What Website has the Cleanest Site Design?

Gabe Anast asks: "The recent article on Microsoft's market dominance referred to an article at the International Herald Tribune, which I read until I became engrossed in the natural readability and intuitive interface of that site. It's amazing! I'll have to say that site has the cleanest design of any I have ever used. So, of course, I thought 'What are the other "best designed" sites? Would Slashdot know? My personal criteria for site design is: graphic design/appeal; an intuitive interface; and content that flows naturally (eg: high content density that does not sacrifice clarity). What are your favorite sites, and by what criteria do you judge such?"

Comments

Easy

[sporty]

Google.com

Easy interface, easy results.

Re:Easy

[gl4ss]

funny thing that google.com is sometimes the best interface to some sites too, as some sites are really hard to manouver but it's really easy then to make up few words that will take you straight where you want on that site.

the less there is the better usually. ads should not be getting too much space and useless bloating by providing links to other pages of the same provider(that have nothing to do with the content) are usually useless on every page.

in fact these 'navigational' bars sometimes make the navigating much more difficult, since they tend to make it so that you get everywhere from one point. now this might seem smart and useful, but would you rather have easier time finding where you are going with a room that had 300 doors, or finding where you want to be in structure where there was like 4 doors from every room with signs saying what are you going towards..

Without a doubt

[Loosewire]

Google - even their ads are clean and not obtrusive.

Gripe

[gehrehmee]

Off hand, I'd say that site's not all that hot. The site doesn't even vary its layout with the width of the window, which means it not only wastes most of the available space on my big monitor, but is completely useless on handleld displays.

I think we can set the bar a little higher than that don't you?

Clean Design?

[DarkBlack]

This site is broken in a very recent build of Mozilla Firebird. I find it horrid. I hate the floating bar at the top. There is no content in the middle area, probably because it doesn't validate.

I am very displeased with the website's designer. This is all before I have even had a chance to explore the rest of the site. Sorry, your 10 seconds is up. Next Link.....

ok, it's not really part of the internet...

[Anonymous Coward]

...but about:blank is nevertheless really, really clean.

It's right here!

[SoCalChris]

http://games.slashdot.org

Cleanest site design...

[Dr. Photo]

My nominee for best site design is Slashdot, but then again I'm completely colorblind... ;-)

how about some judging criteria:

[avi33]

First of all, it can't use javascript, because anything that can't be displayed on my 1984 casio digital watch (running slackware via the CLI) isn't really a website anyway. Same goes for tables, XML, pixel gifs, images that use more than 8 bits of color, and true type fonts, though CSS and a DTD are mandatory.

And secondly, it's got to look good running at 64 x 48 pixels. Some people need to look at their monitors from the next room using an inverted pair of binoculars.

Finally, under no circumstances shall you take into consideration the content being displayed. My blog (dedicated to the daily minutiae of my plants and their arcing patterns toward sunlight) easily satisfies all of these requirements, so why shouldn't a consumer-oriented, dynamic, international news site be able to do it too?

Financial Times (German Edition)

[hughk]

When the FT decided to produce a German language edition, they kept the distinctive colour, but made a much more interesting paper, presenting complex information simply.

When they did the web site for the German edition, they carried on with the new graphic design producing one that seems better than their English language site. Even if you are a non German-language speaker, I would reccomend a visit just to look at the design. As a side note, the FT as a newspaper is never big on pictures and the web site carries on with that tradition.

Interestingly enough, the site remains free for the time being.

Standards compliance, damn it!

[zonix]

Geez, forget clean "design"!

I'd settle for standards compliant sites. If you start there, it's harder to screw up your precious "design", unless tempted by using flash and javascript, and the like.

People, your next stop is the W3C.

z