I expected more from Microsoft

While browsing webpagesthatsuck.com to find a bad Web site to discuss, I was surprised to see that Microsoft was listed as having the second worst site of 2007. Of course, that list is pretty dated and when I went to the site it was clear that they fixed the issues of horrible color contrast that landed them at the number two spot back then. However, considering that they are a multi-billion-dollar computer technology corporation, their Web site is still nowhere near where it should be.

First of all, the navigation is incredibly annoying. The Web site is huge, and every page of it is listed on the boxes that drop down when you hover over the links at the top of the homepage. Not only is this really visually unappealing, but it’s inconvenient to have to avoid hovering over the links if you don’t want the entire page taken over by those boxes. Also, it doesn’t seem very well organized to me. Too much information is dropping down in these boxes to make it easy to navigate.

The next gripe I have about Microsoft’s Web site is that every single section of it is designed completely differently. It looks like a different person designed each page. This makes the navigation really inconsistent and every time you visit another page you have to try to figure it out again. Also, many of the pages don’t include links back to the homepage. Web sites like Apple, on the other hand, keep the style consistent of every section of the site, and they keep the exact same navigation bar at the top of the page to avoid confusion.

Overall, although Microsoft’s Web site by no means completely jumps out as a horrible Web site, it does fall victim to some subtle yet annoying navigational and style issues. While I feel that some smaller businesses are allowed a little leniency when it comes to Web design, Microsoft really has no excuse.

[The text didn't show up for some reason in the post below so this is my second attempt]