Are these things annoying to you?
Friday May 18, 2007
There are lots of really annoying things about Web pages. But even if they're annoying, why do Web developers keep doing them?
I suppose that it's because while every tag in the HTML specification has a purpose, if it's mis-used we end up with annoying Web pages that don't attract customers. There are lots of things that annoy people about Web pages. But perhaps the next Web page you build, you think about these annoyances and decide if your site falls into one of the categories. Most people don't try to be annoying.
Poll: What Web ad technique is the most annoying?
Question: Is ugly bad design?
- HTML Pet Peeves
- Top 10 Tips to Drive Away Your Readers
- Little Web of Horrors
- What makes these pages Ugly?
- Slow Pages Can Kill a Site
- "Cool" Sites are Usually Tedious
- Cutting Edge Cuts off Customers
- Pop-Up ads - Pros and Cons
- Do You Really Need that Table?
- Frames Hurt More than Just Search Engine Results
- Many People Hate Sound
- Blinking Text is Really Annoying
- Scrolling Text Can Be Just as Bad
Comments
I absolutely HATE sites that play sound, have imbedded FLASH, many large graphics, etc. The main reason for this is that it slows down the loading of the page, and if it takes too long, this little black duck is heading elsewhere.
By the same token, I realize that all the above gripes can sometimes add a lot to the site … in which case, the designer can and should GIVE the user a choice of grabbing that flash, playing the sound, etc … the point being that if the visitor ASKS for it, then he’s aware of that, and is prepared to deal with whatever he’s downloading.
As a case in point, when I designed a web site for my brother, it had to be heavy on graphics (there simply is NO other way to properly present some products). So I compromised … reduced the size of all the relevant pictures, and presented them as thumbnails … then, if the visitor wants to see the full-blown version, he can click on the image and get it that way.
One thing that I find annoying are mailto links. I’m surprised that more usability sites don’t mention more about mailto links. Why? Most people I know use web-based email, the one they get with their ISP. Even those who use a mail client should have the choice of which email account to use if they want to send an email. Particularly annoying are mailto links that do not make clear with the link text that they are mailto links. Please do not open any application on my computer, whether the mail client or whatever, if you do not want to annoy or alienate me. Use a contact form, or just display the email address.
Oh, and to prevent harvesting by email spambot harvesters, use html escape codes for some of the characters when displaying email addresses.
In response to Dean who says that they dislike mailto but rather use contact forms. Don’t you realize these are also mailed?
I dislike contact forms they are too confining, what if i have a problem they don’t have covered and why man of them ask questions that most people have no idea how to answer. For example I had a hardware issue and needed to contact a technician which they don’t have a phone support which does not charge an arm and leg. so a support form was free, they asked for things which mean i would have had to disconnect the item from my system to obtain the numbers etc. Not only that they did not have in their lists anything that addressed my problem.
Not all web hosts don’t support mail to forms. Unforuntatly the webhost I use I found out too late that they did not have the capacity to handle forms or contact tables without having to write a huge code for it then there is no guarantee it would work then. Not everyone has the kind of knowledge to create a contact form.