews can be of great help in the brainstorming phase. These reviews can help you choose your final look by showcasing and reviewing themes you may be interested in based on your needs.
Its possible to setup an attractive and functional website or blog that is also search engine friendly without spending a ton of money. There are free WordPress theme options as well as paid options available to suit your needs.
So whether you’re a blogger blogging for your own personal enjoyment, a professional setting up your online presence, or a business establishing interaction through social media, there are no excuses for having an ugly website, not with all the options you have at at your disposal!
Twitter: bloggerjourney
If I come up to an ugly website, I will leave immediately and never come back. I believe it happens to many others. So to keep people coming back, make the site nicer !
Mark recently posted..Top 10 Most Viewed Articles on Wikipedia (English )- What’s Hot in 2012 ?
That’s true Mark, I usually click the back button if I get into a messy designed website, even if the author has some good content, first impressions count.
Jedith recently posted..What To Do When Your WordPress Visual Editor Stops Working After a WordPress Upgrade
In my view , You are in wrong notion because I have seen a lots of websites have an ugly interface but they carry quality contents . So before leave , we have to check what are the things they offer.
Usually a bad design = loss of potential customers. What do you think when you see a website that has a 1995 design ? To me it’s like a no way. Those websites only work if they are content related, but if you want to offer a product you have to be professional.
Twitter: IsmailNZ
Uchhh.. I still see many of them nowadays.. Pity them but I guess there are still many not so IT-design savvy people out there. There are people who still don’t know what WP is.
Too many messy designs still in existence, let’s hope these people wake up and see the light =)
Jedith N recently posted..Top 3 Reasons Why Your Ecommerce Website Needs a Blog
Twitter: etechmafia
And people don’t want to come back to your site! Theme matters
Salman Ahmad recently posted..5 Best Websites to Download YouTube Videos for Free
Twitter: krimfuk22
Its true fact that now a days we see so much so such sites which are not to be spared. Such sites should be removed from the search engines as well as the web history!
Krishna Parmar recently posted..Temple Run for Nokia (Symbian) : Download Free
Hi Krishna, I think that Google also noticed many junk sites and this is why they really started the alogarithim and Panda updates to weed out not just the badly designed sites but also the ones that have junk content
Jedith N recently posted..4 Easy Steps To Find Your Feedburner ID
Well those are some really silly mistakes. I discovered my site too had similar glitches, i will try to remove them ASAP
Apoorv Mehta recently posted..THE LEH-LADAKH CHRONICLES
Like attracts like. Therefore slow, poor performing websites must stem from likeminded businesses. Fast, intuitive sites then…
Twitter: RyanBiddulph
Simple and clear rocks Jedith!
All rough looking websites are the result of overdoing it, trying too hard to make your site look good, or overloading on ads, etc.
Simple and clean is the way to go to attract visitors.
Thanks!
Ryan Biddulph recently posted..Internet Business Training – Do You Make this Gaffe?
Very true Ryan, many of the websites that are poorly designed websites and blogs are usually the ones splattered with ads and banners everyplace that the website owner could find space to up any text links or banners.
I also prefer a clean and simple design as I feel this that allows easy navigation for web visitors.
Jedith N recently posted..WordPress vs Blogger: What To Look For In a Blog Service Provider
Twitter: OddRandomThots
Normally the ugly sites that I see these days are set up to spam some outrageous product or rip off users money. I think the main goal of the administrators is to simply get the site up as fast as possible so they can start their scam.
Of course this is not always the case, but I’ve also seen quite a few ugly ones in the music industry for some reason. A music site is one that I think has the most potential to look awesome. But I have to agree wordpress is a godsend for getting a site online quickly with very little expense. Great post, someone had to say it sooner or later!
Robert recently posted..Strange Phenomenons of Fire and Light
I agree with you Robert, the ugly sites that are still in existence nowadays are usually setup to try and make a quick buck. Especially with new product launches, you start to see many people try to rank for that ”product name review” and its obvious they’ve never even tried the product but since it pays a high affiliate payout, everybody and their dogs, cats and grandmas is trying to get a quick buck off new product launches . Its really something else…
Some music sites are also very messy and busy in the design area, I believe this is one reason Myspace failed…once the animated penguins and glittery stars and blasting auto music descended, many people fled from Myspace
Thanks for your valued input Robert
Jedith N recently posted..How to Start a Fashion Blog
Twitter: Mazzastick
There isn’t any excuse these days for having an ugly website. There are so many attractive free options out there, plus really affordable paid versions too.
