Worst of the Web

– Robert Kruger 21 May 2010

We’re feeling pretty good about how things are going right now, so we thought we’d have a little fun. We may decide to do this once in a while, just to blow off some steam.

Here are a few things I hate about the web. Hate is such a strong word. Maybe it’s more like things that annoy me. The web can’t change its heritage. It didn’t choose its parents or where it grew up. It IS trying to make something of itself, so maybe I should cut it some slack.

This is not a top ten list. It’s just a few random topics. More will come. If I didn’t mention one that really annoys you, share it with me, and I’ll share it with the world.

Websites with audio make me jump.

I keep busy, so when I’m checking out new websites, I’m probably doing other things at the same time. I may be in a video chat or a conference call, and we’re looking for inspiration, comparative content, or a solution-provider. I might just be listening to music while I look for something. I might even just be enjoying the quietness of my office. When I click on a website with audio, it disrupts everything. Just stop it! No background music. No spokesperson who walks onto the screen and starts talking. No whooshing and beeping when I hover or click on things. I don’t mind video content that allows me to choose when I want to watch - I know there will be audio, and I will watch it when the time is right. Here’s why you audio junkies should pay attention: it’s easier to find the “close window” button than it is to fish around looking for your “audio on/off” button. And that’s what I do. I end the contact.

Navigation that changes from one page to the next annoy me.

It annoys me when I go to a new site, click on a nav link, and the next page I see has a completely different nav system than the last page I was on. Certainly there’s room for creativity in nav, and not every nav system needs to be the same. But consistency prevents frustration. I want accessibility to all pages from any page. I want to understand the nav system quickly and then not think about it again. Every time a new site visitor comes to a site, they have to learn the system for navigating the presentation. That learning takes valuable time. Respect your site visitors.

Intro pages are so second millennium.

If I wanted to watch commercials, I would have turned on the TV. When I go to a website, I want to get to the information. Back in the ‘90s, the first person to put an intro in front of a website was clever. The second person who did was a copycat. Now it’s just a stale idea. An intro that inserts itself in front of site content violates the site owner/site visitor pact - the site owner makes content available, and the site visitor accesses that content in any order they choose. That is the medium. The web is not Powerpoint. Keep this in mind if you’re considering a Flash intro: one popular SEO theory says that Google likes home page content more than sub-page content. That means it is important that the home page has indexable HTML text, not just a Flash movie. From an SEO perspective, the worst decision of all is to embed the “enter the site” link inside Flash. Google won’t see it, and, therefore, won’t index any of the site. If you can tell your whole story in a 30-second spot, put it on your home page (not set to auto-play) alongside textual content, and let your site visitors choose how they learn about you.

When Dialogs Professional Services works with customers to plan information architecture, we help steer the project away from choices that may annoy site visitors. Ask us to walk through your site with you. We promise we won’t be annoying.