13 signs your website is out of date
- Tue, July 10 2012
- Filed under: Websites and web usability
Do you have the website equivalent of scrunchies and shoulder pads?
Photo from Bellasugar
I stumbled across what that looks like at post over at Branded Out Loud with 13 signs your website is out of date. The post has great examples of what not to do! So check out the full post here. It’s from last year (don’t know how I missed it), but it’s still very much in vogue. Here are the highlights:
1. Your mission statement is featured front and center.
2. You have no graphical message to SHOW what you do.
3. You have an outdated calendar widget that looks like an actual calendar.
4.You have text and/or clip art centered all the way down the page.
5. You have WELCOME anywhere on the page. (oops, I have that on this blog)
6. You have more than 8 menu options or dropdowns with their own dropdowns.
7. You have stock photos that don’t seem to have any connection to what you do or photos that just don’t work.
8. Everything on the page is in a little box with a border and the text smacks up against the box.
9. Your page background is your logo repeated.
10. You have 3 columns and none of them are the same length (leaving blank spaces).
11. You have any kind of graphic that is animated (flag waving etc.) or text scrolling across the page.
12. You have Content Management Syndrome (fancy and plain elements mixed together).
13. You have a big Paypal donate button on your main page and that’s the only way you build a case for giving. (Though big Donate buttons are good. See comments section for more details on this.)
Comments
Thanks for sharing this post. I had to laugh out loud as I read through the signs - they’re completely true - but sometimes unavoidable. We’re working on our site now trying to make sure that we eliminate as many of the 13 signs as possible. 
And just what is wrong with a Paypal “donate” button? Some people, I for one, find it very convenient to use Paypal.
I think an option to donate is critical, and if you have PayPal, fine. Branded Out Loud says the following about PayPal: “This very likely means you don’t have your own donation page where you would have an additional opportunity to convince the person that they should donate (or donate more) by providing links to your Form 990, your annual report, or showing a list of where funds would be used (where your greatest needs are) , share a great client story, all tools that are needed in this competitive environment. The button that goes directly to Paypal usually indicates that none of these items are in place and the nonprofit is naively expecting that people with “just donate” without them.” Hope that distinction helps.
Great Advice. Most of these are definitely major mistakes. But I do think some of them are not necessarily outdated features if done correctly. Things like the PayPal button or having your Mission Statement on the front page are not always clear mistakes. You just have to be sure you use them carefully and not in a tacky way.
In my opinion, many of these ‘signs’ are not so much a symptom or outdatedness but of ‘low-budget’ websites, so let’s not be too strict 
.
At the same time I want to urge everyone - even with a small budget - to invest in good visual materials. When I see ‘self-made’ flyers, brochures or websites, I often think “if the organization is as unprofessional as this flyer…hmmm…” And I may not be the only one who thinks like that…
Calendar widget that looks like a calendar - what do you recommend to replace that?
Also curious about the calendar widget. What should it look like—a LOL cat?
Here’s what Branded Out Loud says about those calendar widgets (and I agree): “If you are really thinking about the website visitor (and you REALLY should be) then you would realize that people don’t have a specific date in mind that they might be free and then check that specific date to see what’s happening. They look to see what’s happening and then see if they are available that day. So if you make them click on every single, frigging day to see what’s happening, that is just outright cruel. Just LIST your events somewhere in order by date. Really – it’s that easy.”