How I judge if a website is good or bad

As I frequent the World Wide Web looking for products and services, I come across many different websites that have the varying levels of functionality. Most websites are HTML based and are driven by cascading style sheets for appearance, layout and sometimes accessibility. The newer websites I visit utilize the newer "Web 2.0" technology, which in most cases give you a more interactive web experience and increased functionality. Since I spend a significant amount of time on the Internet, there are things that I look forward to that will make my web surfing experience more enjoyable. Initially, the things that I look for are download time, layout and color. If the website has large graphics which prevent the website from loading quickly, I immediately surf to another site with better functionality. There is nothing more troubling to the impatient web surfer like myself than having to sit and wait for "heavy" and cumbersome graphics to load before I can enjoy my web experience. I guess I am officially an adherent of an "instant gratification" society. I love such Web 2.0 technologies such as AJAX and dynamic websites that load instantly without obtaining information from the server.

My second pet peeve that disrupts a good web experience is bad design. As a student of the Communication Design curriculum, I am somewhat biased when a website is not aesthetically pleasing. For example, if a web designer uses colors that are not complimentary to the graphics or the other colors used within the site. I understand that the font choice is somewhat limited with an HTML-based website, but it is a horrible site to see a 72 point font on a website.

My third point: is if you place links on your site, make sure they are functional. Non functioning links are almost a certainty that a visitor will not revisit the website. In my opinion, it shows alack of professionalism and a poorly built website. The same goes for any animations, video, music files, forms, or any interactive feature that may be on the website.

A website is akin to a book or a catalog. I believe when a site is being authored, it should have theme as a guideline. The links serve as the table of contents, the body text and the images serve as the information or in the case of a catalog, the products. A well- authored site will remain on cue with the concept or the theme from the initial loading throughout the complete website. When a website is built in a haphazard manner and without an overall theme it tends to confuse the visitor.