Your assistance please: 1 and 2
A professor of mine would like us to provide examples of good and bad websites. We're talking code and design here, and more importantly, serious websites, not myspace pages.
I can think of some great sites:
The only problem is that I spend all day looking at good design… it's not a burden per se, but I just can't think of any bad websites off the top of my head! I don't frequent them!
So here is where you can help me; lurkers, please de-lurk for this one! Please share 1 good website and 2 bad ones you have found in the wild. Business sites are especially encouraged, and by all means, tell me why too!
One good site: mine
Two bad: take your pick from those I've reviewed/given Pants awards to I guess!
Bad: christianmontoya.com.
Just kidding.
Sites in need on redesigns (in my opinion): Sourceforge and Tompkins Trust.
How about google.com? Here's a essay where a guy rewrote google's site using XHTML strict and it's still fully functional. Look at the difference in source code.
Tompkins Trust is exactly the kind of junk I'm looking for. Goodness, that site is wrong on so many levels, and it's a legitimate business with a wide audience too! Keep them coming guys!
When it comes to complaining about badly-designed websites in my blog I can summon to mind reams and reams of websites that fit the bill, but now… I can't think of one. Maybe it was the removal of MySpace websites from the equation, because those are usually pretty bad.
Can I suggest CSS Zen Garden for the "good websites" category though? It's been the ever-so-fitting recipient of my jealousy more times than I care to remember. Every time I visit CSSZG I find myself scurrying back to my own website to give it a complete overhaul.
Wow, I can't believe no one has mention alistapart.com as a great web site. Both from a design and code standpoint.
Peteswicked.com (Pete's Wicked Ale) is bad on so many levels, table based layout, missing alt tags and frames for god's sake!
Ok, I cheated a bit by looking at webpagesthatsuck.com (which is pretty awful from an aesthetics standpoint) and found http://www.kangaroocenter.com What gives? I know for a fact there are some serisouly talented Aussie designers who could do wonders for this site.
Well call me crazy, but I think the new Dictionary.com did a pretty good job by cleaning up their code and giving it a new look. I also have an awesome resource of designs in my "greatdesign" tag in del.icio.us.
Go
I know it's late but probably the worst site ever: http://www.globalaigs.org/ Scroll down on the sidebar to see a freaky eye blinking back at you. The sad fact is that it was last updated today.