To Cringe or Not to Cringe Now That is the Question

For a class assignment we were told: Choose two of the following websites and identify at least three potential problems for visitors. What could be improved on this website and why? Choose two and identify what they have done right. How do design, aesthetics and branding impact your reaction to the websites?

1. http://tectorch.com
2. http://www.swagelok.com/
3. http://www.gforceracecars.com/
4. http://www.richsoil.com/raising-chickens.jsp
5. http://apple.com
6. http://www.ford.com/
7. http://www.toyota.com/ 

http://tectorch.com
I wasn't planning on choosing the first website to go first but when I opened it up I literally cringed!   Not only is there NO social media links located on the webpage but (this coming from  a Web Designer point of view) it was created in TABLES!  That is so old school plus I bet it was created in either Microsoft Publisher or Front page.  Which they did the trick maybe in the late 90's early 00's but not now.  The website is very bland and hard to navigate it needs a facelift LoL


http://www.swagelok.com/
This site is Way cleaner and more appealing to the eye than the previously discussed website.  Because of this cleaner look I feel as though this business is more professional because they care about their public internet appearance.  Easier to navigate but again no social media which is sad.  They probably would see an increase in website visits if they had.  

http://apple.com
Ah apple!  I LOVE their website.  So clean so easy to navigate.  I love that clean professional look.  Sad though because I KNOW they have social media (I'm subscribe to a few of them...) so I am surprised that they havent made them easily acceptable.  Strange.  Add your social media to your website Apple!

http://www.ford.com 
The Ford website isn't to bad.  If there was a car or truck I knew of, that I wanted to look at I could find it pretty easily.  It is almost overwhelming though for someone just wanting to breeze through a few different models to get ideas for their next vehicle.  The "Ford Social" link is at the top which is nice kinda hard to see because the white text is lost in the background image.  I do like their little pop-up in the bottom left hand corner which gets the user more interested because its a little interactive.  I used to have a Ford F-150 and loved that truck, it said grab a badge.  So I tried it and there was a I Love Ford badge. I clicked it, and then it asked if I wanted to share it.  So i said sure.  Here it is!