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Would You Visit These US States Based on Their Web Sites? (with pics)

smileycat.com — Of course, since there are 50 states, there's a lot of competition for those tourist dollars, especially if you're not a destination state such as Florida or California. So, you'd think that the official tourism web site for each state would try to show off its best 'assets' to maximum effect.

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  • jmann, on 10/12/2007, -12/+3New York has the coolest one......not!
    • emanggid, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7Hooray Arkansas! At the top of the lower heap! *sigh*
    • AlphaPrime, on 10/12/2007, -2/+22Minnesota rocks.
    • ButtholeSurfer, on 10/12/2007, -0/+27i think it's funny that right now these state sites are probably getting more hits than they ever have... they're going to expect a lot of tourists this year...
    • wastern, on 10/12/2007, -14/+5>>New York has the coolest one......not!


      I haven't heard someone use "not" like that since '92. If you could never do that again I would appreciate it. Thanks in advance
    • Ellsass, on 11/05/2008, -5/+10I wouldn't visit Maryland just because of their hideous flag:
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Maryland.svg
    • coldstatue, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2@Bear Owned
      (not sure I got that right.. I'm pretty drunk)

      i think you are on the way to hip-hop stardom. maybe start with a PSA.
    • Atomic1fire, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1They should have based the acid test on that flag
      see how many wonder what is wrong with there standards support
  • smileycat, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7Can anyone actually get the Rhode Island site to load (http://www.visitrhodeisland.com/) or is it just me?
    • ButtholeSurfer, on 10/12/2007, -1/+56Rhode Island doesn't really exist...
    • Mewchu11, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10http://web.archive.org/web/20060824201418/http://www.visitrhodeisland.com/

      Let it load in your background, it will take a fortnight to load.
    • danobrien23, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5no one can get RI site's to work, I live in Rhode Island but i convinced myself that I just tripped over Massachusetts and landed in a sub-section of MA
    • jaycliche, on 10/12/2007, -5/+7"Rhode Island doesn't really exist..."

      Not true...you are thinking of North Dakota. (have you ever met anyone from their or even seen a license plate?)
    • xeomage, on 10/12/2007, -3/+5See, I heard Idaho was the fake state. The whole potato thing is just a part of the plan to mislead us.

      Yeah, here's a link:
      http://kuoi.asui.uidaho.edu/idaho_does_not_exist.html
    • bwjacket, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9Jeb forgot to turn on the Internet tubes in Rhode Island.
    • scatterbrain13, on 10/12/2007, -10/+2haha, ***** rhode island
    • coldstatue, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1@mewchu11

      a *****' fortnight. the next hip term in urban slang.
    • DreadPirateWes, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4I'm in Idaho...Of course half the population is in Boise...the only civilized place in the state. The rest is an estimate of the nomadic tribes of tent-people roving about the deserts and forests. It's hard to accurately count them since they are crafty and difficult to tag.
    • colifis, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7Dugg by a North Dakota native just to prove we DO exist. We even have our own license plates too.
  • Lokix, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5ahahahaha the Indiana one is awful.
    • jaycliche, on 10/12/2007, -10/+17Indiana is to Illinois as New Jersey is to New York, and Texas is to the US.
    • wtweber, on 10/12/2007, -5/+26Indiana is only beautiful if you like to see corn, corn, corn, corn, corn, corn, soybeans, corn, corn, corn, corn, corn, corn, and a little more corn.
    • jaycliche, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9"@jaycliche: You've never actually BEEN to Indiana, have you? I'm guessing not. Indiana is a beautiful state. Frankly, it's not much different from Illinois. (And I've lived in both states, so yes, I know what I'm talking about!)"

      Yes, I have been to both. I used to live in Wisconsin. I know I was being generalizing...mostly I meant Gary, Indiana. NJ is not so bad either. It was a joke...not about TX though.
    • ad0beaddict, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1@sirspocsalot

      He's simply pointing out that there site sucks ass. He is in no way "dissing" Indiana, well except for their web designers.
    • Lokix, on 10/12/2007, -8/+2I was raised in Indiana and I
    • ahknight, on 10/12/2007, -6/+1Which means you've never been to Texas, either.
    • jaycliche, on 10/12/2007, -3/+3"Which means you've never been to Texas, either."

      Lived in that dump for 5 months (though that was Dallas/Houston--Austin is the best part of TX).

