Hey all! I have just found this charity website! http://www2.dec.org.uk/ its a big charity that helps out when a major emergency occurs such as the Tsunami.

I really can’t believe how rubbish the design of this website is! Fair enough if they were a small charity but this charity was on TV channel across Britain when the terrible tsunami occurred now please is it just me or does this website really stink


p.s They even paid a company to design (links at bottom of their website_

p.s. lol I didn’t put this in the review section because i believe it has to be your own website!

Blah! It looks like major chaos. I cant believe it is a big charity. I would be kind of scared to give my money to them. The web design company's site isnt that great either.

few thanks for that last reply buddy i was getting worried that's what good websites should look like. But trust me if you were in england at the time of the tsunami we had that charity advertising over all the TV channels and they think someone will go on a crappy site like that and give them money ! You must be jokin!

oh, well, to have no doubt feeling i will direct contact the channel on tv to give my donations

I've seen worse, but its faaaaaaar from great.

that is a bad site it just seem all bundled in without any thougth to the layout at all it mad to think a big charity as got a pony website like that

It is not the greatest site in the world, of that there's no doubt, but it was one which had to be designed quickly, and then drastically altered, to support the influx of support for the Tsunami victims from the British public. Considering the pressure the design company would have been under, I don't think it can be criticised too much.

As with many sites on the internet, it is more of a 'means to an end', rather than a full-blown advert for the charity itself. As such, design is not of great significance as it does what it is there to do - offer a little information about the charity, whilst serving as a successful donation platform. The web designers concerned are not all that bad, and have in fact done some decent enough work in the past.

Every charity in the UK has to be registered, and approved, in order for it to be able to operate. The details of the DEC are given at the bottom of the website, and can be checked with the relevant authorities to ensure legality.

Maybe people's time would be better spent analysing why they think the site isn't particularly good, and suggesting ways that it could be improved upon, rather than stating that it simply 'sucks', or is 'rubbish'. It shows a complete lack of any understanding.

good point lgr and i think the layout is bad it be better if the information on the side was in boxes so you know where you are that would help alot i think also if the table box was in the middle and if all the member angiences where layour in a table as at the moment they look like they just been put there very quick this is only on the first page but if they made these few changes think it would look alot better and more easy on the eye .

Yeah I agree, that site isnt that great, I suppose it had to be made quickly, but that site has now been there for months, people are still giving money thru it so why not change it? I mean there logo doesn't even fit properly. I'm sure some pro desigers would be happy to make a site for them free or cheaply because their a charity and they great credited with the site, and god knows how many people pass through that site must have been millions. I'm sure at least a couple thousand would have clicked on a designed by.. link.

The website had been around for a while before the tsunami (it wasn’t just set up 4 that) so there wouldn’t have been any rush I just think the web design team got a lil bit lazy and didn’t put any effort into the site and believe it or not some sad person set up an identical website trying to scam and get money that was meant to go towards tsunami relief agency’s

To be honest Chris, I wouldn't be too quick to say that any website 'sucks', or brand it as 'rubbish' if I were you.....

The website for the DEC had indeed been around for a while prior to the Tsunami disaster, but a rapid re-design was required, as well as a massive hosting upgrade, in order to cope with the excessive traffic. In fact, the site itself was nothing more than a single page during the disaster, dedicated solely to taking donations.

What the relevance of an identical scamming site is, I don't know.

ok fair enough maybe there are better ways to describe the site and i can understand that they had to finish it quickly but surely they could have attempted to make it a little bit nicer (and if it was nicer it would be easier for people to donate) it doesn’t take for ever just to get a reasonable layout. And if it was a quick job done by the people who work for the charity fair enough but they actually used a company and companies should be able to design a good website with a set deadline!!!

It looks a bit messy! I mean, they could have done a little better since its for a good reason n all!

Whilst I can appreciate that people would like to see a more professional website for such a high profile organisation, there are two questions you have to ask yourself:

Does the website do what it's there to do?
Does the success of the charity depend upon the quality of the site?

The answers: yes, and no.

To cut a long story short, the overall look of the site in question is not the be all and end all, as it is just a means of giving the charity an internet presence, conveying a little bit of information to the public but, more importantly, providing a convenient platform for making donations of any size.

Criticism of websites is all well and good, if it is structured and the points raised are pertinent to the argument. Some comments that have been made on this thread show a distinct lack of any thought, or any desire to look further into any reason why the site is as it is. Were the DEC more concerned with raising money and organising an effective aid operation, than messing about erecting a super-duper, world class website? Was the website in fact done for free, and the 'less than polished' look a result of this? Did they in fact want it this way, something plain and simple? Was the timescale for design, or indeed redesign, just so small that it was inconceivable to expect something amazing to be created?

But, to see the comments coming from a web designer whose own site, something which is supposed to project his talents to a countrywide (or even worldwide) market, is nothing more than something which can be created on Moonfruits, really does grate at my last nerve. Hypocricy has no place in web design.

i see the point you are trying to make !

No, Chris, you didn't start this thread as a means of analysing the downfalls of the DEC's website, it was merely a means of discrediting somebody else's work because it doesn't hit your design g-spot.

The general point I was trying to make in my previous post, was that you shouldn't be labelling other sites as 'rubbish' when your own is, which advertises your services as a web designer, nothing more than average.

Does the website do what it's there to do?
Does the success of the charity depend upon the quality of the site?

The answers: yes, and no.

Well now the website wouldn’t be doing what it is supposed to if people think its shady, and in the day and age of the computer a website may end up giving the charity much success.....

And just because something gets something done that doesn’t mean its great or even right.....you can do many things WRONG yet come out with the right solution (sometimes)

However the website to me doesn’t look that bad....I mean its no Picasso but it def has functionality....

Oh and rushing because of a deadline is NO excuse, since million and millions of people turn out quality work quickly and under extreme pressure every day, making excuses and saying it cant be done is never justifiable....if you do then someone else is going to come along and make you look like a fool....

just an opinion, my 2 cents if you will

edit-

I also agree with LGR above post and I would add this your young and your not goning to realize what people mean by that untill you are older unfortunetly

I must admit maybe some of the points i made would have offended the designer of this website.

But overall im very glad i created this thread as I believe it has taught me something and others also.



ANY FURTHER COMMENTS REGARDING THE SITE AND HOW IT COULD BE IMPROVED ETC ARE OF COURCE STILL WELCOME AND I BELIEVE THAT EVERYONE CAN LEARN FROM THE IDEAS OF OTHERS!

maybe they spend more money on charity work than they do on designing websites

thats the positive look on it.

I really don't think the design matters that much, people donating to that web site seemed not to care anyway. As you said donations are still coming and I think that's the most important thing.


Printing Quotes