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Harold Mansfield
09-25-2009, 10:15 PM
Many business owners these days attempt website design on their own but there are a ton of mistakes that a first time site designer can make that will turn off visitors and do more harm to your company's image than not having a site at all...and send visitors backing out to search for a competitor.... some of which I have been guilty of myself in the past.

With all the web people around the forum, I thought it would be fun to list some of our favorite annoyances to steer others away from making the same mistakes.

My biggest annoyance is company websites with unrelated ads on them. IMO, nothing says amateur and unprofessional like a business website with Google Adsense on it.
If you are trying to actually make money from ads, you should open another website and try out your internet marketing skills there. Don't do it on your company site.

What are some of your most irritating annoyances that you see on business websites ?

vangogh
09-26-2009, 12:29 AM
How do I limit myself?

I'll pick a couple of things that may not be so obvious, but very much lack professionalism and convey a poor message about your site.

Centering all your text. It's natural for people to think centering text is the better option, but other than certain circumstances you're going to be better off aligning text to either the left or right, usually the left. Centering everything will leave your site looking amateurish.

A lack of whitespace. This one far too many sites do. The goal isn't to cram as much information as you can on the page. You have to give your information room to breathe. Leave space between page elements. Give padding around your text so it doesn't site up against its border. Space is a good thing.

Bill Slawski
09-26-2009, 01:02 AM
Great topic.

I see problems with the use of images on a lot of sites, even ones with nice designs:

1. Image file sizes too large - Pages that should load and render quickly don't because whoever designed it used uncompressed .bmp formats for images, or used jpgs that are much too large and can be compressed to much smaller file sizes.

2. Image heights and widths aren't set - The contents of the pages sort of jiggle around while the page renders, because the heights and widths aren't specified in the HTML for the page. If the heights and widths are set, this movement of the contents of the pages wouldn't happen, and the pages would render more quickly as well.

3. Image heights and widths set, but incorrectly - Instead of resizing pictures to the size that they are going to be displayed upon a page with an image editing program, a designer uses HTML height and width settings to resize the images. This can mean that a small picture is shown much larger than it really is, with an image being distorted, or a large image is shown as much smaller, with some distortion as well. An image might also be shown in different proportions than it really has when resized using HTML, again distorting the way that the image appears.

4. Alt text is missing or used incorrectly - Images that are pure decorations or used as bullets or for layout (as spacers) should have empty alt text (alt=""), and often don't use alt text, or use alt text stuffed with keywords. Images that add meaning to the content of a page have missing or inappropriate alt text. All images should have alt text, and meaningful images that add content to a page should provide a textual alternative to the image (as opposed to a "description" of the picture).

5. Stock photos of artificial looking people - you've seen the picture of the perfect looking people with headsets or meeting around a conference room table - airbrushed and immaculate looking and impossibly cheerful. They look like androids instead of real people. There's something hollow and sterile about those stock images. A site filled with images that are too slick and too polished can come across as impersonal and lacking humanity. I'd rather see real images of real people, even with some of the other problems mentioned above than stock photos of stepford robots.

Patrysha
09-26-2009, 01:07 AM
Automatic audio and/or video is a big turn off for me. Let me control my experience...lay it out so I do what you want me do, use the right words, but let me be in control.

Provide the information I need to make a decision in a concise and direct manner, don't pander to me - entertain me if you must...but get to the point before I lose interest.

If you're going to do it yourself, learn how to do it well. Don't rely on dated programs just because you have them...invest in learning how to use open source tools if money is a factor. It is all out there if you seek out reliable resources.

billbenson
09-26-2009, 03:07 AM
Any unnecessary movement. Gifs, flash, whatever.

dropdowns when not required

buttons and stuff that look like they were made for kids. A lot of templates do this.

Of course sound when not absolutely necessary as well.

nealrm
09-26-2009, 11:42 AM
Small text, text that is not easly readable, use of text/background color combination that our not distinct, expanding ads, ...

Harold Mansfield
09-26-2009, 03:49 PM
How do I limit myself?

It's tough.

I have another one that drives me batty...pop ups. Pop up newsletter boxes, pop up specials, pop up ads...they all really bug me. They make pop-up blockers for a reason..they irritate people. Especially the ones that move across the page so that you have to chase them down with your cursor to get rid of them.

