Looking for examples of broken websites

peteru · Post by **peteru** » Tue Aug 27, 2019 06:34

I'm trying to put together an example list of broken websites. The criteria for adding a site is very broad. Anything that might need fixing is fair game. Broken links, images that are too small or too large, site is slow to load, site does not work on mobile device, distracting animation, site is too hard to navigate, annoying pop-ups, forms that are hard to understand, poor grammar and spelling, inconsistent design/imagery, the list goes on...

It does not have to be as bad as https://www.theworldsworstwebsiteever.com/

However, it does have to be "safe for work".

Please let me have your suggestions.

MrQuade · Post by **MrQuade** » Tue Aug 27, 2019 12:02

Almost certainly not what you are looking for exactly, but there are always the Acid Tests that are deliberately broken in a way that will trick non-compliant web browsers.

As far as mobile browser differences, you can look at this very forum

.
In the desktop version, the unread post count and private message count displayed at the top of the screen will not be displayed when the counts are zero. On the mobile version, the count is always displayed in bright orange, even when the count is zero.

I'm struggling to think of others at the moment. The overall quality of web pages has improved over the years, and I tend not to stray off the beaten path that often these days! I'll be sure to post any if I encounter them in my travels though

peteru · Post by **peteru** » Tue Aug 27, 2019 13:18

Yes, you are right. Browser compatibility tests are not really what I am looking for. I am looking for sites that are candidates for some maintenance by their respective webmasters.

I wanted a few examples of sites that have not been maintained and now have a lot of broken links, missing images etc. Funnily enough, I can't actually come up with any right now!

I've got lots of examples of poor design.

MrQuade · Post by **MrQuade** » Tue Aug 27, 2019 13:57

peteru wrote: ↑
Tue Aug 27, 2019 13:18
I wanted a few examples of sites that have not been maintained and now have a lot of broken links, missing images etc. Funnily enough, I can't actually come up with any right now!

I was trying to think of some old game sites that were still around that hadn't necessarily shut down completely.

Something like the old Gamespy game themed homepages are pretty broken now since Gamespy is no longer a thing, but the pages are still being hosted. A few images are broken, and I am sure some of the links will be dead.
http://planetdoom.gamespy.com/

I had a really old favourite that I'd visit. The Wheel of Time Character Archive. This was being developed when the books were still being written, but I think they ran out of steam before the last couple were released. (That series had something like 4000 named characters that each had some sort of entry in this database!)
The poor thing seems to be nothing but a front page now.
http://dmt.customer.netspace.net.au/wot/

You might have some luck with some old Amiga fansites,

peteru · Post by **peteru** » Tue Aug 27, 2019 14:41

MrQuade wrote: ↑
Tue Aug 27, 2019 13:57
The poor thing seems to be nothing but a front page now.
http://dmt.customer.netspace.net.au/wot/

That's a good find and will illustrate one of my points perfectly. It's all still there, the front page uses absolute URLs, but the ISP has moved the content to a new URL scheme.

You might have some luck with some old Amiga fansites

Good thinking!

AndrewSmith · Post by **AndrewSmith** » Wed Jan 15, 2020 16:52

Have you tried http://www.zombo.com/ ?

Do wait until the end.

Andrew