That’s right Justin, absolutely no excuse to put up a hideous site when both Blogger and WordPress offer free options as well as super affordable paid options
Jedith N recently posted..WordPress Photo Gallery Theme: Real Photography Theme by Ink Themes
How will you know if a site is ugly or not. @Jedith, I think you need to first describe how an Ugly site looks before saying that there are no excuses for having an ugly website. What if i told you that comluv.com is an ugly site and bring up valid reasons why it so, i believe that you\’ll be convinced in no time that is really an ugly site. So, please i want you to describe how an ugly site looks.
Valentine, I have already given an example of what an ugly site is with the picture provided with the content above. Please refer to this.
Thanks
Jedith N recently posted..WordPress vs Blogger: What To Look For In a Blog Service Provider
oh..i hope my blog is not ugly..
i’m just using blogspot
cikgu naman recently posted..iPhone 5 Gadget Impian
Hi Cikgu, your blog is not ugly, you have it well organized in 3 columns and isn’t full of ads everywhere, Its also alright to use Blogspot as long as its working out for you =)
Jedith N recently posted..Top 10 Benefits of The Genesis Framework WordPress Themes
Twitter: myDCAreaHomes
I love wordpress and their free themes.. my real estate website for example uses twentyten template and with a little bit of customization, and plugins..
I agree with your points, it’s hard to make ugly websites now because of all the free templates available.
Jonathan L recently posted..Brand New Luxury Single Family Home In Olney Maryland
Very true Jonathan, there’s simply too many free and affordable options nowadays to even have the slightest excuse for a bad website design. Thanks for your input
Twitter: TechAndTeaching
Yes, this is so true! Lately, I’ve been looking at a lot of webquests (a special kind of web-based classroom lesson), and for the most part they are hideous! There are a few services created specifically for building webquests, and they’re marketed to teachers. But most teachers could make a much nicer looking webquest (still achieving all of their instructional goals) with a free service like the ones you mentioned (i.e. WordPress).
Brian recently posted..Civil War Webquest, an Interdisciplinary Project for Elementary Kids
Twitter: jasonfox_me
An ugly website today screams scam to me. I know that it is not always the case, but it is a rule of thumb I use. The only time that I have done business with an ugly website recently was for a car part that I needed and it was the only place I could find it. I just knew that I would never receive the part.
I did receive the part, but my lack of confidence was telling.
Hi Jason, good to hear you at least received the car part =) I also tend to think most people who put up an ugly website did so because they just want to get a quick buck with as little commitment and as little time as possible. Some people believe it or not pay thousands to shady web designers for their poorly designed mess these are the people who learn a tough lesson online sadly.
Jedith N recently posted..Top 10 Benefits of The Genesis Framework WordPress Themes
It seems like a lot of those kinds of sites tend to be plain html. Maybe it’s just the ones I happen to see on rare occasions or something. I just figured the site owner isn’t aware of all the php database driven scripts out there or they don’t understand how to install or use them. The screen shot you posted does bring back memories of the internet days. Some of the things that I remember people doing or using in design is pretty much obsolete now.
Ray recently posted..How to Use a Static WordPress Front Page and Blog Link
The good old HTML days, glad they are long and far behind us Ray. Thank goodness for the advances in technology for a fraction of the cost of what it took to get a website designed back in the day. I remember my uncle got his real estate website designed for $5000 and boy was it HIDEOUS!
As people around wont like dirty and ugly places just like it they wont like ugly websites too. The ugly website is something like irritating for me.
Kevin recently posted..Fundamentals of Competitive SEO Analysis
Very true Kevin, I like the comparison between a dirty and ugly place and an ugly website =)
The ugly websites looks terrific like the ones who use unfriendly colors, not well organised content, no particular layout and all. The ugly websites not only do upset visitors it does the same for search engines too and there is a terrible chance of loosing page rank and consequently the traffic.
Darryl recently posted..Hello world!
I would have to agree with you Darryl a website that’s poorly put together does irritate both the web visitors as well as search engines alike
Most blogger or website owner depending on their niche the design is vary unto it. Mostly bloggers has the leverage of improving their website due to the fact the free plugins for non developer are gorgeous and userfriendly to use.