A first time visitor should not be solicited to sign up before they have even had a chance to see who you are and what you do. I expect to see that from internet marketers that are selling their e-book, or what ever new "how to make money online" script, but not from a service provider that is looking for impress potential clients, and encourage visitors to contact them.

Paper Shredder Clay
09-28-2009, 11:19 AM
Wow a lot of good feedback here. I agree, I hate popups when you first arrive on their site. I hate ads on company web sites. My view is if its a business site only sell your products on there or just have a link to sister companies. The only place Google AdSense should be is used sparingly on blog sites. I hate bad/old graphics and centered-only text.

vangogh
09-28-2009, 12:17 PM
Image file sizes too large

That gets me too. I can understand when the person who developed the site isn't a designer, but anyone who calls themselves a designer or developer who doesn't know to compress images or choose the right format for them needs to go back to image optimization school.

So many other good ones. The auto audio or video and the pop ups bug me as well.

How about sites that were clearly designed for one and only one browser resolution. The site might work great at 800x600, but then as soon as you make your browser bigger the whole thing starts to fall apart.

cbscreative
09-28-2009, 12:41 PM
Wow, great feedback. I'm with Bill Slawski on those images not being specified in HTML, spec'd at the wrong size, artificially resized in HTML so they look awful, ridiculous page load times, etc. I also feel the exact same way about stock photos. Well said.

With neal's comment about expanding ads, a big Amen. Closely related are those context ads that pop up when you accidently mouse over them while scrolling or reading; very, very annoying.

Vangogh's comment about centering everything is exactly why people without design skill should never attempt the DIY approach. Bad layout is a site killer. Bad sites are a business killer.

The one that hasn't been mentioned yet is bad writing. Whenever you read the words. "Welcome to our website," you can be pretty sure that you won't last another 10 seconds on the site. Jeff Sexton wrote a blog post last week (http://www.grokdotcom.com/2009/09/21/nobody-wants-to-read-your-sh/) that is very blunt, but it makes an effective point for why bad writing kills a site. Most web sites out on the Internet suffer from a terminal case of "Clients Disease" because the value of good writing is largely under estimated.

Harold Mansfield
09-29-2009, 05:17 PM
Another one I have is sites that open with a long soliloquy of tech babble, and buzz words that don't exactly say what kind of services you provide immediately.

I like to see who you are and what you do within the first 10 seconds that I am on the page. Nothing turns me off more than having to go through a bunch of fluff, tagged with a "read more" link.

Read more what ? You haven't said anything yet !

A new visitor should not have to guess, or even worse, go to the "about" or "services" page to find out what you actually do. There are plenty of places that you can add additional information like company policies, employees and management, services and prices, vision for the future, Klingon proverbs, and everything else...it really shouldn't be the introductory paragraph(s).

KristineS
09-29-2009, 05:41 PM
Stuff that's just there to be cool - elaborate flash screens or intros, those stupid talking head help desk people, stuff that has no purpose but someone thinks it looks neat. Function has to come first, and a mistake a lot of people make is doing something because it looks flashy and not considering whether or not that thing impedes the function of the site.

Paper Shredder Clay
09-30-2009, 11:10 AM
I think the problem is some businesses go to cheaper web designers, who do all of the work themselves. That means the same person is copy-writing (or not), designing, and developing the site. But there is a need for research, copy-writing, designing, and developing and that usually means a team of workers.



Wow, great feedback. I'm with Bill Slawski on those images not being specified in HTML, spec'd at the wrong size, artificially resized in HTML so they look awful, ridiculous page load times, etc. I also feel the exact same way about stock photos. Well said.

With neal's comment about expanding ads, a big Amen. Closely related are those context ads that pop up when you accidently mouse over them while scrolling or reading; very, very annoying.

Vangogh's comment about centering everything is exactly why people without design skill should never attempt the DIY approach. Bad layout is a site killer. Bad sites are a business killer.

The one that hasn't been mentioned yet is bad writing. Whenever you read the words. "Welcome to our website," you can be pretty sure that you won't last another 10 seconds on the site. Jeff Sexton wrote a blog post last week (http://www.grokdotcom.com/2009/09/21/nobody-wants-to-read-your-sh/) that is very blunt, but it makes an effective point for why bad writing kills a site. Most web sites out on the Internet suffer from a terminal case of "Clients Disease" because the value of good writing is largely under estimated.

vangogh
09-30-2009, 12:44 PM
As someone who is a one person web shop I don't think the problem is in how many people are building your site. It depends more on who those people are. There are plenty of individuals who can do a very good job at most things involved in creating a website and there are teams that still do a poor job.

