In recent times, owning a great website has become one of the top priorities for companies. Business owners are now leveraging the power of the internet for traffic and conversion, hence the need for a great website that establishes your credibility and attracts prospects.
However, it is surprising that many companies are still stuck in the past with terribly designed websites filled with information overload, slow load time, and even low-quality images. This article will review these companies with bad websites and what makes them bad.
That way, if you’re currently working on a website for your business, you’ll know the mistakes to avoid so that your website will come out beautifully.
Remember, the first place your target audience visits is your website which invariably informs their decision to engage with your services or purchase your product. So you want to make sure that yours stands out.
What makes a website bad?
Some websites, at first glance, may appear okay. However, a second glance may be necessary to unearth the website issues.
Usually, the first thing to watch out for is the load time. If a site consistently takes more time to load, it most likely needs to be fixed.
Clutter is another factor that makes for a poor website. When the site appears jam-packed with several items or information without breaks, that counts as a bad website.
Other factors that make a terrible website include unnecessary pop-up ads, a bad interface, poorly written or no content, missing contact information, lack of CTA (call to action), etc.
Overall, a bad website increases the bounce rate by quickly putting off visitors who immediately exit.
Now, let’s look at the companies with terrible websites.
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Companies With Bad Websites Examples
1. Ling’s Cars
This car leasing company’s website resembles what you would find in an overly colorful magazine or even a comic book. The company boasts of being ‘Uk’s Craziest Car Leasing Website,’ so it is easy to think this bad design is a deliberate action.
First, the site uses an extraordinarily bright and unorganized color scheme, including red, green, yellow, and blue.
There are also hilarious GIFs of the owner, Ms. Ling, plastered all over the site, which easily distracts you from what the site offers. A look further, and you’ll find a bit of information overload, with a lot happening on the screen simultaneously.
There are so many images of cars on the site, which is expected considering it is a car leasing company. Still, these images are of low quality and have unnecessary flash signs that are slightly disconcerting.
The weirdest part is that going further down, there are large spaces with no text. Although the site is intuitive and easy to navigate, there is no denying that it has a somewhat off-putting design, making it a bad website.
2. Arngren
Arngren is another website that has one of the most terribly designed websites that would surely make any web developer cringe at first glance.
This site is a classified Norwegian owned by Arngren Electronics for selling a mass collection of electronic gadgets and appliances.
You will find a wide range of weird devices and electronic collectibles on this site, which sounds great until you catch a glimpse of the website.
First, the site looks like what was taken from a newspaper’s ads page, with a clutter of information going on all at once.
Images of bikes, bicycles, scooters, tractors, and more are packed together without organization or alignment. Admittedly, these images fulfill the site’s purpose which is to sell gadgets and electrical appliances.
However, there is no spacing between each image; they are all poorly sized and low-quality. One would think the web designers would make up for these errors with visually appealing colors, but Arngren crowns this with a poor color scheme.
This makes the website so hard to navigate and confusing, and since it is written in Norwegian, a foreign visitor gets little to no information about the company.
3. Yahoo
Yahoo is, without a doubt, one of the most popular sites known for providing thousands of articles covering different topics, aside from its mailing service. You can read entertainment, sports, finance, and lifestyle articles and get the latest breaking news.
However, the website isn’t the best. First, the landing page is a bit cluttered. Almost all categories of articles are placed together, so it can be slightly confusing if it is your first time on the page.
For instance, if you want a quick look at its ‘Weather’ forecast, you may have trouble finding it as Weather is crammed on the page, stuck between Trending Now and Scoreboard.
The font used for the site’s content is noticeably tiny, which can be problematic for people who struggle with their eyesight. Another area for improvement with Yahoo’s website is the unnecessary ads plastered almost everywhere on its page.
These ads are disconcerting and make scrolling through an article slower and cumbersome, which can easily cause a visitor to leave the site. There is also little use of whitespace, so any break in between texts affects the site’s readability.
Although Yahoo performs well regarding interactivity and easy learnability, these issues mentioned above affect its overall user experience.
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4. Yale School of Art
Surprisingly, Yale School of Art is another organization with a bad website. One would think that a ‘school of arts’ website would showcase top-notch creativity, but this is not the case with Yale School of Art.
Once the website loads, you are created by a bold yellow sign bearing the site’s name. After that, you can mainly see chaotic, uncoordinated color schemes.
While we understand that it is supposed to be an artsy website, using overly bright and bold letters seems too much.
Another noticeable problem is that the text appears misaligned and out of place, making navigating the site hard.
Also, there is too much information on the page, and because they are poorly arranged, it is slightly challenging to browse through and get the crucial information you need.
