Big brands have great websites, right? Nope, not quite so most of the time, at least not with these brands we’re going to showcase below. Luckily for them, they made amends and all is good… or is it? Time will tell. For now, let’s just stroll down memory lane and view the transition between “badly designed” to “awesome” in a couple of decades (or more).
1. Coca-Cola
THEN: Can anyone say OH-EM-GEE? Is that the Coca-Cola that we all know and love? Sadly, yes. What’s wrong with it, you ask? Well, did you HAVE to ask? For one, the page doesn’t reflect their corporate identity colors. As far as we can recall, RED has always been a Coca-Cola color, so this off-white slash beige background just didn’t do justice to this iconic drink. That, and the fact that the headline font looks like something out of Paranormal Activity sorely disappointed us, to say the least.
AND NOW: Wow, what a huge improvement! The familiar red color takes centerstage, the way we love it, and there are nifty social media widgets we spotted. Good job, Coca-Cola! Now go sell more carbonated drinks to little obese kids.
2. Pepsi
THEN: Don’t laugh at Coca-Cola just yet, Pepsi, because you’re next on the hot seat! This website of Pepsi’s circa 1996 is just atrocious. It was a time when being “futuristic” is all the rage, and Pepsi apparently jumped onto the bandwagon so hard, it fell and hit its face on the asphalt. Ouch!
NOW: MUCH better. It’s still futuristic, being social media-centric, but we love the “now-ness” of the entire look and feel. It just fits with their Pepsi Pulse concept.
3. Budweiser
THEN: Another horrible-looking website we wish we never saw. The entire layout (or shall we say, the lack of it) doesn’t support the existing web elements, making them look like they’re all floating in a dark void.
NOW: Sporting a similar look to Pepsi’s Pulse website, Budweiser certainly go the social media thing down pat. The grid and layout is pleasing to the eye, the website loads pretty quickly and the content is relevant AND current. What more could we ask for? Except perhaps another bottle of Bud, of course.
4. Apple
THEN: Is this really the Apple company that fanboys idolize all their lives? Then again, this WAS 1997 so we guess they could be forgiven. One thing that caught our eyes was the “Register today for a free CD-ROM” headline. A CD-what? Well, at least they had their grids in order.
NOW: True to their minimalist, less-is-more concept, Apple has redesigned their website throughout the years and the latest one represents this forward-thinking company perfectly well. All their core products are up on the main page, giving potential buyers and fanboys the eye candy that they deserve.
5. Playboy
THEN: Was Playboy in such desperate need of funding to sell precious real estate on their website to advertisers? Oh, we forgot: there is NOT web real estate in 1996. Even so, the Playboy website failed to show the brand’s intention: what does it sell? Who are its target? And why on Earth is it hovering in space?
NOW: Even though it promises “hot pics of sexy girls”, the new Playboy site in 2013 is tastefully designed and lacks no class. We do appreciate the layout and strong corporate identity, but there’s definitely room for improvement, especially in the contrast department.
6. Gatorade
THEN: Gatorade got all icon-crazy in 1996 but it wasn’t put to good use, especially with accompany descriptions being a mile long.
NOW: You’d think that a fun-filled drink like Gatorade would boast of a dynamic website done in all the colors of the rainbow, right? WRONG! The company went one level higher and revamped a site that any electrolyte-guzzling teen would be proud of. The imagery isn’t what we would call “in-your-face” but it’s not something you would forget in a hurry, either.
7. Disney
Apparently in 1996, Disney couldn’t differentiate between a website and a brochure. There are simply too many elements competing for the reader’s attention here. And while some Disney-esque imagery is in place, the fonts do need A LOT of work to get through to the audience, be it a kid or an adult.
NOW: The before-and-after pictures are too amazing for words. First, Disney made good use of icons to represent the menu content, and second, the layout is actually really tight and pleasing to the eye, not to mention the clever use of space and background image that reflects its Disney’s current showcase (in this case it is the animated feature “Frozen”).
