Top 10 Web 2.0 Designs
I critiqued a whole bunch of web 2.0 sites on a combination of design and usability aspects, placing more importance on the usability aspect. I tried to focus more on sites that provide a good community oriented experience, designs that encourage people to participate. After all, that’s the staple of what “web 2.0″ is.
The final result is 10 sites that I feel are the best combination of both good design and usability. The list is in no particular order.
1) Cork’d - I absolutely love Cork’d. If I had to pick one of the sites on the list that I like the most this would probably be it. I love everything from the rich color shemes to the fun illustrations. The design is both classy and fun at the same time. Not only is the site one of the best looking, it’s also very user friendly. I instantly know what the site is about and how to use it. Cals to action are very clear. Congrats to Tundro (which I also love) on a great job.
2) Newsvine - Newsvine is a social news site, a place to read, write, discuss, and share news. Green is a hard color to design with, but Newsvine has done a fantastic job. It looks great with the grey/silver color combinations. Newsvine is easy to navigate. Most news sites place the main navigation on the left, Newsvine placed it on top. This makes it easy to see all the different sections at the same time. They’ve also done a great job bringing out the content.
3) digg - Another one of my favorites. Not only is digg one of my favorite designs, it’s one of my favorite sites period. digg’s design does a great job at encouraging user participation. The content is clearly defined and each news story is seperated cleanly. Everything of importance really stands out. The only thing I would change on digg’s homepage is moving the category navigation above the friends’ activity, I think category navigation is more important. Digg was redesigned in September of 2005 by the guys at silverorange.
4) Blurb - Blurb offers book publishing software so anyone can create and design a book. They’ve really done a great job with the design, it’s very captivating. It’s easy to tell what the site is about from any page you’re on.. The content really stands out against the rich background and the typography is outstanding. You would think that maroon, orange, green, blue, and yellow would be a very tough color scheme to work with, but they managed to make it look great.
5) FireFox - I think this is actually the third post in a row that I’ve mentioned FireFox. I can’t help, they just do so many things right. Is there a website that does a better job of explaining the product and giving a clear call to action?
6) 9rules - 9rules is a blog network that’s all about community. The site is all about the content and they’ve done a great job bringing it out and making it very accessible. They’ve accomplished the lofty goals of featuring member content and getting people to read deeper into the community. The community sections page is also very well done, everything from the clearly defined categories to the favicons which really gives the page some flavor.
7) Snap - Snap offers a new, different way to search. They have a very clean homepage and yet it looks great. What I really like are the interior pages, specifically, the search results. It’s laid out in two columns. The search results are on the left. On the right side is a window where it displays the site when you click on the results. You can actually navigate through the site in that window as well, or click a link to open the site in a full window. I like this a lot but I know there’s a lot of people that don’t, it seems you either love it or hate it.
Simply Hired - Simply Hired is simply easy to use. The bright colors used in combination make for a fun color scheme. The home page is super simple to use, it’s fool proof, Google style.
9) Blogger - Who would’ve though Blogger, a Google product, would ever make a list for best web designs? I guess with Doug Bowman and Adaptive Path being a part of it that should come as no surprise. They’ve actually really done a nice job with it. Vey clean, fun, and user friendly. If it’s my first time on the site I know exactly what they’re about and how to complete any given task. Searching for blogs is simple and they’ve done a good job of displaying the results.
10) Pandora - I was a little torn on adding Pandora to the list. They don’t have the best looking site, but then again it’s not bad. What I love about the site, besides the actual product itself, is how usable it is, and I can do it all right on one page.
What are some of your favorites?
Cameron Olthuis is the Founder of
I was surprised to see Blogger there lol but you are right. And that is probably why it was one of the first blogging hosts I have tried. I can’t think of any professional websites that come to mind, but two WordPress designs that I like are seekingrevenue.com and webloghits.com. I like the headers in both of them and the layout in the first. And yours as well!
best website around = http://www.fabchannel.com
Thanks Dawn. I will check out those themes, I’m actually trying to make a couple themes right now.
Kevyn - That’s a nice site, the problem is that it’s all flash.