I think it's more that even when people hire they still tend to go toward the cheapest option or let themselves be convinced by sales pitches. Or they hire friends to help them get started. I think many people still don't understand the value of a website and so don't invest in it like they should.

I think it generally makes sense to hire a separate web designer and copywriter, but designer/developer can easily be one person. It's more the quality of the person or persons working on your site than it is the quantity.

Harold Mansfield
09-30-2009, 01:47 PM
As someone who is a one person web shop I don't think the problem is in how many people are building your site. It depends more on who those people are. There are plenty of individuals who can do a very good job at most things involved in creating a website and there are teams that still do a poor job.

I think it's more that even when people hire they still tend to go toward the cheapest option or let themselves be convinced by sales pitches. Or they hire friends to help them get started. I think many people still don't understand the value of a website and so don't invest in it like they should.

I think it generally makes sense to hire a separate web designer and copywriter, but designer/developer can easily be one person. It's more the quality of the person or persons working on your site than it is the quantity.
I have to agree. I am sure that we have all seen some horrible websites that were made by someone's friend, someone who "knows a guy", relatives, children, whatever.

People like that equate having a website to having a business card...they don't get it, and usually it takes a few months or years to go by before they listen to someone that tells them that "this is horrible".

Personally, I would never try and write the copy for someone's website. I think that is something that they need to take a personal interest in and either do it themselves or hire someone (which of course I'll recommend ) that will express what they want to say properly. After all, it is their company and no matter how much homework I do on their business, they know their company better than I do. I will of course make SEO, navigation, other kinds of suggestions that are important to what they want to accomplish.

But, as another "one man show", I don't think there's any correlation of how good a job is , compared with how many people are working on it. I would never profess to be able to develop an iPhone app, but I can outsource to someone good that can...you have to be honest about what you can do, and what you need to outsource a specialist for. Web designers have different talents...I have never met one that knew how to do everything. They usually promote themselves within their skill set, and if they are honest you know what you are getting.

Outsourcing is part of just about every business, and web designers are no different. Even large Madison Ave companies outsource certain tasks and specialties because it's just not very prevalent to find a web company that has in-house specialists that are versed in PHP, HTML, XML, Joomla, Wordpress, Drupal, Flash, Javscript, CSS, XHTML, ASP, SQL, Social Media, Mobile Apps, SEO, Copy writing, Graphic Design, Animation, Photography, Affiliate Marketing, Adwords, RSS, and everything else that businesses eventually need on the web. Most can get it all done, but doubtful that all the specialists are sitting in the same room.

The last company I worked for had 30 or so websites and blogs for different parts of the business, and an in-house team that completely sucked, had no SEO skills, used Joomla for the company blog (even though no one was particularly versed in Joomla) and knew nothing about Social Media, there was no congruency between the sites, 3 year old complaints were ranking higher than their own keyword domain..they didn't even have their promotional videos on You Tube (a 9 year old kid would have at least done that). It was a train wreck. I could have done better alone, in less time and for less money...but never go the chance, they went belly up.

iMediaConnection had a good article today about what you should look for in a web design company. I particularly appreciated their support and praise of using open source platforms, although they didn't mention WP specifically.:mad:

7 vital questions to ask your web designer - iMediaConnection.com (http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/24596.asp)

They also touch on "working in the dark". Designing a site without copy and then fitting the copy into the design, when it should actually be the other way around.

Harold Mansfield
09-30-2009, 06:18 PM
Forgot to share the link. Thank the web Gods that none of my sites have ever been featured here (and some of them should have), but Web Pages That Suck not only points out bad web design, but tells why they are bad.:
Web design techniques and principles from Web Pages That Suck - learn good web design by looking at bad web design - Home Page (http://www.webpagesthatsuck.com/)

There's also a good article about the biggest mistakes in web design:
http://www.webpagesthatsuck.com/biggest-mistakes-in-web-design-1995-2015.html#5

vangogh
10-01-2009, 02:51 AM
Web Pages that Suck is such a great site. It's fun to look through the sites and wonder how anyone thought designing some of those sites was a good idea. I actually think some of the winners are trying to build an awful site. Some you really can't see anyone honestly thinking the site was good.

cbscreative
10-01-2009, 11:30 AM
I actually think some of the winners are trying to build an awful site. Some you really can't see anyone honestly thinking the site was good.