The only reason why some website owner comprise the design aspects because of the goal of earning more than having a good design. Being a publisher of one network is not enough for most blogger or website owner most of them wrap their website with bunch of ads causing the design aspect to deteriorate.
That’s for my opinion but to those who doesn’t have ads but still their design is crap? well they might lack a design capability and taste of having a better website design
Charm Gonzales recently posted..Face to Face December 31, 2012 (12.31.12)
I agree with you Charm, many bloggers and web site owners think that by splattering their websites with Google Adsense and other banners is how they are going to make money, little do they know that search engines do not look favorably upon such sites and actually consider sites with too many ads to be of less quality and therefore not worthy of top search engine rankings. Good observation!
Twitter: rancorinfotech
Hey Jedith,
Agreed with your points, Since the introduction of WordPress having a beautiful and attractive website become quite easy and affordable. Even if you’ve no technical knowledge then also you can have good looking website.
Aasma recently posted..Mobile Recharge Software
Very true Aasma, there’s absolutely no excuse to have an ugly website because the options are so many nowadays, not to mention the cost to getting a website online is very affordable, even free!
Presentation is very important and infact sometime more important then the content itself. A a well presented website will always attract visitors.
Zubair Ahmed recently posted..Hackulous Shuts Down Installous ending iOS App piracy with it
Definitely Zubair, a well presented and neatly organized website will attract visitors to not only visit but to stay. Its kind of like a dirty, messy house, most people don’t want to visit, let alone stay at a person’s house that’s messy and even dirty.
Twitter: googlai
Hi Jedith N ! i agree with your ideas. i would love this one. i do not like spam-my nature of sites.
Googma Sansar recently posted..SEO Strategy to your site
Hi Googma, I also despise blogs and websites that have ads loaded all over that you can barely even concentrate on the content.
That screenshot of the website in the beginning of the post made me cringe – talk about U.G.L.Y! For me, minimalist (something like the a vanilla version of Thesis theme with a few widgets and modifications) is the way to go! Overdoing your website will only slow it down apart of course from making it an eyesore.
As far as your point about first impressions goes, above the fold people, do not make the mistake of underestimating the importance of what you put above the fold!
KevinR recently posted..7 Tips on How to Blog Smarter
Hi Kevin, Ads are one of those things that really irritate me if there’s too many of them such as in a 3 colum WordPress theme and the author has Adsense text ads on both sides with content sandwiched in the middle, nothing is worse to say the least its as if the author is trying to trick readers into clicking the Adsense ads, I definitely think this is an example of overdoing ads.
I also love the Thesis themes and use them in a few of my other sites, the great thing about Thesis is its very clean, has great SEO and now they have Thesis Theme skins so you can really change the entire look of your blog/site and still have that clean, simple and fresh Thesis look
Precisely. Although working with Thesis can often make you want to pull your hair out (can be pretty frustrating, to say the least), I agree that the skins + the fact that Thesis 2.0 is a lot more visual has made it much more easier to use. And like I said, I’. a fan of Thesis’s minimalist approach to designing a blog!
KevinR recently posted..7 Tips on How to Blog Smarter
Twitter: LovAndLyfstle4u
I agree, if i ever visit an ugly website i press the back button immediately without even glancing at the content.Truly said by someone that “the first impression is the last impression”
Well spoken Sanjib, I have learned to use the back button so fast when I stumble upon an ugly website and especially blogs that have too many ads, I never stop to give them time of day.
There’s definitely no chance I’m going to stay on a website with a poor design. With WordPress and all of the great looking and FREE themes available, there’s no reason to have a bad looking site these days.
Matt recently posted..Best Table Tennis Shots of 2012
Nice Blog and Good Thought, All rough looking websites are the result of overdoing it,
A lot of ugliness comes from people who jam so much content on to the first page that it becomes completely unreadable. Cleaner design makes for a more successful message.
Robert Koenig recently posted..Oregon Bus Crash Kills 9, Injures 20
I could not agree with this article more. I have had a website in my business for over three years (since I started) and looks absolutely matter. I see many competitors with just awful sites and I can’t believe they are in business.
Jared Adams recently posted..Will I Go To Jail On A First DUI In Colorado? Maybe…
Twitter: teesort
Website traffic and rank – all depends on site look. If your site is not good looking or is messy no one will waste your time on it.
