As a moody consumer and cynic, I’m beginning to find that there are way too many websites that claim to be “a one stop shop” or the “complete” or “ultimate” resource for their field. In many cases, these sites are so unappealing and loaded with so much content, that users like myself are forced to seek help from other sources or forget the whole matter entirely and continue watching television, wondering why we even bothered in the first place.

Recently, I discovered http://reallybig.com/, tag lined as “The Complete Resource for All Web Builders”.

When I hear the words “complete resource”, I am assuming that I am going to be provided with some substance – something that I can actually LEARN from.

Upon entering, I was immediately met by enormous banner ads forcing me to switch to T-Mobile and use Peapod.com for my grocery needs and get a Capital One card. I’m just looking for new coding developments or tricks!

But I am assured by the site’s welcome message, “If you’re building a Web site, you’ve come to the right place.”

Okay then…

I finally located what I assumed was the site’s navigation (in the middle of the page) and clicked on “HTML Tutorials”. Seemed like as good a place as any to start. Right away I was taken to another poorly designed page that again, assured me (in a green box at the top of the page this time) that I will be provided with everything I need to create a webpage.

Fifteen minutes of scouring more options than I would ever need and many that I didn’t understand, I am finally taken to a page that simply links me to an external site (that did not even open in a new browser window – HTML Coding 101?).

At best, I would describe this site as a large web-tree or links page but certainly not a “complete resource”.

I think there are two possibilities for why sites like this exist. 1.) It profits from and is designed to lure people into reading and clicking on a series of paid advertisements or 2.) The creators of this site actually believe that they are helping people and simply lack the presense of a good project manager – someone to challenge them to think critically about what they have to offer – real content or a series of links?

Sites should not pretend to be more than they are in hopes of luring lots of people to their pages, who ultimately, will never return.