For my second Favourite Website Design article, I picked Ecoki, an eco-lifestyle community website. I like how the design feels really warm and integrated, and the attention that the designers payed to detail.
Ecoki, The Eco-Lifestyle Community
As I said, my favourite aspect of this website is the warmth of the whole theme, and how that feeling comes across in all the different details that appear throughout the pages. I really like how they managed to create a very clean and simple design, but at the same time, add little bits and pieces so that it doesn’t feel cold.
What I love
- The clean and clear navigation, and search areas: the links and the search box are where people would expect them to be, you can’t go wrong with that.
- The small details that add to the warmth.
- The clear hierarchy of the type.
- How the ads are integrated with the theme.
- The useful breadcrumbs that point to where the user is on the site.
- The use of icons, but not exaggerated.
- The way the information of an article is displayed at the top.
What I would change
- The title of the featured article looks like the caption of the photo: it took me a few seconds to realize where I had to click to go to that post.
- The footer looks disappointing. I understand that the actual footer is what comes before the Friends & Recommendations links, but that is the final part of the website and it doesn’t look like a powerful ending.
- The Friends & Recommendation links aren’t very clear—where will I go if I click here? (I only know if I hover over the link long enough to see the
alttag description.) - The way that tags are displayed is not consistent:
Conclusion
Although I pointed some things that I think could be improved on this website, I think these are minor issues and it’s really a great design: it’s engaging, easy to navigate, fun and familiar.
Do you agree? What is your favourite website design today?