Unfinished Web sites
One of the things I do every now and then is check out the Web sites listed in Costa Blanca publications. Some of you may have come across the free booklet called the Bulletin, which comes out once a year, and covers Altea, Benissa, Jalón, Teulada, Moraira and Calpe. There is some handy information in it, such as bus times from Calpe to the airport. (I picked up my 2007 copy recently, when I renewed my car and house insurance.)
Its own Web site is a Flash site, with a PDF copy of the printed booklet. Some thought has gone into the design, and I personally find it quite attractive—if it weren’t for the flashing text. This has been a no-no, condemned by every serious designer, since the early 1990s. It is a great pity, since it detracts from the professionalism of the site.
What really upset me, however, was the low standard of most of the Web sites listed in the publication. One of the motivations for this blog is to collaborate with other local designers in raising awareness of good design principles, for our sake and for our clients’ sake.
I may comment some more on particular sites in later posts, but one thing has to be mentioned immediately. It is unforgivable to make unfinished pages public. One site listed in the Bulletin is in German. It has little flags which link to English and Spanish versions—or rather don’t. The links go nowhere. This is an insult to visitors—like offering a handshake and then tripping the other person up, as children do on playgrounds. It also suggests the company is disorganised and amateurish.
Maybe the site owner is too busy to produce the necessary pages, or has been let down by someone else. Fine. Just keep the flags off the pages—until the pages that the flags promise are ready.