I'm not so sure. When I was in the sign biz, my favorite issue of the trade magazine was the annual Ugly Sign Contest where people submitted the eyesores they spotted in their travels. After seeing what some business owners will put up in a lame attempt to attract business, these kinds of horrible web sites do not surprise me. That's why I love the websitesthat suck site. It's just as funny as the Ugly Sign Contest I used to enjoy.

One of the funny ones I remember is now all over the Internet:

http://www.cslacker.com/images/file/mediums/kids_with_gas_eat_free.jpg

Business Attorney
10-01-2009, 12:10 PM
I think it generally makes sense to hire a separate web designer and copywriter, but designer/developer can easily be one person. It's more the quality of the person or persons working on your site than it is the quantity.

While I think that a designer/developer can be one person, and there are probably many who do the job admirably, I wouldn't say that can happen "easily." I have hired web sites done and worked with clients that have hired websites done. In many instances I have found that the designer/developer yielded an acceptable but mediocre site. Obviously, there are a variety of factors that could cause that result, but the main reasons I have seen is:

1. The developer was reasonably skilled in some, but not all areas of development, so the design was heavily influenced by what his capabilities were as a developer. That limited the design. For example, one developer was reasonably skilled with php and css but did not really have the knowledge to create relational databases that would efficiently serve up the underlying data. He created a site design and structure that worked, but not well. If, as a designer, he was working with a clean slate and trying to get the website to do what it should, I don't think he would have made some of the choices he made.

2. Another developer was reasonably knowledgeable about design rules but applied them like the technician that he was. The result was a mundane design that would certainly never be considered for a "websites that suck" contest but did not stand out from a million similar websites. The design did not break a single design "rule" but lacked any elements that showed even an ounce of creativity.

There is no right or wrong answer. Certainly there are some individuals who can design a distinctive, memorable and effective website and also code it. I just think that in many cases, there is a trade off for one-stop shopping.

Harold Mansfield
10-01-2009, 12:35 PM
Well, I don't know too many web designers that work completely alone. Everyone I know that does some aspect of web work has associates that they can outsource to for certain specialties.
A good example is I have a guy that wants to sell his products on his website. That requires professional images of the product line. I am not a professional photographer, but I have one that has extensive experience in catalog work, so I will probably outsource that aspect to him. That doesn't make me any less of a web guy because I am not a professional photographer too.

Every website is not the same, and every build can have different technical specifications that are almost impossible to predict. You don't know until you get the work. It's not one size fits all just change the colors.

You have to remember a few years back, it seemed everyone and their mother was a website designer because it was a growing industry, perceived to be where you could make good money...just like when everyone was a Day Trader, a Mortgage Broker, a Real Estate Agent, and now it seems everyone is a Loan Modification Expert..that doesn't mean that they are any good.
____________________________

Side Note: Here in Vegas there are 50 Loan Modification companies operating. Out of the 50, none have completed the necessary steps to be licensed and certified by the state of NV, and the deadline is tomorrow.
_______________________________

There are good and bad in every industry. Just because I have had bad experiences with Lawyers and Cops, doesn't mean they are all unscrupulous.

The first step is always to know what you are looking for...you can't just blindly shop for a product and hope the one with the prettiest packaging will be what you want.

Your same argument can be made for just about any industry, even attorneys. Can one attorney be as effective as an office with a team of lawyers with different specialties ? From what I have seen attorneys outsource plenty of work, Paralegals, Doctors and Chiropractors, Land and Property appraisers and inspectors, Scientists and Expert Witnesses, and the list goes on. Does that make you any less effective in your field ?

You have to take the same due diligence when shopping for a web person as you would for any other service. The first step would be to have an idea of what you want, and what you are looking to accomplish online (most people don't have any idea).
After that, it is a lot easier to chose the right person for the job.

KristineS
10-01-2009, 01:02 PM
Websites that Suck is a great site. It's a perfect place to learn what not to do and why not to do it.

