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In AnswerDash’s 2014 national website usability survey, Comcast.com was the most frustrating website overall: 59% of respondents selected it. IRS.gov followed at 37%, then CenturyLink.com at 35%. These are historical results, not a current ranking of websites.
Which websites were hardest to use?
AnswerDash announced its inaugural national survey on November 7, 2014. It asked consumers about website preferences, abandonment behavior, and online customer-service tools. The release reported these overall and category findings:
| Measure | 2014 survey result |
|---|---|
| Most frustrating overall | Comcast.com: 59% selected it as the year’s most frustrating website. |
| Other sites with high disapproval | IRS.gov: 37%; CenturyLink.com: 35%. |
| Ease-of-use approval | Amazon.com: more than 70%; Facebook.com: 49%; Apple.com: 43%. |
| Government websites | IRS.gov was rated most frustrating. Healthcare.gov was rated easiest, narrowly ahead of Department of Motor Vehicles sites. |
| Social-media websites | Facebook was rated easiest; Meetup.com was least intuitive. |
| E-commerce websites | Target was the most frustrating in the category, selected by 16%. |
The figures describe respondents’ opinions in that survey; they do not establish why a particular site received its rating. The AnswerDash release does not provide the sample size, full questionnaire, or detailed weighting, so the percentages should be read as reported findings rather than a definitive measure of every visitor’s experience.
How quickly did people give up on a confusing website?
The survey found an average abandonment time of 90 seconds when users could not complete a task or find information. Only 6% said they would stay five minutes or longer.
#1 Best Overall
- Among respondents aged 18–24, 75% said they would leave within two minutes.
- Among respondents aged 55 and older, 57% said they would leave within two minutes; 28% said they would spend only four minutes trying before leaving.
These are self-reported answers published by AnswerDash in 2014, not observed behavior or a current benchmark. They suggest that a site that leaves visitors stuck may lose them quickly, but do not quantify abandonment caused by any one website.
What support did respondents find helpful?
Live chat and contextual FAQs were the most helpful customer-service tools in the survey: 51% of respondents preferred one or both. Contextual FAQs present help relevant to the page or task, while live chat lets a visitor ask for assistance without relying only on general help pages.
Rank #2
Support preferences also differed by age. Respondents over 44 were nearly 20% more likely to call a company when they could not find information. Among 18–34-year-olds, 9% considered phone support helpful. The release does not specify the underlying counts or whether “nearly 20% more likely” refers to a relative or percentage-point difference, so that comparison should not be interpreted more precisely.
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What the results do—and do not—say about Comcast
Comcast’s 59% result identifies it as the survey’s frustration leader, but the release does not document specific usability problems or explain what caused respondents to choose it. The rating is not evidence that a particular feature, outage, or design decision was responsible. The same caution applies to IRS.gov, CenturyLink.com, and the other sites: the release reports preferences, not diagnostic findings.
AnswerDash said short abandonment windows could threaten 2015 revenue for Comcast, CenturyLink, and Target. The release also cited a Forrester forecast of $278.9 billion in U.S. online-shopping revenue in 2015, projecting 10% annual compound growth. That was a forecast made for 2015, not a current market estimate or a finding from the usability survey.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Are these still the most frustrating websites?
No current ranking can be inferred from the 2014 survey. Its results capture respondents’ views at that time; they do not show how the sites perform today or whether users would rank them the same way now. Use the figures as a snapshot of reported usability perceptions in 2014, not as a 2026 leaderboard.
Quick Recap
Rank #4
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