Another annoying web design “error” that I still see a lot is where you have to click through three or four pages to accomplish a task that could easily be done with one page. Today’s offender is The Nation.
If you visit the main page, you’ll notice a little “Subscribe” link under their masthead. You would be incorrect, however, to assume that this will take you to a page where you can subscribe to the site. Instead it takes the viewer to a page explaining why the reader should subscribe. Natalie Merchant and Molly Ivins love The Nation, and so presumably will you too.
But at least there are links at the top and bottom saying, “Click here to subscribe now!” So, now we’re in business. Not quite. Rather than taking the viewer to the subscription page, now we see a completely map of the world where we’re asked to choose what part of the globe we’re from.
Finally, we’re staring at an order form. Why not just link the “Subscribe” link on the front page to this last page and put the “This form is for U.S. Residents only. Residents of Canada can click here to order, and all others can click here” in bold (or better yet, redesign the form so users pick their country as well).