      You've never been to Texas
  • wuzzie, on 10/12/2007, -5/+18http://www.duggmirror.com
  • professorChaos, on 10/12/2007, -7/+3dead?
  • Lumiras, on 10/12/2007, -10/+1http://www.duggmirror.com/
  • tocksin, on 10/12/2007, -15/+10Where's Mississippi's web page? Or do they not have electricity yet? Or maybe the Internet is considered the devil.
    • malaak, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2I think their underwater tube broke.
    • crjunk, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1Take your pick:
      www.mississippi.org
      www.mississippi.gov
      www.visitmississippi.org
    • BigKitty, on 10/12/2007, -6/+1@tocksin,
      Bashing the South is bigotry.
    • rekrapt, on 10/12/2007, -5/+2You uppity city-folks... if you've never been here... especially the Gulf Coast of MS, then shut the ***** up. Otherwise, take all your crime and smog and stick it up yer arse.

      Digg me down, flatulent assholes.
    • Atomic1fire, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1www.visitmississippi.org
      makes me think of christmas
    • WolfwoodX, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1H E L P M E
  • cybermort, on 10/12/2007, -1/+23how come idaho's website isn't shape like a potato
    • jaycliche, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5How come the US website isn't shaped like a cowboy boot?
    • Silvermink, on 10/12/2007, -0/+14It is, if you view it on a potato-shaped monitor.
    • quakeIII, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2how come your comment made me read it to myself in a crazy gangsta-southwestern accent?
  • Lumiras, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I think most of the sites are pretty poorly done, but it looks like there may be some good web designers working on Tennessee and South Dakota's pages
    • thegoldstandard, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Of course a lot of the sites suck-- they are GOVERNMENT sites, and the people who design them have no personal financial incentive to actually get more tourists to come to their state (the exception to that being when large private companies, i.e. Disney help pay for the site's design).
    • SuburbanDave, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2@thegoldstandard

      The real reason for crappy govt web sites has jack to do with no personal incentive to create attractive designs, and everything to do with Section 508 of the Americans with Disabilities Act. We're lucky they have anything more than plain text that looks like something you'd see circa 1990 on Mosaic.
    • linuxinit, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0@thegoldstandard

      These aren't 'government' sites... They may be funded by the state though. If you think any of these are bad, start making your way through all of the correct *.gov or state.*.us domains... Try hitting up some DOT websites... they all suck. Everything in the government that relates to technology is like... 8... no wait... 8.7... years behind. *****, even the congress website sucks.

      Plus, everyone knows they pay the office 'tech guy' to do their website, and don't actually give a rats ass about how it looks, or even ever use it for that matter. I've seen worse... much worse...

      And about accessibility... you can make it look nice with alternate stylesheets.
  • Thezeppelin62, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9michigan and illinois are good. hooray for Illinois.
  • jason7655, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3@tocksin
    Mississippi isn't as backwards as you seem to believe.

    http://www.visitmississippi.org/
    better than some of the other sites on there but could still be improved.
    • tocksin, on 10/12/2007, -4/+1i live in mississippi, so i can criticize. and do. but really i was more complaining that they left us out of the list...
    • jaycliche, on 10/12/2007, -3/+3We stopped paying attention to Mississippi a long time ago. Didn't you figure that out during Katrina?
  • cphuntington97, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Lovely website but just show me the darn pictures so I don't have to mouse over each one.

    ...thanks.
  • wanderingsun, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0ahem... alabama (800alabama.com) did pretty well
    • wanderingsun, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0well, it would have done better if they went to the correct site..
      800alabama.com has the upcoming events. tsk
    • LostInTheWired, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I'm actually very happy that my state did so well. We don't look quite as much like rednecks now... But there really isn't much to do here. Huntsville gets some attraction because of the Marshall Space Flight Center, but other than that, I can't think of something attractive to tourists (except maybe Ruby Falls, which is a large waterfall inside of a cave which is kind of cool).
    • wanderingsun, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1oh come on! gulf shores!!

      ok, well. there's not much to do, but we shore do have a purdy beach
      (if you can find it past all the condos, that is..)
    • linuxinit, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0There is actually a lot to do here, you just have to know where to look. ;) I like to rock climb, so Cheaha (sp?) and North Alabama are my favorite areas. There are many lakes, streams, rivers, creeks, and all that good stuff if that's your thing. Gulf Shores actually is decent compared to other beaches around the world (think rocks, clay, gritty sand and brown water), but when you compare it to other beaches on the Gulf Coast(Destin to Pensacola... Gotta love that emerald water)... Yuck...

