Episode 001: Joe Lycett

In the first episode of Web Design Adventure, I visit joelycett.com and find a website that breaks nearly every rule, and gets away with it.

There's no headline and no welcome. You land in an archive of small pictures, from Taskmaster in 2017 to work made this year, and it's up to you where to start. The about page is one long, rambling paragraph that somehow fits in two BAFTAs, gallery shows and a stunt that made international news. The shop puts tea towels next to a sculpture with a very serious price tag. Then the contact page drops the jokes and gets down to business.

I talk about what these choices say about the man behind them, and where the site could be kinder to visitors, from a shop that takes some scrolling to a home page full of pictures that has to load on a phone in a pub garden. I also ask why a tidy, sensible website would be the wrong fit for him.

Links

• Joe Lycett's website: https://www.joelycett.com
• Big Web Adventure: https://www.andrewbackhouse.design/podcast
• Me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-backhouse
• Me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andrewbackhouse.design

Every website tells a story about the people who made it. Someone chose what greets you first, where each page leads and what got left out.

In each episode, I take a close look at a real website. I start with first impressions: what you see and feel in the first few seconds, before you read a word. Then I pick two or three key pages and ask if each one does its job. I dig into the detail too, from the words, pictures and type to how fast it loads and how it copes on a phone.

I care more about the people behind a site than scoring points. I'm warm about what they were reaching for, and honest when something gets in a visitor's way. Each episode ends with a short verdict: does this site work for the people it's meant for?