Good Websites

When I think of the thousands of websites I've visited over the years, few stick in my mind. I guess I haven't been very observant. Probably the ones that haven't worked are the ones I've left quickly and not given another thought.

So I don't really have any favourite websites--maybe favourite subjects but not particular website designs. How do you pick websites that stand out from the crowd? I decided to start with what others think of as being the best. I googled award-winning websites. I didn't care for some of the choices but the following appealed to me.

Website #1 http://www.reallywildflowers.co.uk/index/

This website selling garden plants etc., is light, airy, and inviting. The page colours are fresh, muted and relaxing, giving the soft breezy feel of a stroll through a garden or meadow. The flowing flower design in the banner, which takes nearly half the depth of the page and is different for each page, gives the same feeling. I like the way the designer has used a different flower on each page as the O in the word "flower." Creative.

Each web page is simply designed and uncluttered. There are only four tabs across the top which highlight as the cursor touches them. The viewer does have to scroll a little to see the whole page, but not much. When you get into the plant collections and so on, the pages get slightly longer, but not much more than two or three scroll actions are needed to get to the bottom.

There's a very clear path to follow getting from the broad picture on each tabbed page to zeroing in on any plant, service or piece of gardening advice. A clear menu down the right-hand side of each of the tabbed pages takes you to more detailed sections. A click on the words or the picture takes you to the final detail and enlarged photo.

Photos of the flowers (as opposed to the drawings) provide intense focal spots of colour on the pages, attracting the eye to the main product.

I also like that words that occur in the body text, and which are key words in the menus, are subtley highlighted so that you know you can click directly on them in the text to take a shortcut to that section. The search box is a good idea so that you can go directly to something specific.

Yup--this one works for me. I can see using it as a model for something I want to work on.

Website #2 http://www.portfolioentertainment.com/

This website promoting an entertainment company wasn't among the award-winners. A friend sent it to me when I started thinking about taking a website design course. She thought it was very effective and I agree. The Portfolio Entertainment website is fast-paced, serving up lots of information in dynamic, well-packaged, bite-sized pieces.

The simplest part of the site is the opening page--the invitation to enter the site. I'm not sure if it's necessary, but it does serve as a moment of calm before entering a busy, action-packed world. It sets the stage as far as colours go too; throughout the website the colours are intense, enhancing the sense of energy that comes from the rest of the design elements.

Once at the "table of contents" page (is that the right term?), I like the fun, little interactive men with umbrellas that trigger the drop-down menus when the mouse passes over them. There's a lot to look at on this website, but not too much at one time. Everything happens within the confines of a centred box rather than within the usual vertical stretch of a web page--perhaps to mimic a TV screen--and you never need to scroll down to see more information. The design keeps eyes focused on the information and pictures presented within the small space. When you click on something new, the pictures and pages change very quickly (even on my slow computer), so you rarely have to wait to see the "next page."

The photos of people who work at the company are shot in unconventional ways, and there are lots of other photos illustrating the work that the company has done. A young, creative look comes through on every page. A video clip provides a one-stop overview of the company if you want to see most of the information presented in one place rather than on the individual pages.

This website shows off Portfolio Entertainment's creative abilites and drive. It's too fast-paced for what I want to do right now, but I think it suits its purpose very well. A+ from me.