I very seldom actually pan a web site. I’m always looking for the silver lining — or at least something good about the site. But this one just defies anything good. 171 scripts executed in a single web page ??? 283 http calls on a single web page? You’ve got to see this…
In the WebDesign-Review section, the developer of the “Zubera” asked webdesign attendees to comment on their new site. Since no others have commented yet, we decided to take a look . . . What do YOU think? From India, “Anujgarg” writes :
Hello Folks,
I am looking for feedback on my classifieds site which allows user to post free ads of their products/services. All feedback are welcomed negative or positive. website url: www.zubera.co.in
Thanks in Advance
Hello Folks,
I very seldom actually pan a web site. I’m always looking for the silver lining — or at least something good about the site. But this one just defies anything good. Stay away from Zuabera web site.
I think somewhere along the line, the designer of this web site either forgot or never knew the reason to design a web site. Upon arrival — there are so many things blinking, moving and gyrating that it’s difficult to concentrate on the message. That’s the overwhelming initial reaction . . . “Man, let’s get out of here!”
Okay. After the initial shock, let’s take a look at why this site is so objectionable, and what needs to be done to fix it. At right you see the page as we loaded it — after a long wait! Our reviewers count down as a page loads, and we watch the status line as it scrolls off all the activities that are going on. Folks, it downloaded so many third party elements, we couldn’t believe it. The amount of code on this page alone is enough to choak a horse. You’ve got things that move along with the page scroll, covering content. You’ve got things sliding in and out at the frame borders. You’ve got things blinking and shaking within the content areas … and this thing in the corner, well we don’t know what to think of that.
This designer has designed in so many revenue things for himself, the reason for the site is lost. We didn’t come here to make you a living — and the promise of a “free” classified in India is not exactly motivation enough to try and even figure out how the site works. And really, that’s the bottom line. You’ve got so much stuff going on in this window, the initial viewier hasn’t a clue of what they’re supposed to do next. Do you see that green thing over at the left? Well, that keeps popping up right in the middle of the screen! Yes, it’s a Google AdSense ad. But there are also 37 other “affiliate” links on the page. (enlarge)
283 Ways to Chase Away your Reader
Folks, you can go over and plug this url into the site called “http://urlquery.net” and it counts the page’s “HTTP Transactions” … or in other words, what happens on the page that relates to other off-site URLs. (See it here) Click here to see the actual diagram of what took place as we arrived on this site : 283 HTTP Transactions!.
The page also executed 171 scripts. That’s just on ONE PAGE — seven of which were linked to “Filemagic” flash data, a known gateway to malware. Three of the negotiations took us to “ET RBN Known Russian Business Network” which you are warned to stay away from!
Thumbs DOWN for Zubera
This site is so rude, and so risky that we cannot even recommend anyone wander in there. I’m sure thay will, and I’m sure they’ll click on something that will make the creators a few pennies. But the whole idea behind the web is for meaningful information or services — and this site has none. The author is so bent on getting every possible means of revenue for himself, there’s no room for anything good from the site.
Sorry Anujgarg, but that’s the way it is. Go and take a good lesson from Craig’s List. They’ve set up the right kind of framework for a “free” classifieds site. Notice they’re all about the service. Now you can do that, and them begin adding in the revenue generators a tiny bit at a time — as time goes by. Then like some of the big spamware sites like “About.com” and “Yahoo.com” you’re sticking your readers at every click, and they don’t really realize it because it’s been gradual — and you are actually offering some benefit. But building in all the nasty stuff before you’ve even offered the first shred of benefit is just wrong. Just plain wrong. And I don’t think you’ll be very successful at it.
To all our readers — Please help us out! Help out your fellow web designers — or get some feed-back on your own work, then just log into the Web Critique department of WebDesign & Review at DTG-forums.com. Surely someone there will be happy to communicate. If you’re more serious, were disappointed that no one reviewed your site… or you would just like to get a check-up to see how you or your designer is doing, then consider getting a Formal Web Site Critique or Site Makeover. I’d be happy to work with you on that!
And, thanks for reading
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