However, the website functions as a wiki, so staff and students can always change the site’s content. That way, it is easy to think of the website as an experimental ‘ground’ for its community members.
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5. Simcast
Although Microsoft News powers Simcast, it still falls into the category of bad websites. This site offers a variety of information and articles on entertainment, news, health, sports, lifestyle, etc.
At first glance, the site appears like a low-budget version of Yahoo with an unimpressive color scheme.
The mobile view is relatively reasonable, but the web view seems cluttered, and if you are trying to find breaking news quickly, you may need to spend a few more minutes figuring it out.
Nothing else on the page makes you willing to stay much longer and keeps you hooked aside from the news stories. This outdated design and improper content arrangement are the main issues that make Simcast a bad website.
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6. The Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British-owned multinational media company, yet its website could be better. The first thing you’ll notice once the site loads is a bland color scheme comprised of white and blue.
The next thing that hits you is a massive collection of news articles plastered across the page without any arrangement or formation. Having a lot of news articles on their website is expected since the Daily Mail functions as a media company.
However, the website lacks whitespace, and going over this sea of information can be confusing to find out what you need.
Everything appears cluttered, and aside from the headlines, every other text is written so small that it is hard to make out the words on the screen.
Another negative thing about The Daily Mail is that there are a lot of annoying ads, and the pop-up ads immediately playing in the corner can be distracting.
There are ads displayed right after the header, on the pages’ sides, and between news articles; they are everywhere.
However, navigation is relatively easy once you get past the many ads and find what you need. I think the site would work better if the ads were minimal and strategically placed.
Space in between articles would also make the page look more professional.
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7. Berkshire Hathaway
Berkshire Hathaway is one of the most extensive and diversified multinational holding companies owning popular brands like Duracell and Dairy Queen. They also have significant holdings in major companies like Coca-Cola and Apple.
With such a reputation, one would expect a professional website that corroborates this but this expectation is not met.
The moment the site loads, your first glimpse is an almost empty page that makes you wonder if there is an issue with your internet connection.
However, the problem is with the website, as no single image gives off information about the company. Second, the page lacks any form of helpful content.
You will find letters from the CEO himself, annual and interim reports, news releases, and meeting information on the site.
Although one could argue that this website doesn’t affect the company’s success, and it is clear it isn’t trying to sell anything or convert people to customers, there is still no denying that Berkshire Hathaway could do with a better-designed website.
Berkshire Hathaway’s website seems to have been built primarily for stakeholders; otherwise, you won’t get any critical information about the company from this website.
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8. IMDb
The IMDb (Internet Movie Database) is an online database where users can mostly find information, ratings, and reviews about movies, TV shows, and video games.
At first glance, it’s hard to see what is wrong with IMDb, and while we commend whitespace, this website has a bit of information clutter.
Although this is understandable, IMDb could do with some arrangements considering that it’s a form of entertainment outlet. A first-timer navigating the site might need a minute or two to understand what is going on entirely.
Another noticeable issue with IMDb’s website is that it is slowly becoming a streaming platform with posters of new movies and trailer clips.
You might not find the information you’re looking for when you click on the homepage searching for news about an actor or movie.
Overall. IMDb’s current UI works great, and while each text is well-spaced, there is still too much information posted on just a single page.
9. MIT Center For Advanced Visual Studies Special Collection
A lot of problems make this website a bad one. There is a cluttered, bright, and bolded text that is disconcerting. You would think that was all until you scroll and notice the text moving, which is very confusing.
There is noticeably no menu on this website. So there is no shortcut to getting whatever information you need as you have to keep scrolling to the bottom of the page.
At some point, while scrolling, nothing seems to be on the screen until you are suddenly hit by random images floating across the screen. These images appear misaligned and take some time to load completely.
While it’s hard to determine if it was the concept, many of these images appear almost completely blurred and in low-quality black-and-white form.
It would take a new visitor only a minute to bounce off the page because its layout, color scheme, and use of imagery are just out of point and greatly interrupts the user’s experience.
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10. Lipton
Visuals are an essential part of any website and are easily one of the first things that catch the attention of any visitor once they log in to your website.
As big as it is, the Lipton tea company seems to need help understanding this concept, as its site is littered with low-quality stock images.
Once you enter the site, there is a low-quality image of the brand packaging. Now, it may not look so bad on a desktop, but you can see low-quality images from a mobile phone.
These images are splattered across the website, stock images showing the product’s packaging, and no real-life image of Lipton drinkers and their drinking experience to make for a more personalized feel.
The website also takes more than a minute to load completely, which is even more noticeable on the mobile version. Aside from this, the Lipton website functions properly with evenly-spaced texts and easy navigation.
