5 Stuff That You Should NOT Do/Have If You’re Serious About Your Site
Posted by Mike | Filed under MiscellaneousMany people think that fancy stuff are so cool that they add too much to their sites. What they don’t know is that those shiny add-ons are just overrated (by them) and are hated by many — especially by serious professionals.
Here are 5 things that your website should not have (or you should not do) if you want your layout to look neat.
Do not automatically play background music. BGMs are hated by many. Why? If workers/employees visit your site and your super funky BGM plays, their bosses might reprimand them. Also, some people just like to have some peace and quiet in their working place so please give them that.
If you really like to have a BGM, just put a small play button so your visitors can freely choose if they want some music or not.
Do not use glittery images. Most kids and/or teens find them cool, flashy and eye-catching. The truth behind those glittery images is that… *drumroll* THEY’RE SUPER ANNOYING. Most professionals hate the twinkling stars and shiny bright lights. They prefer clean, serious images instead of glamorous GIFs with a lot of effects. Stay away from those and you should be safe.
Do not make an all-flash website. Oh… so you think that a flash website looks cool and elegant, huh? Well, think again. Not all web surfers are using a broadband connection, some are stuck with dial-up. If your site is loading slowly and your visitors are pissed off already, expect them to leave.
Also take note that search engines can only read text, not flash. So for them to read your content, you need to have it as text.
Do not use weird avatars as your personal picture. If you have an about page, do not ever use anime avatars or the like as your picture! Your visitors will label you as a person who’s just wasting their time. If you don’t want your face to be seen, just don’t put any pictures in your about page.
Do not stick with the old-fashion style. Ummm… guys, in case you don’t know, there’s this thing called web 2.0 design… Most web designs are now high-tech looking and professional, so please don’t use MS Paint to make your header, don’t use frames to separate your content, and don’t do stuff that are considered out of date. Just go with the flow… Go with the flow…
Great tips! I very much agree with the 4th tip, many bloggers nowadays are using avatars and they think it’s cool… but actually, it’s not.
And hey, I like your last lines… “Just go with the flow… go with the flow…”
Also: Don’t fill up your blog with YouTube videos. A video here or there is okay, but not your entire site. Sheesh!
Thanks MShock for the positive comment. Heh, I heard “Go with the flow” when I was writing the post so… there… I put it. For
posterity purposesmore emphasis on the tip.Yes, I agree with you, Matt. Blogs should have a lot of CONTENT, not VIDEOS.
Those are good tips, most of those things just make you appear like you are new at creating websites. The only one I don’t agree with is the last. A site doesn’t have to look modern or high tech to be successful, just look at Google and all of their apps. They are all so simple looking, yet they are very popular.
Hi webd360, it is true that Google’s site is simple, but I’m talking about the web 2.0 style here. What I’m pointing out is that you should not have a crappy looking layout (with the frames and all those).
Excellent tips. More often than not the primary purpose is forgotten. The fact that the site should help the user is overlooked and the user gets frustrated with all the so called ‘add ons’