Eborg, that sign made me laugh! Too funny.

Harold Mansfield
10-01-2009, 01:30 PM
Eborg, that sign made me laugh! Too funny.

That was Steve/CBS Creative, but yeah it was funny.

billbenson
10-01-2009, 01:53 PM
The first step is always to know what you are looking for...you can't just blindly shop for a product and hope the one with the prettiest packaging will be what you want.


This is really the key. If you don't write a good spec for a site, you won't get what you want. This is also why I advocate any business owner to write a hobby site. Not for the purpose of making money, but if you can put your hobby site at the top of Google, then you probably have the skill to tell a web designer / developer what you want. If not, you are at their mercy, and it's not always the designers fault.

The other thing is I don't care if my site is on eborgs list or not. Does it get traffic, does it convert, does it make money! The webmasters that make the most money on the web in my experience are the web marketers. The other stuff may be nice and interrelated, but...

Harold Mansfield
10-02-2009, 12:24 PM
The other thing is I don't care if my site is on eborgs list or not. Does it get traffic, does it convert, does it make money! The webmasters that make the most money on the web in my experience are the web marketers. The other stuff may be nice and interrelated, but...

Well that's really a different kind of site. I have a site or 2 that I don't understand why they convert anything because they look kind of "janky", but I'm not going to change them.

Business websites operate with a completely different purpose than affiliate sites, or landing pages.
But that brings up a good point that websites have different purposes, and if you are making comparisons, it should be with sites that have the same purpose as yours...not necessarily the same industry, just the same mission.

Each company has different needs and specifications that are important to their industry and they should be satisfied on their website.

billbenson
10-02-2009, 01:15 PM
Most sites sell at least at some level. A non profit museum is still selling - they want to get visitors. But yes, I was referring to affiliate or cart sites that sell directly. Thats why I put the comment at the end that other things can be interrelated, such as graphics on an art site, be it an art gallery or selling art on line.

So, I completely agree with your comment
Each company has different needs and specifications that are important to their industry and they should be satisfied on their website.

KristineS
10-02-2009, 01:36 PM
That was Steve/CBS Creative, but yeah it was funny.

Oops sorry. Writing on the fly and not paying attention.

cbscreative
10-02-2009, 11:12 PM
Don't worry, Kristine, my feelings weren't hurt.

KristineS
10-05-2009, 01:10 PM
That's good to know. We'll chalk it up to being in a hurry and not paying close attention.

low bidder
12-01-2009, 01:37 PM
I've clicked on some sites lately that, when you try to close, it grabs you with a window "do you realy want to close this site" or something like that. I absolutely hate that. What is that and how do they do it? I clicked to close, don't make me have to do it again. Makes me not want to go back, feels like an assault.

KristineS
12-02-2009, 10:31 AM
I hate those sites too. Or the ones that won't let you click away, they just reload the site again. If I want to stay on the site I will, but if I want to leave, let me go. Forcing me to stay on the site won't make me like the site or the company any better than I would have anyway. In fact, it will most likely turn me off.

vangogh
12-02-2009, 10:59 AM
It's some javascript programming they use to open that popup when you try to navigate to a new site. The javascript keeps you from leaving until you click that you want to leave. It's not all that hard to code.

Personally I hate it. If I see that on a site it's the last time I ever visit the site. It is keeping you hostage for a few moments and says a lot about how the site views you as a person.

billbenson
12-02-2009, 01:48 PM
I was on yahoo last night. The have changed their home page to open categories on mouseovers. Even fairly rapidly moving your mouse across the screen opens a popup that blocks most of the page. I find it really annoying. I'm wondering how long it will last on Yahoo?

Harold Mansfield
04-21-2010, 02:51 AM
I had to revive this thread when I saw this site. I don't want to leave a live link :
http: //atrueprofit .com/

But ...I mean damn. Every rule written since 1993 has been broken and this person is marketing themselves as a "Web Search Google Marketing Training and Personal Branding Expert"? What ever that is supposed to be...that's a lot of buzz words strung together.
I'd hate to hear her elevator speech.

Seriously, every rule...ALL OF THEM! Right down to the gaudy pic of the Vegas Strip and she's not even in Vegas!

I know what you are thinking..."looks like an old abandoned site from back in the day", except the copyright is 2010.

