Come on Now, Web Designers, Enough with the Clutter

I know my site isn't perfectly designed but I've seen some sites recently that boggle my mind. One of the things I always wrestle with is the fact that I have so much content I want to present but can never come up with a truly orderly way to present all of my content. This is not an excuse for a cluttered design, but it is the reality for my site and plenty of others, too. Still, some site designers seem to think of their sites as a piece of graph paper and plug stuff into every damn square and think it looks great (or at best, fails to realize how terrible their design looks). Take, for instance blog.taragana.com. This website has a some great content. I've used the dude's code and WP plugins before, but have a look at this screencap:

Does that look like a design that he thought out at all? Again, I know I'm not perfect, but just look at that! "Simple Thoughts" my ass.

And it's a shame because the content, itself, that the designer is presenting is good stuff. It just deserves a better thought out presentation.

Then, there is Eschool.com. This site is so cluttered I have no idea where to look first and the font is so small, I actually find it awkward to read. Based on the screencap below you can see that the font is readable, but it does feel like it adds to the clutter of the design. Have a look:

Gah, that's ugly. There's no breathing room--there's just content on top of content. While it isn't as cluttered as blog.taragana.com, it is very busy--just too much to decide from and the design elements don't really make any suggestions as to where you should look first.

It's sites like these that make the World Wide Web a difficult to navigate. I mean, look at those screencaps! They tire you out!

This is one of the reasons my site has had so many different looks over the years--I always look at it with a critical eye and think I can do better. As I type this, I'm contemplating another redesign. I want this to be the final redesign. Of course, I said that six months ago and six months before that. Regardless, I think I've got a good idea for a more orderly layout and I'm going to go for it. I hope the designers of the above-mentioned sites will do the same. It's great to have good content, but if it's delivered poorly, you might as well have no content at all.

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