I thought I’d explore a more conventional and structured approach to the traditional rant. So here goes, a few things that bug me (quite a lot) when surfing the web:
Before I begin, please note that these opinions are my own – I hope I don’t upset anyone!
Unconventional navigation
Navigation is probably the most essential aspect of a website, it’s layout and usability is of absolute importance and must not be mistook for "just another element". Conventions are there for a reason; so that people know what the hell to do when landing on your homepage. Don’t try and be clever!
People always try and be too clever by extending they’re company’s tagline or motto into the navigation. Here are some examples of BAD NAVIGATION:
- PURPOSE | TRUST | PRIDE | RESPONSIBILITY | SCALE | FUN
- WHAT WE DO | WHAT WE’VE DONE | WHAT WE’RE THINKING | WHO WE ARE
- SURFACE | SUBSTANCE | SPEAK
While you may be able to decipher the meaning behind each navigation item they are definitely not conventional; Mr and Mrs Average wouldn’t find it very easy! I imagine navigating through websites with naming like that shown above would be easiest for children or people who’ve never touched the internet; it’s these people who have no preconceptions about how the internet works and what the conventions are.
Here’s a "translated" version of the above examples:
- ABOUT US | PORTFOLIO | NEWS | POLICIES | JOBS | GAMES
- SERVICES | PORTFOLIO | BLOG | ABOUT US
- HOMEPAGE | ARTICLES | FORUM
The difference between the two versions is clear; it only takes an impulsive millisecond to understand the latter set while it takes a great deal longer to understand the original set!
This isn’t just conversation; I genuinely get bugged by this kind of thing – people trying to be too clever, especially when there are conventions in place.
Over responsiveness
First rule of engagement: If you’re going to give something a hover state then it should be clickable! A hover state of any type, whether it’s a change in colour or underlined text, insinuates that the element can be clicked. The only time I find this acceptable is with tabular data, it’s useful when an entire row is highlighted because it allows you to see corresponding columns clearly. Most other scenarios bug the hell out of me!
Also, I hate when a website attempts to anticipate what I’m going to do. An example of this would be when buttons trigger events onMouseDown instead of onClick.
Functionless Controls
These are normally a result of a lack of degradability. When something looks like a button and I click it and nothing happens I get annoyed (and I’d imagine most people would too!). So, please make sure JavaScript controls are not visible when JavaScript is not enabled.
Ego Inflation Badges
What’s an ego inflation badge? – Well, here are some examples:
Feedburner stats will soon be seen in the same light as those hideous web counter LCD displays you used to find in website footers. Yes, they’re popular now but soon everyone will realize just how tacky they are. Yes, they can be integrated quite nicely into the design of a site but that doesn’t mean they’re any less egotistical.
As for the valid XHTML/CSS nonsense, I cannot stand them! Validation means nothing, it is only a means to crush bugs and any browser issues you may be experiencing, beyond that it’s just a totally unnecessary formality. If you have one of those ‘valid…’ badges a the bottom of your site, get rid of it! I used to have one ages ago but I soon came to realize how utterly pointless they are. If you do insist on having one then at least make sure your pages are actually valid! (otherwise it’s like you going to an anti-fur rally wearing a fox scarf!)
Donate!
I hate exiting the supermarket and seeing an old guy with a charity tin muttering words of plead right in my face! But I manage to walk past without punching him in the face because I say to myself, "It’s for charity; a noble cause". But I definitely draw the line when it’s not for charity – i.e. those massive Paypal donate buttons on personal websites. I’m totally okay with it on open-source projects but when it’s on somebody’s personal portfolio or blog I get annoyed. Having a ‘donate’ button (of any type) on your personal website suggests three things:
- "I’m so crap at my job that I can’t get money by conventional means"
- "I think I’ve helped you so much through my witty blog posts that you should pay me!"
- "This new ‘donate’ button will make me look more professional!"
Would Jeff Atwood suddenly start demanding money to continue blogging? No! So you shouldn’t either!
I think the ‘ego-inflation’ badges are rather ugly, take up quite a lot of space, and don’t necessarily communicate that much to the average user. The first thing I do when I see them is to validate the page, and I’m never that surprised when it doesn’t validate
I absolutely detest those preview thingies that pop-up when you hover a link… somebody help me here, I don’t know what they’re called, but they show a little preview of the website before you’ve clicked the link. The preview slows the site down, is obtrusive and the preview aspect is a misnomer.
I also dislike quotes on websites. Typically they are from eminent scientists or philosophers, but to me, their inclusion is rather tacky and annoying.
I know as soon as I click your ‘Submit Comment’ button, I’ll think of about five more things!
Hi Shane, do you mean these things? – http://www.snap.com/ – I hate them so much!!
Yep – they’re the ones. I bet I hate them more than you
Great article. But what about intrusive ads? There’s the noisy flash banners (usually for free smilies), the ones that turn every keyword in the content into a link for more info with a preview hover as mentioned above (no examples sorry), or even twisting the content through ads as seen here (http://www.pctipsbox.com/how-to-disable-the-automatic-restart-on-system-failure-in-windows-vista/)
@Rick, yeh, I forgot to mention ads. Most people hate them though; I wanted to be original!
– But you’re totally right – those ‘context/keyword’ ads are damn annoying!
About useless badges, ok, can be; It’s useless space.
…Validation means nothing… I absolutly NOT agree with you with this!
Browser renders are build over standards (apart IE microshit), and have a page without errors helps to get the maximum speed in rendering and maximum compatibility.
Your site has tons of errors and looking into page sources reveals several bad programming attitudes.
@Alex, I never mentioned standards. I’m only talking about validation and what it means to the average website visitor, i.e. Nothing! Also, what do you mean “tons of errors” – Validating this page only reveals one error…
Side scroll…even just a little bit.
Huge ads that take up the first half of the page (a la smashing magazine, thank you adblock plus).
Splash pages…all of them.
Pink backgrounds.
Little images that float around.
Cursor images.
Flash ‘content’ that sit above (and subsequently hide) navigation dropdown menus.
Blogs entries titled ‘Intro to jQuery’ (especially when written by someone who just started using it)
Links that when hovered turn bold and makes things jump around (or causes a new line)