Just tragic..."TRAGIC!"

Business Attorney
04-21-2010, 09:35 AM
I think to hear her elevator speech, you would need to take several elevator rides up and down the Sears Tower. Wow. Talk about throwing in everything you could. I was looking for the kitchen sink in there somewhere.

I particularly got a chuckle out of her including the Copyscape badge on her page. I don't think she needs to worry about someone copying her page.

vangogh
04-21-2010, 11:36 AM
It's the billing herself as a web marketing expert. Clearly someone hasn't really learned how the web works.

cbscreative
04-21-2010, 12:02 PM
Thanks, eborg, I can often count on you for a laugh.

KristineS
04-21-2010, 12:17 PM
Oh Good Lord! That was hideous. Do you think she gets any business off that site?

I think she's a good nominee for Websites that Suck!

Harold Mansfield
04-21-2010, 12:47 PM
Oh Good Lord! That was hideous. Do you think she gets any business off that site?


I would doubt it, but you'd be surprised. I have worked on some sites that were not as bad as that, but pretty bad and customers have told me that they got calls from it, so you never know.

With all the buzz words on the site, the owner strikes me as the type that is constantly networking and shoving business cards in people's faces.
I'd love to see some of the expressions on people's faces when they check out the site...always my biggest fear...not Google..what people will think when they go to my site.
It's a make or break first impression in a matter of seconds that you can't get back.

billbenson
04-21-2010, 04:59 PM
Don't have audio on this pc, but it looks like a get rich quick site to me, only more poorly done than most. Boggles the mind.

Harold Mansfield
04-21-2010, 05:54 PM
Don't have audio on this pc,
Awww, that's too bad, you missed the full effect...cause there's music too.

KristineS
04-21-2010, 06:12 PM
It's a make or break first impression in a matter of seconds that you can't get back.

Exactly.

As soon as I hit that site I was turned off, before I read one word about the woman or even really knew what she did. I have this conversation with people who are starting businesses all the time and think they can have their cousin's sister's grandson who is "good with computers" design their site for $25. It doesn't work that way. You have to know how websites work, how they're used, and what makes one good. Otherwise you're wasting time.

Harold Mansfield
04-21-2010, 09:00 PM
I have this conversation with people who are starting businesses all the time and think they can have their cousin's sister's grandson who is "good with computers" design their site for $25. .

That's straight out of The Oatmeal, "Why it's better to pretend you don't know anything about computers" (http://theoatmeal.com/comics/computers) but in reverse. People who have no computer skills at all think just because someone is ON a computer and knows how to use one, they can do anything with, or that has anything to do with a computer.

billbenson
04-21-2010, 10:55 PM
Awww, that's too bad, you missed the full effect...cause there's music too.

Ya, I saw the link to turn off the music. I bet even web sites for dummies would advise against that. :)

jimcro55
05-05-2010, 11:29 AM
How do I limit myself?

I'll pick a couple of things that may not be so obvious, but very much lack professionalism and convey a poor message about your site.

Centering all your text. It's natural for people to think centering text is the better option, but other than certain circumstances you're going to be better off aligning text to either the left or right, usually the left. Centering everything will leave your site looking amateurish.

A lack of whitespace. This one far too many sites do. The goal isn't to cram as much information as you can on the page. You have to give your information room to breathe. Leave space between page elements. Give padding around your text so it doesn't site up against its border. Space is a good thing.

I agree 100% with this "whitespace" idea. I cannot stand when a website is so crammed with words, print, and images that it is too much for the average persons eyes to handle at first glance. Space can be a good thing. On another note, however, I have seen some very amateur looking sites that have too much white space, so there is definitely a good middle ground here that has to be captured.

<please set up a signature>

Harold Mansfield
05-05-2010, 02:45 PM
Exactly.

As soon as I hit that site I was turned off, before I read one word about the woman or even really knew what she did. I have this conversation with people who are starting businesses all the time and think they can have their cousin's sister's grandson who is "good with computers" design their site for $25. It doesn't work that way. You have to know how websites work, how they're used, and what makes one good. Otherwise you're wasting time.


That's straight out of The Oatmeal, "Why it's better to pretend you don't know anything about computers" (http://theoatmeal.com/comics/computers) but in reverse. People who have no computer skills at all think just because someone is ON a computer and knows how to use one, they can do anything with, or that has anything to do with a computer.

