Worst web page that I ever worked on?

D

Deryck

I'm reworking a website for a client. The html file that I am currently
looking at is 968kb in size and contains 12008 lines of code. It uses a
table for formatting purposes but, even better, a single cell of that table
contains all the products (in one category) that this company is selling.
For each product there is a title, code, ISBN, price, author, etc, etc. All
this info for all those records crammed into one cell.

When you go from one category to another, your shopping basket loses any
items that it may have had in it.

Oh, and there is a bit of javascript that tries to resize the window to the
full size of the user's screen....works in IE but in Firefox it makes the
window the size of a postage stamp, that got annoying very quickly.

I wish that I could post the URL of the current site but that probably
wouldnt be diplomatic.

Cheers

Deryck
 
J

Jules

Oh, and there is a bit of javascript that tries to resize the window to the
full size of the user's screen....

why would *anyone* want to do that? It's right up there with pop-up
ads and Flash navigation for making customers want to go elsewhere in
a hurry!
 
D

Deryck

Did I mention that it's written with FrontPage?

Another "classic" is this; The page has books and "music items" mixed up
(some categorisation) and there is a column for ISBN and a column for ISMN.
Seldom does an item appear to have both of these cells filled. So, to
preserve formatting presumably, in the empty cell the text "M000000000" is
written in "white-on-white" so that the user just sees a neatly formatted
empty cell. Guess what IBM's HPR does when it finds that?

Deryck
 
D

Deryck

rf said:
Don't you have a "friend" you can refer this client to?

Too late now and besides, I'd lose a friend!

Seriously, there will be enormous satisfaction when this thing bites the
dust and gets replaced by a CMS based dynamic site that the Client's
Sales/Marketing people can maintain properly. None of the original code will
survive...I'm just writing scripts to extract the content from the
FrontPage/Javascript/Tables/Frames[1] mess.

Deryck
[1]No insult intended towards people who use Javascript, Tables or
Frames...theyve just been badly and inappropriately implemented on this
site.
 
T

Toby Inkster

Deryck said:
in the empty cell the text "M000000000" is written in "white-on-white"
[...] Guess what IBM's HPR does when it finds that?

Makes a noise like a cow? ;-)
 
R

rf

Deryck
Did I mention that it's written with FrontPage?

Another "classic" is this; The page has books and "music items" mixed up
(some categorisation) and there is a column for ISBN and a column for ISMN.
Seldom does an item appear to have both of these cells filled. So, to
preserve formatting presumably, in the empty cell the text "M000000000" is
written in "white-on-white" so that the user just sees a neatly formatted
empty cell. Guess what IBM's HPR does when it finds that?

You *MUST* have a friend you can pass this on to. If you don't then find an
enemy you can pass it on to.
 
D

Deryck

Jules said:
why would *anyone* want to do that? It's right up there with pop-up
ads and Flash navigation for making customers want to go elsewhere in
a hurry!
The original designer was quite proud of that. When I mentioned it didnt
work on all browsers I was informed that most of their customers used IE (I
wonder why?) and that IE's market share was still risng.
The logic of the first statement is obviously flawed and I believe the
second is incorrect.

This is the same designer who puts "Close Window" buttons on every
window/page that he writes, just in case you dont know what the X in the top
right corner does I suppose.

Deryck
 
M

mark | r

if you're not happy then why do the job. i'd have walked away from it by now
if theyre not listening to your guidance.

no amount of money can stop me from doing the best jobi can - its the reason
i dont for for anyone - its a labour of lurve

mark
 
D

Deryck

mark | r said:
if you're not happy then why do the job. i'd have walked away from it by
now if theyre not listening to your guidance.

Whatever gave you that idea? Sure the current code is a pile of sh*t, sure
the previous "designer" was "misguided", however the impetus to build a new,
better site comes from the senior management and over rules anything the
previous designer may feel appropriate. Also, we are bringing the company
together in a way that they never have communicated before: Sales reps
talking to Marketing talking to Accounts talking to some of the authors and
composers in the company as they decide what they want the site to do for
them, say about them, etc, etc. It is quite *wonderful* to see how a project
like this can deliver far more than just a new website.

They are certainly listening to us - theyve paid a lot to hear us!
no amount of money can stop me from doing the best jobi can - its the
reason i dont for for anyone - its a labour of lurve
I sounded off about that page as a form of catharsis and because I thought
this group might find some aspects of it amusing. However working on this
project can be described as "the best of times, the worst of times".

