YouthNet blog
An insight into youth issues, volunteering trends, charity life and more from the UK charity YouthNet
All | Events | Youth | Technology | Volunteering | YouthNet | Charity World
Tuesday Aug 22, 2006
When bad web design (almost) works
At first glance, MoneySavingExpert.com looks like a site created to demonstrate the "don'ts" of web design. Flashing graphics, scrolling text, a multitude of fonts and colours, tinted backgrounds – all that makes websites hard to use is here. The site is dotted with what seem to be cheap adverts and you can almost hear the rushing sound of spyware surging onto your hard-drive.
The truth is, however, that MoneySavingExpert.com is the leading personal finance site in the UK. The man behind it, Martin Lewis, (no, not Martyn Lewis) writes newspaper columns and hosts TV shows. More importantly, his site is excellent. Packed with concise and useful information and hosting a forum that is fizzing with helpful advice.
So why is the design of the site so bad? It might be that Mr Lewis and his web designer, Darren (scroll down), are still stuck in 1995. But could it be that the look and feel of the site is in fact, extremely sophisticated? Its obvious amateurism creates the impression of something created by an honest friend – no money wasted! The colours and graphics make it cheerful and upbeat – we can help you! And, when you look more closely, there are in fact no adverts and no spyware – you can trust us!
Or maybe it just shows that web design doesn't always matter quite as much as some people would have us believe. A million users a month say that MoneySavingExpert.com's content is what counts.
Posted by Tom Green ( 8:26 AM ) Link to this post Comments[0]