Twitter: seewhatyouneed
I do agree because I have my own experience on it. My blog is almost a year now, at first I don’t care too much on a site looks but then after I found new template and tried it out, it looks better (the shares, engagement, and most important traffic). Though all of that still need further research in my personal opinion
Thanks
Okto recently posted..Monthly Report December 2012 ( A Simple Plan for a better Year)
At times the advertisements also looks clumsy in many sites. Nowadays with the new responsive website designs, the whole idea of website design is in a different level. Lot of spaces is a de-facto standard. Mostly 50% or more visitors are from handheld or mobile. So finding a website with old design itself, looks awkward. Even for our website we used the responsive theme which fits both mobile and PC environments.
Pat recently posted..10 Mobile technologies for 2013 and beyond
I would have to agree but also must say that some people think that their ugly site is pretty. I think mine is a work of art but a really good designer might think it’s ugly for his standards. To
Jason Brown recently posted..New Years Eve Photography At Midnight In San Antonio Texas
First of all, great post Jedith. I think sites are like clothing.. everyone has different ideas as to what looks good with what… some of us might miss match a little hehehe but nothing a good designer can’t fix. Happy new years to you all.
Hi Jedith N,
You’ve nailed many points close to my heart. My original membership site for a membership organization that I run brick and mortar had a hideous initial site.
After moving to a prettier WordPress theme, and spending a few bucks for professional headers, etc Our time on site averaged 50% in less than 90 days. The content was the same but the message “felt” different to the user.
Twitter: jksingh99
Hi Jedith,
Quite true, what you have stated here. I personally keep an eye out for the appearance, sometimes the page loading time as well. Some sites are just too heavily loaded with stuff that it takes ages for them to load completely, it even obstructs the process of commenting.
However, a question to you, I use blogger platform. Is it inferior as compared to the WordPress platform? If so, how can I transition my blog to the wordpress platform keeping all of the older posts? Is it advisable to change platforms?
Regards
Jay
Jay recently posted..What To Do To Learn Cultivation Of Your Mind
I find this article somewhat entertaining and helpful. Though I don’t believe that first impressions last (unless backed up with the second or third), here in the internet, people usually tend to judge websites based on how it is presented the first time and not to mention the like-it-or-leave-it mentality of internet people, having someone to check your sites can be quite challenging. You may have the best offers but not have the proper attention that you need. Thanks for reminding us.
The thing is my BLOG have a good design so, I can say that why the hell these website even exist? and People should stop visiting ugly websites.
Anurag Sharma recently posted..Top 10 SEO BLOGS – Learn SEO from the Top BLOGS NOW
I agree whole heartedly. Websites that are not visually appealing to eye , I generally leave immediately. The example you showed was an excellent one. A designer would cringe!
I believe in a simple look and feel. See an example at Business blogs Nova Scotia
Paul V recently posted..A D MacEachern Home, Car and ATV Insurance in Amherst!
There is so much help today that ugly websites shouldn’t exist! When I come across one I can’t help but feel sorry for them. Asking for help or for an expert’s advice will go a long way =)
Good design is so important, we spent ages looking at different WordPress themes trying to find one that would suit our business (plastering).
It was time well spent as we always get positive comments about our website design.
Twitter: WerryAdnan
Website design is crucial for visitors. Most of peoples are visual that are concerns about website design and layout. If you have website that have poor design it will increase your bounce rate. High bounce rate will affect your income if you are making money from blog. nowadays, there are many developer that sells awesome design with low price. So there is no reason to have ugly website..
Thanks Jedith for Informative posting
Werry Adnan recently posted..Jasa Pindahan Rumah di Jakarta
Twitter: HadleyHodgson
A lot of the web desing work we do consists of correcting things with existing websites, not just building new ones from scratch. It’s surprising how many people still have bad looking sites.
Hadley recently posted..Transform Your Kitchen & Bathroom With Beautiful Hand Crafted Worktops
Twitter: soloville1
Great tips.
It’s amazing how much time and effort people put into building up traffic to their website without giving nearly the same level of attention to usability and conversion.
