Comments on: 22 Well Done State Tourism Websites

By: Julz

Julz — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 14:57:37 +0000

I’m not sure if it’s my browser, but the NY one needs more styling. It looks unfinished. Also, the source HTML is really sloppy.

By: DC

DC — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 17:35:13 +0000

I agree with Lori also. Pretty to look, but mostly unusable. They’ve also got SEO problems. Do a google search for “ohio family travel” (minus the quotes). Your #1 site is ranked 6th, making it essentially invisible.

By: Dan

Dan — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 18:21:13 +0000

I agree with Lori that many of these sites score low on usability. Has anyone ranked these sites based on that criteria?

By: US State Tourism Web Site Design: Two Years On (Part 1) | ClickLogin Web Design

Tue, 03 Mar 2009 04:48:08 +0000

[...] More recently, Sam Dunn did his own summary of 22 well designed state tourism web sites. [...]

By: Lori

Lori — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 22:30:29 +0000

While the designs of some of your top-ranked web sites are attractive, they are terrible from a standpoint of usability, i.e., trying to actually plan a trip. I tried several of them, and dropped off after less than 2 minutes because it was too difficult to find what I was looking for. Pretty wallpaper is worthless if the structure of the house isn’t sound.

By: Dagliga tips #01 | Webbrelaterat

Dagliga tips #01 | Webbrelaterat — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 00:04:03 +0000

[...] 22 Well Done State Tourism Websites Dela med dig Digg / Delicious / StumbleUpon / Reddit [...]

By: Christian Watson

Christian Watson — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 02:43:23 +0000

Sam, interestingly enough, I did a similar post almost exactly a year ago – http://www.smileycat.com/miaow/archives/000325.php . It’s interesting to see how some of these sites have improved over the last 12 months.

By: Sam Dunn

Sam Dunn — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 00:37:39 +0000

@Sean
I selected some of the more attention grabbing websites, the ones that had the wow factor. Although I will say again that some might disagree and it is my opinion here were some criteria:

1. I didn’t feel like an overwhelming amount of information was being thrown at me, the page was laid out with plenty of white space to help digest and separate information.
2. Well done graphics, for instance W. Virgina – http://www.wvtourism.com/, is a little dated looking.
3. If the site intrigued me to actually make a visit.

Those were some key ones, among others. I offer other people to share their opinions as well.

By: Sean

Sean — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 22:59:22 +0000

Sam,

What was the criteria for selecting these “Well Done” tourism websites?

Sean

By: Sam Dunn

Sam Dunn — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 22:22:14 +0000

@Les Holmlund
You have made me want to visit Canada. That site would be a strong contender, thanks for sharing it.