Thought of this post....Yesterday a friend of mine called to see if I still had a certain domain for sale ( I didn't), but she and 2 other people I know are getting together to open a service here in town and she immediately say's,

"And we were thinking about you to build our website and set up our office computers, phone and reservation system."

:rolleyes: I"m thinking to myself, "Do you know how many completely different skill sets you have just named in one sentence? Why do you think that I know how to do all of that? Because I have a computer ?"

But honestly, if they are paying ( and this isn't a "friend hook up" kind of deal) , I'll take the job and figure the other stuff out as I go...what the heck.

AmyAllen
09-30-2010, 01:48 PM
I'm going to add to the pet peeves list: People who design their sites only using the "named colors" pallet... You know? The websites that use "lime" "aqua" and "magenta" together, because they haven't figured out how rgb or hex values work?

It reminds me of websites in the 90s. *shudder*

KristineS
09-30-2010, 01:53 PM
OOH, that's a good one. The sites that have aqua backgrounds and lime green lettering are the worst. It's such a dated look and people still use it. I'm always astonished when I see a site like that.

rdcclu
09-30-2010, 04:13 PM
Here's a few that get under my skin...

1. Having a video automatically play.
2. Using a tiling background of the site's logo.
3. Black background and white text.
4. Testimonials signed, John H. - Dallas
5. Sales pages that take 7 clicks to leave the site. Yes, I'm sure I'm not interested.

greenoak
09-30-2010, 05:23 PM
my site is home made....but anyway
i hate going to a site and it doesnt show enough on the first page...if i have to click 3 times to see what they are about, im out of there...
also hate it when some business that HAS MY EMAIL, which i gave them ..AND HAS SOLD TO ME.... makes me register ...
im showing my webmistress all these answers....we might work on some parts of ours in january..
ann.

dojo
11-13-2010, 12:56 PM
One thing: Popups. Now everybody and their dog has an aweber account and wants everyone to subscribe. So, the moment you land on that wonderful site, you're getting a nice pop up in your nose. And some have taken it to another level, by having an exit popup, that says "are you sure you want to leave". Oh, yea, and never come back.

Others: music that starts "playing" when I arrive on the site. It takes me one second to leave and a lifetime to return. And many many ads. Some people are so desperate, it's painful. And blogspot blogs. When I see such a blog, I just leave. If one cannot pay 10 bucks a domain and 2-3 / month for a minimal hosting plan, I have nothing to see there. Commenting on such blogs is a pain and I don't have time for this.

vangogh
11-14-2010, 11:14 PM
Oh yeah. Did we forget to mention pop ups in this thread. Actually pop unders are much more annoying. I am getting tired of every site having a new window pop up asking me to subscribe before I've even had 2 seconds to check out the site. Before asking me to sign up for anything how about letting me see if I like your site first.

KristineS
11-15-2010, 02:01 PM
Here's a few that get under my skin...

5. Sales pages that take 7 clicks to leave the site. Yes, I'm sure I'm not interested.

Hate that one with a passion. I'm with you, if I'm not interested, I'm not interested. Making me say it fifteen times is not going to make me change my mind.

KristineS
11-15-2010, 02:03 PM
One thing: Popups. Now everybody and their dog has an aweber account and wants everyone to subscribe. So, the moment you land on that wonderful site, you're getting a nice pop up in your nose. And some have taken it to another level, by having an exit popup, that says "are you sure you want to leave". Oh, yea, and never come back.



That's another one that gets me too! I see it on a lot of blogs now. I'm trying to read a post and a pop up shows up right over top of the text I'm trying to read and wants me to sign up for a newsletter or something. Drives me mad! I have never once signed up for a newsletter when the sign up was offered by a pop up. If you want me to sign up, impress me with your knowledge and good content and then ask me when I'm done reading.

dojo
11-16-2010, 01:52 PM
What I don't understand is why people try to get their visitors OUT OF THE SITE? Seriously. Facebook, Twitter, RSS subscription, anything so that you're not staying there to read the content. It's baffling. Not to mention I've "tested" some of these super-duper "subscribe to find the secret of the Universe Creation" and it's plain spam and advertising. Thank God I've used a "spam" email. This is why I know 99.9&#37; of all that junk offered if you subscribe is just that: junk. And, when I see those popups advertising this junk it really gets me going :D