      There are also lots of old buildings and old landmarks that are fun to explore around and photograph, but I really like photography.

      Montgomery is a pretty nasty city... It's just nasty... but it does have a lot of historical landmarks pertaining to Martin Luther King, etc... Something about it being surrounded by rivers just makes it nasty... I dunno... I can't describe it...

      I honestly think Birmingham would be a better suited capitol, but whatever... Alabama's capitol has moved around so much, and it's in Montgomery because of the rivers. Nobody travels by river anymore, so its pretty pointless, but I guess they can't just move the capitol ;) I like the mountains myself... so I'm biased about that.

      I do rag on Alabama a lot, but it's not as bad as popular media makes it out to be. Now South Alabama... that's a whole different story. ;) North Alabama is more 'hillbillies', but South Alabama is pure Redneck, as is most of the Florida Panhandle. The Panhandle of Florida is just South Alabama. :P People go there, and think they are the *****, when the place is crawling with trashy ass people. Destin and Ft. Walton were great until the last few years and they have gotten popular. Navarre is still decent though. Grayton beach is awesome, just for the architecture and simplicity.
    • linuxinit, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Oh, I also just remembered, there is a monastery in Cullman, Alabama. It's really cool, and I'd suggest visiting it if you get a chance.
      http://www.stbernardabbey.com/home.htm

      There are tons of things not on tourism websites... *****... most people from around here don't even know about the monastery in Cullman.
  • markp93, on 10/12/2007, -13/+1where's Canada?
    • jaycliche, on 10/12/2007, -5/+11Canada is still a US territory.
    • DeepDoo, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7I was actually looking for England but could not find it.
    • drunkenrobot, on 10/12/2007, -9/+1Canada never was and never will be a US territory... We didn't set your ***** White House on fire for fun... We hate you *****.
    • noerrorsfound, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1You'll have to excuse drunkenrobot, for his sarcasm detector is horribly broken.
    • Joe091, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@drunkenrobot:
      That's funny, I always thought it was the Brits that burned down the White House.
  • derkles, on 10/12/2007, -14/+3Canada, America's sweaty headband.
    • jaycliche, on 10/12/2007, -11/+17America, Canada's smelly underpants.
    • cmyke, on 10/12/2007, -5/+5What the hell does that even mean? Does that make the arctic America's hair? Disappearing?
    • Cleanlyness, on 10/12/2007, -6/+2kAnNOTeDuH is Alaska's Mexiko.
    • digguerre, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6@cmyke
      lol if the Arctic is America's head hair then does that make South America the hair...down there?
      this gives new meaning to the term "Brazilian wax"
    • Ductapemaster, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Now I'm all for the rainforests being cut down!
    • Elranzer, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Oregon... California's Canada.
  • jaycliche, on 10/12/2007, -5/+3"I was actually looking for England but could not find it."

    England, as Canada, is a territory of the US. (or is that Walmart?)
    • nmeadata, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1They hid it in New England, then hid New England.
  • klodgical, on 10/12/2007, -9/+2Um. Hi. Why isn't the link to the site working? I'm dying to see it.
    • AlphaPrime, on 10/12/2007, -0/+14It's been dugg.

      I can tell that you are new.

      Welcome aboard.
  • ishmal, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3Yet Another Wimpy Server Revealed
  • Mewchu11, on 10/12/2007, -7/+6Ignore this
  • rstarr, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4The Maine tag line is actually pretty perfect for the state.

    You're just using the wrong inflection. It's a state of very region specific culture. There's a lot of things that must be Maine because no other state would take it. They shortened it from, "Oh THAT thing? Yeah, it must be Maine."

    Examples: Flannel, Red Hot Dogs (color, not taste), Italian sandwiches (trust me on this one, you probably don't have em like Maine), the word "A-yuh," Moxie, etc...

    If you were from here...you'd get it.
    • shadowsurfr1, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Darn you, now I want some of those red skinned hot dogs.
    • McNamron, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Hey, flannel is part of the dress code for web designers/developers here in Minnesota. Don't think for a second that Maine gets to have all the flannel fun. (We'll take ours with the red and black checkerboard pattern, thanks.)
    • sapped, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2If you were from here...you'd get it.

