Hello all!
During my adventures on the inter-webs I have found only a few things that particularly bother me. In no specific order they are the amount of cats online (they’re lurking everywhere!) and bad site design. This leads me to one of the more obnoxious websites I visit on a daily basis, because I am a masochist. Aintitcoolnews.com is home to hundreds of movie geeks, like myself, who wish to find neutral, non-opinionated solid reporting. Instead we find ranting and raving based on what studio decided to help out the writers.
Enough about that though. Let’s talk about design!
AC, as I will now refer to it, is riddled many problems. First, I’m pretty sure a commandment is “thou shall not design a site with bright orange as your primary color.” AC has a palette of brown orange, white and pale pale blue that makes your eyes scream like a monkey in a barrel going down Niagara falls. It’s just not easy on the eyes.
Secondly, AC can’t seem to understand that a site of nothing but toolbars does not make an organized layout. AC often looks like the old testament in grocery list form. Good luck trying to find a new story/update. Usually they will have a bright red outline around an updated story but good luck finding it amiss the brown orange and other colors.
On top of everything else, there is a small animated gif at the top of the page on repeat forever. Forever ever? Forever ever ever? Yes, Virginia, forever. Add in the aforementioned colors that make slick web design (apple, NHL.com, any website with any other palate) cry big crocodile tears. It looks archaic. I understand that “technically” they are a blog, but with how many viewers AC has there is no reason for poor design as such.
And since I’m such a nice guy here’s three easy ways to fix your crappy, ugly website!
1. Pick colors that are appealing. If you really like orange, how about a nice auburn orange? Or maybe still with blue and silver. Silver screen? Huh? Get it? (It’s so clever!)
2. LESS TOOLBARS. Information should be easy to access and you need to lead us through your site. Think of it more as a 7 course meal as opposed to a gas stop buffet. One makes you want more and more, the other gives you irritable bowel syndrome.
3. Finally, if you really need a gif at the top, make it go maybe once or twice. Having a constant moving image while trying to read information is about a pleasant as gasoline to the eyes. It’s a never ending twitch that burns with the intensity of 1000 dying stars.
So, to recap. Redesign your site, AC, so that it doesn’t look like ass.