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I don’t think I necessarily have a favorite website.

However, I will say that there are a lot of websites out there that I enjoy visiting just because they provide a cool aesthetic.

An example of this would be airbnb. My reasons for picking airbnb are measured greatly in the fact that this company did an incredible job of molding a creative, cool and unique aesthetic onto a webpage. Keep in mind that this is accomplished all while continuing to provide its visitors with a clean and easy accessible site.

My other reasoning for choosing this website is because of the feeling it gives me as soon as I reach the homepage. To sum it up, visiting this webpage makes me want to travel. It makes me want to live my life to the fullest. It makes me want to walk the streets of Amsterdam, learn a second language in Bordeaux and explore the cityscape of San Francisco.  I think a lot of this inspiration stems from the excellent photography airbnb features and the gifs that dominate the top of the homepage.

With that being said, I definitely believe airbnb does a terrific job of following the “10 principles of effective web design”.

One of the principles this site accomplishes right off the bat is to not make users think. The site does this by placing a search tab right at the front of the homepage for users to access as an easy and quick way to discover locations and hosts in different places they may be interested in visiting. The user doesn’t even need to scroll down and navigate the rest of airbnb’s site if they don’t wish to. The main purpose this company has is demonstrated in the first few glances of the page.

Secondly, airbnb’s website manages to focus user’s attention. As soon as the user reaches the homepage of airbnb’s website, they are greeted with moving images of people exploring different places all while a clean, white font reads to them what airbnb does, which is provide customers with places to stay from over 100 different countries.

Thirdly, this website strives for simplicity. As mentioned earlier, the search bar at the top of the homepage helps in accomplishing this feat as well as the easy navigation tools that can be accessed from simply scrolling through the unique website. Examples are the organized sections on the homepage for those looking for a short weekend getaway to those wanting a longer trip outside of the country.

Finally, if I had to pick one of the “10 principles of effective design” for airbnb to improve upon…I honestly wouldn’t pick anything. The website is pretty perfect; however, I could see the possibility of some complaining about feature exposure.

One website I have been spending a stupid amount of time on is cookie clicker. What makes this site interesting is that it is a game and a website all wrapped up in one. The goal is to take over the universe with cookies and grandmothers. The design is simple yet intuitive with the links to social media and others being small and at the top. With the rest of the game taking up  not that much space either. The game is meant to be left open and forgotten about at times. So neat features were added to keep the processing demand of the website to a minimum if needed. My only complaints are that there are no sounds effects or music. As well the side scrolling bars are annoying for navigation. After reading the 10 principles of web effective design I have to say the web programmer had simplicity down to a T. Although the site seems finished it has not been updated for a year, but in a recent update it does aromatically  change for some holiday seasons. Overall in my opinion very few flaws with the site overall. Check it out if you enjoy cookies or sweet grandmothers.   Cookie Clicker link

One of my favorite websites to troll on my daily browse is Buzzfeed.com . Not only is this website a good source of current events, it also has lots of interesting topics full of articles. From world news to DIY it’s kind of a one-stop place for anything.

One of the things I really like about the home page is that there are lots of pictures and graphics. The layout has the pictures in a sort of tile or mosaic fashion along the top half of the page before you scroll down. As you run your mouse over a picture that catches your eye a one sentence title pops up to tell you what the attached article is about. The more important stories about the hot topics have larger photos. Underneath the tiles are columns of articles separated into things like; trending topics, videos, and quizzes. I think this layout makes the usability of the website high. It also plays into the instant gratification of the user with visual aids, and higher priority stories larger and more visible. You don’t have to think a lot when using this site. Everything is very self-explanatory.

Just from first look of this homepage you, as the user, can also notice there is structure to this site. At the top there is  a navigation bar and a search button that provide short cuts if you are looking for something specific. The large pictures focus the users attention and the short headlines provide quick and fulfilling information, which is efficient for users wanting to browse a lot of information in a short glance.

Once you click on an article the same navigation bar and quick links are in the same place as the home page which is good for the user to see the consistency. There are lots of pictures and nice bold letters for important information as well as short paragraphs and sentences which makes for an easy read. Along the top of every page you view there is another bar full of buttons to post onto various social media sites. I like that Buzzfeed has this large and at the top of the page and along any photos as opposed to small and hidden like some news sites.

All in all I think Buzzfeed is a good site for news. I’ve never had a problem navigating through it or posting things onto social media, and I can find pretty much anything I need to.

I don’t typically browse the web that often, and when I do my time is mostly spent on social media sites… However, as I began my search for a website that is simply and easily constructed I stumbled upon a site completely dedicated to promoting the film Nightcrawler, which happened to be one of the most interesting and accessible sites I have ever visited.

As far as addressing the ten principles set by Vitaly Friedman, I felt nightcrawlerfilm.com hit every one of the requirements… The site requires the viewer to do virtually nothing other than view clips of the film, which likewise retains the viewer’s attention, and provides a “Buy Tickets” option on the front page. Other than that, you can view critic quotes, watch trailers and access various pages that detail and promote the film… & the site is as simple as that!

Furthermore, besides the actual website being constructed so simply and accessible to viewers, they also do an excellent job of promoting the movie. I haven’t actually seen Nightcrawler yet, but maybe I will after viewing this site!

Apple.com

It is easily one of the best engineered websites on the World Wide Web. Like it’s products, it’s sleek, easy to use and all in one place. It doesn’t require too much of the user to find what they’re looking for. #1 don’t make users think. On the front page is new products and promos. Not what you’re looking for? well then it’s in one of the seven categories above. Because apple has less than ten major products, everything a user could need is right there. #2 don’t squander patience. Everything for the most part is center aligned which keeps focus. I you visit the Mac page, the animations that go into the design of how they make the computers look with soft shadows and everything is really quite beautiful and smooth. As far as simplicity, there is more than enough white space and on each page there isn’t paragraphs of writing or blocks of information, which can make things looked crammed. For rule #10, I’ve never heard of anyone having problems with the website.

If you hate shopping, and I do, because you can’t stand crowds, then online shopping is hands down the way to go. If I can avoid ever setting foot into a mall, I will do it. Thank you E-commerce.

But I especially internet shopping for workout nutrition products via Bodybuilding.com. Albeit this site does not follow all 10 of the principles that are considered necessary for a good website, but for me personally, it gets by with nailing a few of those said principles.

I love the fact that I don’t need an account and can check out as a guest (see principle 2), and an account is always a secondary option. I also have an easily attainable shopping center, that easily categorizes products based on filters I can control. Bodybuilding.com also does a great job of conveying its visual imagery for it’s own respective advertising, (bro with six pack abs drinking a protein shake) which the entire “nutrition” industry has in fact managed to do a good job of.

As for it’s shortcomings….holy white space. Or rather, the absolute absence of it. The website feels as if every free spot of web page space was filled. Most pages look as if the designers took a giant bucket of words, links and pictures and dumped it on an internet domain space. Also, most the advertising while it has great visual imagery, all appears to be “clickbait” inspired:  “Get huge lean muscles now!”, “6 weeks to a 6 pack for summer!”, etc.

But all in all, it’s a website I prefer over most.