There’s a mixed bag of Web sites out there – the good, the bad, and the ugly. Take a look around. And, with a critical eye, why not appropriate a good idea or two and avoid the bad.

Here’s a sample to get you started:

Serving the media

Whether you’re operating an online media center or use the Web for crisis communications, you’ve got to keep reporters’ needs in mind.

é Virginia-based power company Dominion effectively used its home page to make updated outage information easily available during Hurricane Isabel. Links led to detailed but visually striking outage maps, news conference schedules and agendas, and other material to help reporters do their jobs – and to show that Dominion was on top of the situation doing theirs.

ê In contrast, Allstate missed an opportunity to reach policyholders in California during the fall’s fierce wildfires. Nothing on its home page addressed the biggest issue in many of its customers’ lives – not even an easy-to-find phone number for disaster assistance. A great customer experience embodies both online and offline activities. This one is a flop.

Communicating to key audiences

Typically, you’ve got one site to cater to multiple audiences – customers, investors, and reporters. Since there can be overlap between those groups, your messaging should be current and in sync.

é When information storage company EMC announced its billion-dollar acquisition of Documentum, emc.com presented a timely and coordinated message. In addition to the standard news release link on the home page, there was a what-it-means-for-you piece designed for current EMC clients, an open letter from the CEO, and Webcast details.

ê Curiously, a newspaper’s Web site paid more attention to a new razor from Gillette than Gillette did online. There was a huge vacuum of information on Gillette.com about the product launch of its razor, leaving investors and would-be customers to rely on boston.com for the company’s news.

Providing a service

Internet users view the Web largely as a tool to help them get something done, quickly. That means they’ll take the path of least resistance so site operators should take the KISS – keep it simple – approach.

é The National Restaurant Association uses restaurant.org to showcase its Rapid Response Program, a way to monitor media coverage and contest, correct, or commend it. In addition to communicating facts and figures about the industry, this section of the site also sends a subtle message about the trade group’s surveillance.

ê While MSNBC.com gets points for recognizing the importance of an archive, it blew the implementation. Before its recent site redesign, it changed the URLs of items to be archived thereby creating “link rot,” links that no longer connect visitors to the content they’re expecting. Offering an on-screen apology in lieu of that content really doesn’t help.

A good rule of thumb in assessing your site? Put yourself in the shoes of your target audience. If you, doubling as an investor or reporter, can find what you need easily, you’re on the right track.