Todd McCall recently posted..5 Famous Quotes to Inspire Business People
That’s rather bizarre that in this day and age of literally gazillions of pre-printed templates out there for almost any blogging platform, people still have ugly websites. Maybe they think beauty is in the eye of the beholder, when that beholder is only the website creator. Do you actually take the time to let the website author know what you think?
Leo Kolache recently posted..Additional Accountant Jobs
I really dislike ugly websites.
If i stumble on a 90′s designed site i barely can not vomit.
There are still sites with plenty of gif banners and that horrible scrolling ticker text…
I mean, one does not really necessary with the “best design awards” but to place something decent online it should be a must.
Luckily since wordpress advents also not very skilled web people like me can take advantage of good themes, so at least we can get some help in that.
Sometimes i write to the author and they sometimes answer i like my site so what..is not if you like it but if the users will do..
Pity that some websites are ugly as hell but contain decent articles and resources.
Guys do Panda rank websites based on their design, too? Seriously?
Twitter: techtapper
I agree that our website or Blog’s desiggn plays in SEO and if your SEO is good but your Blog’s design is not good then you can not get success
HAMID ROSHAAN TAHIR recently posted..What is “Mask SMS” and How People Scam Using them
After moving to a prettier WordPress theme, and spending a few bucks for professional headers, etc Our time on site averaged 50% in less than 90 days. The content was the same but the message “felt†different to the user.
Twitter: 99niches
Seriously, this is what passes for a post on here these days? A crummy article recommending the author’s own website? Which is also an ugly website? (Like they say, it happens to good people, I’m sure the author is a peach, seriously).
Go to ThemeForest. Look at what’s popular. Done.
I think I’ll only come back here when I want to post something. This is just…downhill post quality.
Thomas recently posted..Starting your own late night cam and chat site!
Thanks for writing this post and make realize how important good website design. I quickly change my template as soon as I read this post and find a good template.
qadar recently posted..A Fresh Start for Family Finances in 2013
There are no excuses for an ugly webpage! I have only built 2 websites, but when I do I always ask other people for their opinion to make sure it’s attractive for other people.. With all the great easy apps to build a website, there is really no need other than laziness.
Christina Joslin recently posted..Ipad Instructions Guide
Good article
Though its true that having a ugly website eliminate your chances of visiting again but having original, simple to understand and meaningful content is equally important. If i come across any ugly website i will also not prefer to visit it again..
I would not spend anytime on an ugly website. Someone has not updated their website if it looks like its ten years old.
John recently posted..Mark Wahlberg Workout
This is so true. WordPress is a godsend for the code challenged. With WordPress you can make your site professional and polished with ease. Also, I would like to say, with WordPress, their is no excuse to your website being plain an unattractive.
Yes, your article is truly inspiring for those writing content and designing websites. The quality of a website can be very attractive provided the web designer has the skill and the work experience of doing it.
Twitter: tricky_techno
Design is the most important part of any website, as it is the most first thing which a visitor/reader sees on a blog and if it is not up-to the mark,then how you can expect more from them.
mohit recently posted..5 Best Firefox Plugins For Safe Browsing Or Adding Proxy?
Everybody has his own opinion, but wow, those are really ugly. But I am very curious how these sites compare in converting sales.
mark recently posted..Ronde tafel Business Club bijeenkomsten Arnhem/Nijmegen
Would you say Reddit is a beautiful site? I think that a simple and logical design is more important than a beautiful one!
Twitter: languageninjas
People just tr to put too much on a blog, people like those are ammeters, white spaces always win
Nice article, the picture does remind me of how web sites looked perhaps 10-15 years ago when many of the technology we have now creating the good websites didnt exist. Nowadays you dont even need a mobile friendly version of your website like m.yoursite as you can use JavaScript files that can make your design fully responsive
Twitter: blogillitis
I agree 100%. There are plenty of sites on the market which offer no cost templates for a mere mention on twitter that no one will even notice or seldom use so i don’t understand why people haven’t not processed the fact that less is more with regards to website layout.
Silas recently posted..How to make your blog popular
one thing that catches my attention is always the website design. If i find the design rather messy then expect that I will never visit it again.
Twitter: DigitalTechbuz
Both seo as well as blog design plays important BTW nice post thank for sharing
Aqib Shahzad recently posted..How to Install Android on Computer or Netbook
Twitter: Techblowup
Yes blog design makes some effect on readers mind. This should be improved. Thanks for sharing this post.
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