KristineS
11-16-2010, 02:32 PM
I think a lot of this stuff gets pushed as a great way to add value or to capitalize on a visit. Content should be king, but it often isn't that way. People building sites and blogs get so caught up in all the latest bells and whistles they could have that they don't stop to think whether those bells and whistles actually add any value.

jamesray50
11-16-2010, 06:39 PM
I think you all have about touched on everything. I hate when I am doing a search and the page I land on is not what I am searching for and I click the x to close and the window pops up asking if I am sure I want to close. Click OK if I do or Cancel to stay on the page. I already clicked the x which meant that I wanted to close. I hate those type of websites.

vangogh
11-17-2010, 11:01 AM
Oh yeah, those are annoying. I don't need to be asked again and again if I want to leave a site. I do. That's why I clicked to go somewhere else. Do people really think that last second popup is going to actually change your mind?

Harold Mansfield
11-17-2010, 11:28 AM
I do remember a time...ONE TIME...that I wanted to join something...some kind of image or design club and the price was $20, and I didn't want to pay that much for what it offered and one of those "Are you sure.." boxes popped up and offered it for $10 and I took it.
That was once, probably a year or 2 ago. But for the most part they are pretty much always annoying. Especially the ones that say "Click OK to stay on the same page"..it takes a couple of times to realize that they flipped the switch. Most people are used to clicking OK to continue on.

vangogh
11-17-2010, 11:36 AM
A better offer at the last second is something I could see. The downside is more to the site as it'll quickly train people never to take their first offer and always to leave looking for the better last second deal.

Spider
11-17-2010, 02:45 PM
I always worry about those, "Do you really want to leave. Click to continue.." things. We don't know what's behind that click. Clicking OK could trigger a "Click OK to download this virus I'm about to send you?!!!" -- I click the little red cross, in the hope that doesn't download the virus. Sometimes, if I'm really suspicious, I'll just do an emergency close-down -- hit the power switch on the computer. Then I worry if just turning off the power like that isn't doing some other damage.

Maybe I just worry too much

Harold Mansfield
11-17-2010, 10:18 PM
I always worry about those, "Do you really want to leave. Click to continue.." things. We don't know what's behind that click. Clicking OK could trigger a "Click OK to download this virus I'm about to send you?!!!" -- I click the little red cross, in the hope that doesn't download the virus. Sometimes, if I'm really suspicious, I'll just do an emergency close-down -- hit the power switch on the computer. Then I worry if just turning off the power like that isn't doing some other damage.

Maybe I just worry too much

No you don't. There used to be plenty out there that were like that. It's pretty hard to do now since most search engines and browsers are pretty good about killing sites that link to questionable scripts and viruses. It's almost unheard of now. But it used to be a real problem in the earlier days of the web. There is a whole industry based on installs...how many computers you can install a script on. There still is, but now they hide them in free music and movie downloads and games.

vangogh
11-17-2010, 10:33 PM
Yeah, but you could say the same thing about any link on the web. You really don't know what's behind anything you click whether or it's a popup wanting you to stay or an ordinary looking link or even something random that you didn't realize would do anything until you accidentally clicked on it.

That's why building trust is so important online.

Spider
11-18-2010, 10:01 AM
... and making you sure you stay in upscale neighborhoods and avoid the slum areas, especially the red light districts!

cbscreative
11-18-2010, 04:23 PM
Personally, I recommend being very careful with any kind of freebies. I get alerts nearly every day from my security software warning of "bad sites." These usually aren't because of the site itself, but things on the site. Sometimes it even appears to be embedded into the ads on the site which seem to link to bad neighborhoods.

One of the common offenders appear to be those free scripts people use to add functionality to their site (like slideshows, calendars, and other goodies). The DIY sites are the most prone to those. From what I can tell, the app has some kind of coding that includes a payload the site owner never anticipated. Usually, my security just blocks the payload, but every once in a while I get a security screen that tells me it refuses to open the page at all.

I'm happy that I avoid getting any infections this way, but it's taught me to advise anyone to be very cautious before adding free apps you find out on the Internet. If it's for your own computer, then you suffer alone unless it was designed to spread, which many are. If you use these for your business site, you could end up infecting your visitors computers. That goes way beyond annoying.