This site was just posted on Digg as a great web 2.0 site…and I gotta say it is spectacular!
http://www.wefeelfine.org/index.html
I’d agree with you on 9 out of the 10 but I don’t like the functionality, design, and fluidity of Pandora. Since it’s all pretty much flash-based it seems like everything in on a delay and I spend too much waiting around while things shift or zoom around. The design is basic but it doesn’t work for me. I didn’t get it.
To make a WordPress theme is one of my goals on 43 things. I don’t know enough now to make one but there is lots of documentation in the WP Codex.
Rick - Yea, I’ve seen that site all over Digg the last couple days. I’m not a huge fan. I appreciate the effort but those types of sites just aren’t for me. Not to mention when I clicked the link it automatically opened a new window with the app, that’s a big turnoff for me.
Brad - Thanks, I appreciate your opinion. It’s nice that someone disagrees with me.
thnx
Have you been to Pearsonifed? http://www.pearsonified.com/ I really like his designs. I was also wondering what feed reader you use if you use one. Just curious. I use bloglines mainly but I keep wondering if there is something better out there.
Dawn, Yea I’ve seen his site before and it looks good. A little to colorful for my taste but I can appreciate the good design.
I use both bloglines and myYahoo, I like bloglines much better.
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Ummm, I thought Web 2.0 was more about providing features that are more usually found in stand-alone programs in websites, hence being multi-platform, thats what I thought web2.0 was all about… interactivity is what the web is about in general…
[…] One of the first things I always try to do when designing a site is find some inspiration, whether it be color, layout, or whatever. Over on Cameron Olthuis’s blog there is a post containing what he dubs as The Top 10 Web 2.0 Designs. The list is in no way definitive, but it is a good start. More sites can be found in the comments section. If this isn’t getting your creative juices flowing head on over to CSSBeauty or CSSMania for more. […]
The Blogger design wasn’t made by Google, I believe they actually purchased it from a design company (read an article about it).
Nothing like waking up to a digg!
Emanuel - I thought Google contracted Doug Bowman and Adaptive Path for the design (as noted) but I will double check. Thanks for the heads up.
I went through and the sites you have shown here are all very pretty. Some are a little daunting, like Newsvine. Digg is pretty good, but has started to become more complex, we will see how the latest release plays out.
However, the #4 entry is just a shame. In comparison to the Lulu.com site sure it is simpler and looks more user friendly. The cost of publishing a simple 40 page book on #4 is like $29.95.
While there are all sorts of quality of paper (regular vs gloss) the fact of the matter is, $29.95 is very pricy. I think http://www.lulu.com/ would have been a better choice.
The pricing on Lulu.com allows authors to really publish themselves and they have a good community store program. (and they have e-book).
Let me know what you think about Alive Broadcast? Alive Broadcast is a web-based service that allows users to save their web cam images directly to the server. The coolest thing is that the image is actually created on the server. You can create galleries, share photos, and allow others to save images in your galleries.
Fajita - I haven’t compared Lulu with Blurb in regards to pricing and actual services, this was just meant as a comparison for design/usability.
Andrei - To be honest, you’re wasting to much real estate at that top of the site. That would be the first thing I would change.
>>but two WordPress designs that I like are seekingrevenue.com and webloghits.com
I think this wordpress design is really good: http://www.wiinintendo.net
It’s Cool!!!
I’m not sure I see what is “web 2.0″ about most of those listed but I really like the design at http://www.singleswithscruples.com/ - It’s just a little wordy however. What do you think?
You havent seen anything until you see GrowthTrak
Rock It, Love It, Grow It
Web 2.0 nah Web Squared is more like it
http://www.growthtrak.com
Someone posted a web 2.0 site about wine (the drink, not the software) on digg a few months ago, I wasn’t impressed at all. But in the comments someone posted a link to Cork’d, and I was so impressed with it I actually emailed it out to 10 people. I honestly can’t ever remember being more impressed with a site than Cork’d. I consider it design perfection! Blurb is probably my 2nd favorite.
I really like Streampad http://www.streampad.com. The entire site is one slick music application.
my choice is Simply Hired!
anyone seen albumconnect.com yet ? seems still a little buggy but omg i like the drag n drop
Nice list Cameron!
Trey, thanks.
Thanks for the suggestions everyone, and the compliments.