Cheers


Deryck
 
D

Deryck

rf said:
This is important.


This is more important.

They knew they had a duff site, in all other aspects they are a *quality*
company. They're very keen to resolve things with the current site which is
almost certainly losing them money and respect.

I felt we offered a very competitive price and yet several other companies
undercut us by as much as 50%. I cannot believe that they would have done a
"decent" job. Fortunately we had done a site for a sister-company and that
got us the contract. The price on such contracts - or the value apparently
placed on the work - is a sad reflection on the industry.

:(

Deryck
 
J

Jeff Thies

Deryck said:
I'm reworking a website for a client. The html file that I am currently
looking at is 968kb in size and contains 12008 lines of code. It uses a
table for formatting purposes but, even better, a single cell of that table
contains all the products (in one category) that this company is selling.
For each product there is a title, code, ISBN, price, author, etc, etc. All
this info for all those records crammed into one cell.

When you go from one category to another, your shopping basket loses any
items that it may have had in it.

Oh, and there is a bit of javascript that tries to resize the window to the
full size of the user's screen....works in IE but in Firefox it makes the
window the size of a postage stamp, that got annoying very quickly.

And your question is what???

If you want to amuse us, post the url.

Fixing this is simple, just throw out everything but the data. Not that
I haven't seen data that couldn't stand to be tossed!

Jeff
 
N

nice.guy.nige

While the city slept, Jeff Thies ([email protected]) feverishly
typed...
And your question is what???

Funny, I thought this was a discussion forum, not a question 'n' answer
style support desk?
If you want to amuse us, post the url.

The OP has already stated why that wasn't possible. Let us just share in his
pain and offer support and encouragement where appropriate! ;-)

Cheers,
Nige
 
D

Deryck

Jeff Thies said:
Deryck wrote:

And your question is what???

If you want to amuse us, post the url.

When time permits I'll try to post a santitised (ie no names) version of the
page in question somewhere. I feel it unfair on the company concerned to be
humiliated on alt.html just because they hired a plonker last time (no
comments about hiring another plonker please), and of course there is the
little matter of me not wanting to get kicked off the job.

If the site wasnt quite so bad it would make a good "How Not To..." example
unfortunately it just looks like a parody of such an example.

Cheers

Deryck
 
D

Deryck

Deryck said:
I'm reworking a website for a client.

<SNIP>

I just found this on that site that I'm reworking. It's in a form in the
ordering process.;


</font>, if required,<br>
</strong>select a specific Invoice or Delivery date. <br>
<strong>Delivery date &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Invoice date</strong><br>
<select STYLE="font:8pt MS Sans Serif;color:black;background:white"
name="Required DELIVERY date " size="1">
<option selected value=" ">ASAP</option>
<option value="FEBRUARY 16 2004">FEBRUARY 16 2004</option>
<option value="FEBRUARY 17 2004">FEBRUARY 17 2004</option>
<option value="FEBRUARY 18 2004">FEBRUARY 18 2004</option>
<option value="FEBRUARY 19 2004">FEBRUARY 19 2004</option>
<option value="FEBRUARY 20 2004">FEBRUARY 20 2004</option>
<option value="FEBRUARY 23 2004">FEBRUARY 23 2004</option>
<option value="FEBRUARY 24 2004">FEBRUARY 24 2004</option>
<option value="FEBRUARY 25 2004">FEBRUARY 25 2004</option>
<option value="FEBRUARY 26 2004">FEBRUARY 26 2004</option>
<option value="FEBRUARY 27 2004">FEBRUARY 27 2004</option>
<option value="MARCH 1 2004">MARCH 1 2004</option>
<option value="MARCH 2 2004">MARCH 2 2004</option>
<option value="MARCH 3 2004">MARCH 3 2004</option>
<option value="MARCH 4 2004">MARCH 4 2004</option>

It really does go on for a full year's worth of dates. I decide whether it
was manually created or done with a script (Frontpage was used to create the
HTML). Since the menu excludes weekends and holidays (this form is actually
meant for sales reps dealing with customers rather than customers accessing
it themselves) I think it just may have been done manually.

Oh and this code appears twice, once for invoice date, once for delivery
date.

Lovely!

Deryck
 

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