      If we were from "here" then we wouldn't need the frikkin tourism website to tell us what was going on would we? These websites are designed specifically for people who are not "from here".
    • rstarr, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@sapped
      Perhaps it doesn't make you want to come here, but once you leave here you'll understand that it's a perfect phrase.

      @shadowsurfr1
      Going to college in Boston I realize now how much I miss them and how good they really are. But at least they sell moxie at the Shaws down here.

      @ Mcnamron
      "Hey, flannel is part of the dress code for web designers/developers here in Minnesota."

      Flannel is the dress code in Maine for fishermen and lumberjacks.
      It's a fact, not a fashion round he-ah.
      Yes-suh.

      Haha. Man, I can't believe I'm arguing over flannel in the accent of a 60 year old Down-Eastah.
      I need to get out more often.

  • jordan314, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Would I visit any US state based on their web site?
  • jaycliche, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1"What the hell does that even mean? Does that make the arctic America's hair? Disappearing?"

    Not global warming, global balding.
  • frankcow, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Maryland is hilarious:
    "Why is there a big "Stop Sex Offenders" link at the top of the page? This is a tourism site remember — what kind of message is that going to send? And how about using a grid to layout your page?"
    • jaycliche, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7"Maryland is hilarious:
      "Why is there a big "Stop Sex Offenders" link at the top of the page?"


      Remember, Maryland is right next to DC. They are trying to appeal to their audience.
    • jhaven, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I live in Maryland :(

      Seeing the "Tourism" page really saddened me. But it looks pretty much like every other site for our state government (which is NOT a good thing)...

      The main Maryland Government page (http://www.maryland.gov) looks like the default install look of whatever CMS they're using...

      I'm embarrassed to live here just because of their websites. Is that sad?
    • BigKitty, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1@frankcow,
      The sex offenders come out of the government buildings in Washington DC and infiltrate the surrounding states.
  • jcaino, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2wow, pennsylvania was in his 2nd tier....it actually does look like a decent site.

    as for hawaii - i dont even think they -need- a website to get people to visit...
  • sfacets, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Who makes these atrocities? A random generator perhaps?
  • jcrewyayo, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7california wins again... just like in the real life
    • sixspeed, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3Yep, California is the best. That is, until it slides into the Pacific. Then Nevada and Arizona will be the best.
    • sigmaman2, on 10/12/2007, -5/+1But until that day, you are PUKES! You are the lowest form of life on earth! You are not even human-*****-beings! You are unorganized grab-asstic pieces of amphibian *****!!!
    • Ductapemaster, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1California FTW!
    • Elranzer, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1You'll notice the tiers are all alphabetical. The site owner said his favorite was actually Tennessee.
  • Cleanlyness, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I think Wyoming looks the best from that preview. I haven't really looked at them all but the few I did seem just the same.
  • BauskiBruhva, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1The guy who reviews these sites is a total bitch. I mean, who is he to make fun of other people's web design, look at his site.
  • jrob48, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Go Kentucky!!!!
  • popltree2, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1For having the Terminator as a Governor, I would expect the CA site have guns and ***** blowing up and guys getting kicked in the face or something!
  • sigmaman2, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2All hail the Great Golden State!

    Where else can you go SWIMMING in the ocean, and 4 hours later go SKIING in the mountains?!

    Napa Valley has the WINE!
    Malibu Beach has the WOMEN!
    Hollywood has the SONG!

    HAHAHA!
    A!! 01her 5tate5 ar3 Th3 5ux0r!

    The more you hate us, the more we love ourselves!
    • jaycliche, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5"The more you hate us, the more we love ourselves! "

      That's obvious...we all get Hollywood too.
    • truax, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4ahh! the Smug!
      take cover!
    • sigmaman2, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1@truax

      (bending over to smell my own fart...)

      *sniff-sniff-sniff*

      "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
    • VeganG, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Wow, I live in L.A. but at least I know it's a *****. The amount of things to do is the ONLY thing that keeps 99% of its people here.
    • Elranzer, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1"Napa Valley has the WINE!
      Malibu Beach has the WOMEN!
      Hollywood has the SONG!"