Hey, Jason of growthtrak.com and Andrew of singleswithscruples.com, if you’re going to whore your blogs in comments on a design post, you might want to a/ actually put some thought into their design, and b/ not put your URLs in the “Website” box.
Nice try, though.
Andrew, funny thing is both of those designs aren’t any good.
[…] Top 10 Web 2.0 Designs - Cameron Olthuis points out the best of the best. […]
i love http://www.purevolume.com
web 2.0 but not pure ‘white’ or ‘cream’
Laundromat
I am Karin, very interesting article that contained the information I was searching for in Google, thanks.
What about writely.com and the whole Google Pages system. These are websites that literally wouldn’t survive without user-generated content.
No love for Extra Tasty
I think it’s one of the best “2.0″ sites out there.
[…] Top 10 Web 2.0 Designs - Cameron Olthuis (tags: web2.0 design) […]
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[…] Top 10 web 2.0 designs […]
All these designs could be different variations of the same webpage, as far as look-and-feel go. Is there some sort of new specification with Web 2.0 that requires all sites to have the soft edges-paired-with-an-emboss to make it considered good design?
I would have liked to see a bit more variety in what else the web has to offer, besides the latest design fad.
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[…] As an aside - Cameron Olthuis at Advantage Consulting Services identifies his top 10 Web 2.0 Designs. Maybe this will help illuminate what makes a site Web 2.0. […]
[…] Top 10 Web 2.0 Designs […]
[…] (VIA:http://www.cameronolthuis.com/2006/05/top-10-web-20-designs/) […]
This site has quite a lot of nice designs and a few impressive web 2.0 designs http://www.dreamtemplate.com
[…] (VIA:http://www.cameronolthuis.com/2006/05/top-10-web-20-designs/) […]
Great article. I really like this technology information website http://www.techslash.com , for its simple yet very good design.
The content on http://www.fabchannel.com is really refreshing and it has a great concept, I think the sum of concept+content+technique is almost perfect..
grtz.
Hi
I don’t own a website, but I do travel a lot around cyberspace. My choice of clean design is vinetype.com. I was blown away by the simplicity of layout, but striking visual appeal and ease of navigation.
Maybe it’s because I love grapes? LOL.
[…]Top 10 Web 2.0 Designs […]
Great article!
Trying to implement web 2.0 now for an african website that we are working on http://africatravelguide.org the design is still simple, but it does the job so far. Still wondering how to improve… its a tough one.
[…] Top 10 Web 2.0 Designs […]
[…] Top 10 Web 2.0 designs […]
how to make a simple web page
I am all for it. I wonder how many folks actually use these. I built a small store that grew into over 100 thousands items. Its crazy how fast it grows!. Anyway. I agree!
Normal site owners never giveup a web2.0 sites, ofcourse it is possible for industry gaints…
where do we get much information on top designs and top css designs. please help us to design our website in complete css
Bizcento - Look through the CSS galleries.
This is a nice website idea, it’s currently going through a redesign, Cant wait to see what it’s gonna look like.
sorry, here it is: http://www.comonetwork.com
good list. you should include the top 100 =) regards from angelsoft.
one of the good list , i have been to all the links listed , great update
[…] Olthuis has a post on his blog regarding his top picks for Web 2.0 designs. It made digg.com and it’s a pretty […]
You have a good collections of nice web 2.o templates along with lot of other information.
Regards
Synergy Informatics
http://www.reeku.com is good.
Hey Cameron,
Great set of sites, so oldies but goodies on here.
hey buddy,you got an amazing page here.
I was just searching for such Top ten Web 2.0 designs. Thanks a lot
Great set of sites though all of them are old now but still goodies.
veobo.com
anybody managed to use web 2.0 design for wordpress mu? or anyone out there that can help me?
Hi Cameron,
Great complilation, we have just launched our site and wanted your feedback on, how you would rate us on web 2.0.
It would be great if you could take a look at it http://www.bizegator.com
this is an Indians site and we are Indias first C2B portal which uses concepts of reverse auction and e-negotiation
Thanks
User fees were instituted for health and education, and food subsidies were eliminated. ,
Thanks for this list of designs this will certain help me
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Nice collection.