Hypermedia: The good, the neutral, and the really ugly

In thinking about sources of hypermedia, I tend to categorize websites into three basic categories:

• The Good: those that are so amazing I wish I knew how to design that well
• The Neutral: those that are ok....but nothing too special
• The Really Ugly: those that make me think they were designed circa 2000 (or earlier)...and not updated since.

While each has the potential for being rich sources of information, I know that I'm much more likely to be able to focus on the information when sites are well designed and, to some degree, predictable, if the information is something that I really need, I can deal with worse design.

One of my favorite websites to use as an example of an "I wish I could do that" is TasteSpotting. For me, I find it extremely clean and easy to use--it's a great way for me to browse recipe ideas and figure out what looks good--and what doesn't. They draw from several great sources in the blogosphere, and just give a nice snapshot of current trends in "home cooking." It's not perfect--the search engine could be a lot more powerful--but I love the combination of images and text that create a wonderful overview--and provide inspiration for what I'm going to have for dinner tonight, as well as what I'll have in the future.

In terms of a really ugly website, and I hate to say this because the organizers really do run a wonderful festival, is Irish 2000. While the green font on a black background might be culturally appropriate, it's too reminiscent of DOS to be particularly effective. Additionally, no matter what browser you open it in, subsequent pages load below the anchor bar on the left hand side rather than in the frame, making it impossible to get information without scrolling down. The layout is cumbersome, and information difficult--if not impossible--to find.

When evaluating a website as "good design" or "bad design," I think these are my high leverage questions:

1) How easy is it to access the information on each page? Is the layout distracting? Too many flashing icons/colors?

2) How easy is it to navigate between pages? Are links clear? Is it easy to travel in both directions? How many clicks to get back to the home page from any given page?

3) How easy is it to find a specific piece of information? Is there a search and/or index function? How many layers do you have to "dig through" to get to any detail?

What questions do you ask?

Kate