      San Francisco has the MEN...
  • sjbdallas, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I didnt' see anything wrong with most of "The Rest". Although Georgia and Florida looked very MS FrontPagey.
    Arkansas had a poor choice of colors--they look good on Southwest Airlines planes but not on a website.
    I was surprised to see green in Alaska, i always imagined it was like those penguin movies with ice and snow everywhere.
    Alot of square states on that last list though and Demitri says to avoid states without any squigglies.
    • jaycliche, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3" i always imagined it was like those penguin movies with ice and snow everywhere"

      That's just hollywood. It's a beach resort now thanks to texans using so much hairspray.
    • BigKitty, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1@jaycliche,
      Penguins live in the southern hemisphere. They don't live in the Arctic.
  • XStatic, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Did Ohio update the photos?
  • redlantern64, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2What a fair and accurate listing of state tourism site. :-)

    (Disclaimer: My company developed the Kentucky Tourism site, and I built it myself...so I'm biased. )
  • spacyt, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Florida's is hideous. They should hire me to re-do it!
  • srdrums, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2I always wondered who bought website templates from monstertemplate.com. Now I know.
  • foodbar, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Based on racism+weather+crime, none of the above.
  • PacketBoy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I'm happy to see North Carolina near the top of the heap, now if we could just move up from our current 48th place in education (thanx Mississippi and Arkansas!)
  • aristan, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3The main Tennessee site is nice, but their seasonal sites are even better... The summer & fall subsites are just about breath taking: http://summer.tnvacation.com/ & http://fall.tnvacation.com/

    The winter site is nice as well, spring...well, I hope they redo that one in the next month or so.

  • solarpowered, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1OP says:"... you'd think that the official tourism web site for each state would try to show off its best 'assets' to maximum effect"

    You _are_ an idealist, aren't you?

    Don't forget: These sites are created by government slugs commanding other government drones.

    Let that be a lesson.
  • smileycat, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Sorry that my server has gone down - very disappointing. That darned Digg effect. Also, my apologies for (apparently) leaving our Mississippi. I'll add it in as soon as I can log back into my site.

    @BauskiBruhva - based on your logic, I shouldn't be able to review a book because I have never written one. Nor should film critics be able to review films. At least I *can* build web sites. But, yes, my site is in need of an overhaul. One day...
  • htdub, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Pennsylvania has the best homepage tagline/quote.

    "...cuddle up."

    *gag*
  • rasmits, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I think Indiana's site is really pretty. Why would he say it makes them look cold and grey while giving Colorodo's site high honors? They're both pictures of snow.

    And ANY web designer that suggests pop-up windows is a FOOL that should not be listened to (see New Mexico).
  • rasmits, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0And wtf is with bashing Washington and Wyoming's flash sites? He gave California high honors, which apparently you need a 3 ghz processor (and flash) to run properly.
  • bibigon, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0Author is a Down. If you have nothing to say even do not try to try. What I can see is absolutely round nothing in your forking head. The most of all sites are great not to say much better.
  • Toniee, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1North Carolina is great! Very VISTA looking website.
  • qbyte, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Who avoids a state because of it's website? That crosses a geek line that borders insanity.
  • smileycat, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0@rasmits - judging the design of a site is a very subjective thing so I would never suggest that I am right; this is just my opinion. I think that the Colorado site presents an image of snow without giving the impression of cold and gloomy gray. The Indiana site does just the opposite, IMO.

    Pop-up windows are generally a bad idea; however, it is a common practice to use them to present things like surveys or newsletter sign-up forms. Why? Because it works. If you use cookies wisely you can achieve your aim without pissing off your visitor. Check out SitePoint (http://www.sitepoint.com) for a good implementation of this practice.

    My problem with the Washington and Wyoming sites is that they use Flash unnecessarily. There's no reason for those sites to be built in Flash - the sites could be made to look exactly the same without Flash. In addition, Washington's site has no useful content on the home page (contrast this with, say, Tenessee's site).

    Although you could argue that California's site is a little heavy on the Flash, I think it is used to great effect. When I visit that home page it brings to mind all that I know about California from watching movies and the TV. It makes me want to visit.

    That's just my opinion, of course.
  • Sentry, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1No No No Tennessee does not have lots to do trust me. Unless you like tha reefer
  • RoyHobbs, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1It's amazing what being the first site listed does for you. The second website has 1/4 the number of hits as California.
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