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Top 10 Ways Websites Make Me Suffer |
Top 10 Ways Websites Make Me Suffer
By Jason OConnor (c) 2004
Oak Web Works (http://www.oakwebworks.com)
I believe some people create and publish websites for the sole
purpose of tormenting their visitors. Browsing various websites
and navigating the Web can often be like trying to read on an
airplane while a kid kicks the back of your seat and the baby
next to you alternates between screaming, crying and drooling
on you. There are some excellent websites out there to be sure,
but there are also a lot of dreadful ones too. The latter are
the bane of so many people's existence, especially those who
use the Web regularly.
The Net continues to grow in popularity and importance for
consumers and businesses alike. Therefore, the quality of sites
needs to keep pace. Creating and maintaining high-quality
websites is more important now than ever. Higher quality equals
more revenue.
The following lists the top ten ways that a website misses the
boat and contributes to hair loss and nervous breakdowns. Notice
the common thread that runs throughout each of these. Namely, a
bad website neglects to consider the site visitor's experience
in some fundamental ways.
1. Animation
Seven year-olds like watching animated cartoons on Saturday
morning, business people, professionals and most other adults
don't. Sites that include showy Flash animations as an
'Intro', animated gifs on every page, or flying words are
really annoying. They take away from the content and distract
the visitor from achieving their goals. Unless your site is
an entertainment site, try to avoid maddening motion. However,
if your product or service can be better demonstrated using
Flash, Quick Time, or other multimedia, which is common,
offer your visitors the chance to click a link to view it.
But don't force them.
2. Too Much Scrolling
Once I scroll down a full screen's worth, my eyes start to
blur, I feel slightly lost, my head spins and my interest
wanes. Computer monitors really aren't the best medium for
reading. The Net and many sites are so big that it's
important to always provide a clear frame of reference for
your visitors at all times while they're on your site. If
a page requires two full screens of scrolling or more,
simply split it up into multiple pages.
3. Long, Text-Heavy and Blocky Paragraphs of Unbroken Text
I really have to be into a topic or desperately need to glean
the information to trudge through big chunks of unbroken text
online. If I'm just shopping around for a product or service,
you've lost me if I have to endure this kind of torture.
Again, it is harder to read text on the Web than in other
mediums such as books. Additionally, Web users are notoriously
impatient, so make your content easy to read and
non-intimidating. Use titles, sub-titles, small paragraphs,
bullets and numbering.
4. No Obvious Ways to Contact The Company
If all you supply is an email on your website, your
legitimacy may be questioned. Why can't you answer the
phone? Why hide behind an anonymous and cold email address?
Make it easy for your existing and potential customers to
talk with you.
5. Unchanging or Out-Dated Content
If I start reading content on a site and soon discover that
the content was written three years ago, I split. Since
there's so much information out there, my reasoning is
there's got to be comparable information online that's more
current. If you keep your content fresh your site will
attract repeat visitors. And repeat visitors are more likely
to turn into customers.
6. Long Page Downloads
It's amazing that this is still a problem. When I click on
to a site and have to sit there waiting for it to appear in
my browser, I start sweating, picking my teeth, tapping my
toes, rolling my eyes and soon want to throw my computer
through my office window. I'm obviously a little impatient,
but again, I know there are other sites out there with the
same information that will download more quickly, so why
wait? I'm gone.
7. "Me, me, me!" instead of "You, you, you"
Generally speaking, no one cares about you, your company or
your thoughts. What they do care about is what you can do for
them. So sites that show pictures of the company building or
tout their deep philosophy on the way business should be
conducted really don't bode well for keeping the interest of
site visitors. On the other hand, sites that speak directly
to potential customers about how they can solve their
problems, make their lives easier, safer, richer or more
comfortable have a much better chance of keeping the eyeballs
glued.
8. Non-Explanatory Buttons or Links
Here are some examples of buttons that leave me dazed and
confused: A wedding site with a button called 'Blanks', a
boating site with a button named 'The Lighthouse', a book
site with a button called 'The Inside Story', or a Web design
site with a button called 'Tea Time'. They sound like Jeopardy
categories. Imagine trying to find your way on a highway where
its various signs read 'Over Here', 'Moon Beams', and
'Lollypops'. Good luck navigating your way through. It's the
same with navigating websites. Button and link names need to
tell the visitor where the link leads to. Make it as easy as
possible for a visitor to know where they're going before
they click. However, there are times when naming a link an
ambiguous name may pique the curiosity of a user and get
them to click on it. But as a general rule, keep your links
and buttons as descriptive as possible.
9. Inconsistent Navigation
Imagine sitting down at a restaurant and the waiter comes
over to you and hands you five different menus, one for the
appetizers, one for the soups and salads, one for the entrees,
one for the desserts, and one for the drinks. Annoying. Now
imagine if each menu had a different format, layout and
method for listing the items. Brutal. I really don't want
to work that hard at picking out my dinner, I'm hungry and
I just want a meal. Don't make your visitors work hard either
by expecting them to re-learn your navigation system each
time they enter another section of your site. They too are
hungry; for useful information and they're even more
impatient.
10. Inconsistent Look & Feel
When the look & feel completely changes from one page to
another in a website, I think I am visiting another site,
another company, a partner or subsidiary. I get very confused.
This screams poor planning and often results from tacking on
new sections later after the original site was built. This
can lead to design-drift. It may be tempting to stray from
the original design; you may have a better design now. But
wait till you do a complete next-generation re-design of the
entire site before introducing a new look & feel. If not,
lots of visitors will be scratching their heads with one
hand and possibly clicking away with the other.
Finally, any site that employs a number of these notorious
features is particularly painful to experience. When I click
to a website that has five different fonts and colors, scrolls
down to the core of the Earth, incorporates zinging words and
big fat blocks of text, lists no phone number and has content
written and dated in 1996, I scream and know deep down inside
that pulling my fingernails out wouldn't be as torturous as
having to remain there a minute longer.
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