A phrase that we hear a lot in our industry is: 'Content is King' and we couldn't agree enough. Together with functionality and design, content is the key to an effective, useful and successful website, however the coding and presentation of that content is a major factor - here are some do's and (please!) don't's compliments of our techies...
1. Background Music – With 60% of surfing occurring at work, any kind of sound emanating from a site is a big click for the X at the top of the browser. Only in some very rare cases is background music acceptable. Going online is like reading a newspaper. If the user wants music on in the background they will put it on themselves. You wouldn't expect to open The Times and for it to play one of those annoying musical birthday card tunes at you, would you?
2. Using Frames – Very confusing for users and does not allow for book-marking Incredibly bad practice for SEO and many browsers cannot print pages appropriately.
3. Orphan Pages – Never let a user be stuck on a page with no way out. Always link back to the previous page or have standard navigation running through the site. It's like running through a field, only to have a sheep pen placed around you with no gate. Anyone left viewing an orphan page is sure of closing the browser and less likely to return to the site again.
4. Opening New Windows – Users want to be in control of their web experience. Opening new windows or tabs is usually unexpected and create an air of unease about your site. Obviously, pop-ups appear in new windows/tabs, and are seen as annoying, frustrating and potentially harmful to your computer.
5. Unclear Link Text – Consistency is key here. Linked text should be clear and easy to spot.
6. Font Usage – At most you should probably be using 3-4 fonts on a page, but the fewer the better.
7. Splash Images – A user will probably want to get to information in the quickest way possible. Why do they need an extra click to get to the gold?
8. Moving Navigation – A site's usability is crucial to customer retention. A user wants an anchor, somewhere they will know where to go if they get lost. If navigation is moving from place to place from page to page frustration sets in very quickly and bounce rates increase.
9. Using Clip Art – This is one of our biggest pet hates. The web is about putting content out there so that users can retrieve helpful information relatively quickly.
10. Long Download Times – In an age where speed is everything (well, with most things anyway!) huge file sizes that the user is not expecting are bad practice. In the mid-90's a 15-second page loading rule was applied, this has reduced to 8-seconds. If your page doesn't load in 8-seconds or less, the user is more likely to click that back button.
So there you have it; If your site is guilty of any of the above 'HTML Horrors', then consider your wrists slapped by our techie team! On a lighter note, if you are worried that your site is in need of some TLC, then why not contact us for some free, friendly advice.
Back to news
Published by AC, 26 March 2009