11. Goodreads
Goodreads is a subsidiary of Amazon and functions as a social cataloging website where individuals can search for books, quotes, reviews, and even annotations.
A site as popular as this is expected to be well-designed and fully functional, but Goodreads doesn’t live up to that expectation.
The site doesn’t appear so bad if you’re viewing it from a mobile phone, but the same cannot be said for its desktop view. First, the site’s design looks outdated and seems ‘thin’ on content.
Additionally, the website is without crisp modern design and images. Although it’s simple, minimalist interface is nice, there’s no denying that a few tweaks and changes could be made to make the website look more modern and appealing, especially among younger users who are easily drawn to visuals.
The color scheme also looks too dull. Also, the ‘Groups’ category looks cluttered with too much text, which is confusing and makes navigating difficult for a first-timer.
The mobile app version seems to be a better option, but you might be disappointed if you’re looking to check out their website and be inspired by quality web design and great books.
12. Blinkee
Blinkee is an eCommerce store that focuses primarily on the sales of lighting and decorations but the website doesn’t look good. First, it seems outdated.
Also, for a website that sells fun lighting for parties, you would expect to find fun, crisp images that show the site’s purpose, but what you get are bland images that appear to have been taken a long time ago.
Although there is a distinguishable drop-down menu and footer, the site’s user interface has poor color coordination that doesn’t seem to have any bearing on the brand.
There is also the issue of the store’s logo, and while I understand the concept behind using multi colors for the letters, the logo appears outdated when compared with several other store logos.
Also, you may need to scroll to the bottom of the page to find out what exactly the site is all about and what they offer. Ideally, this is wrong because visitors should be able to understand what a store offers from the first few lines on a website.
Thankfully, there is white space, and the website isn’t cluttered with items packed together on one page, which would make it difficult to navigate. That said, the user experience is still poor.
13. Toronto Cupcake
When someone talks about a website that sells cupcakes, the picture that comes to mind is of a colorful page with images of beautifully decorated cupcakes and other nice visual elements.
However, the Toronto Cupcake website doesn’t look like it is targeted at attracting customers to buy their cupcakes.
First, the store’s logo looks unprofessional and low-budget. The main page has only a few tiny images and nothing else that indicates the site sells confectioneries.
The images are not only tiny but are also of low quality, which makes the site appear tacky. Aside from that, there are no other interesting content or visual elements that make you want to know more about the site.
The home page appears plain, with no useful information about the company. The header offers little or no value and is written in small font. Plus the menu is located in a little corner on the top of the site, which is easy to miss unless you pay close attention.
Scrolling toward the bottom, you will discover a lot of blank space with no text or visual aid to keep you interested. Important access links like the homepage, contact us page, and about us page are all located at the bottom, which again is easy to miss.
Overall, the website’s theme doesn’t match what one would expect from a site that sells cupcakes.
14. CNN
The CNN online page is another bad website that almost makes the multinational media company appear unprofessional. First, the website takes a lot of time to load completely, and when it eventually does, there appears to be too much going on the main page.
Almost a hundred new stories and articles are posted on the page all at once, with each all over the place. This lack of structure can make it hard for first-timers to find their way through the clutter and find the information they’re looking for.
There is also the issue of unnecessary ads, especially at the top of the site. These ads are distracting and make using the site for information tiring.
A new visitor trying to get a quick look at the latest new stories may easily bounce off the site in minutes because of how hard it is to sort through the clutter.
15. Pacific Northwest X-Ray
Pacific Northwest X-Ray Inc. is a health-related company that provides X-ray equipment, eyewear, medical gloves, aprons, portable radiography, and other similar products. While it is a reputable company, the website seems to say otherwise.
The website looks like it was designed between the 1990s and early 2000s. Its animated logo looks unprofessional. It also looks outlandish, standing out like a neon light which many would find unnecessary.
The search bar arrow looks hilarious and everything else on the site appears to be links that could go unnoticed if you do not pay close attention. There is no text or information that provides context on what the website is about.
There are no images that grab your attention and make you willing to stay for over a minute. Overall, there is nothing about Pacific Northwest X-ray Inc. that would make a new prospect willing to purchase anything from the company.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are a lot of things that can make a company’s website bad – including a poor layout, cluttered images, and annoying pop-up ads.
Hopefully, you pick one or two lessons from the websites reviewed above and build a better one for your business.
In a time where everyone is taking to online shopping and transactions, your website should never send visitors off.
The goal of any company is usually to generate leads and increase profits. Having a bad website does the opposite, which will in turn crumble your company.
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