I just had a nightmare trying to find a good list of bad mistakes to link to. So here’s a quick one. Do tweet one to me on @completedespair if you have a better one!*
These are some of the bad things that website commissioners and designers do.
As a user of your website, the most annoying things are…
1 – Things popping up without me requesting them!
Anything that pops up and takes over my attention is ANNOYING; Ads, sign-ups, anything. STOP IT.
2 – Splash Screens.
Making me wait! Arrghhh. It is so rude. Do not drag me through your narrative! I have something I want to do!
3 – Unusual Navigation.
Who thought that it was a good idea? Please show me how to find the important parts of your website!
7 – Text too small.
It might look nice, but I cannot read it.
(A common mistake harking from print design roots, which leads us to…)
4 – Pages are Fixed Width.
I have to pinch and zoom on mobile devices,… I can’t operate the navigation,… fingers too fat!
(This is not an evil mistake, just one that should be avoided. Build responsive & adaptive websites.)
5 – Moving Things.
Do not make ANYTHING fly around the screen. Please do not.
6 – Autoplay Media.
Music and videos should wait for me to request them.
BIG VIDEO playing behind everything. Another fad.
8 – Layout is complicated / “original”.
Can you please show me your content, simply?
9 – Clipart images that mean nothing.
Like the one above. What does that mean?
10 – Not sure about the 10th. I will add this soon.
Maybe it could be “Your annoying content makes me forget why I am here?”
* I am always looking for one to link to…