You can dress to kill and you can literally Dress to KILL. That is the
case with a quite a handful of websites that try to dress up so overtly
that they end up killing the traffic altogether.
In a bid to
include fancy features, website designers end up including elements
that irritate the visitors and make them go away never to return back.
Here are some common design elements that don't go too well with the
internet users and should rather be avoided.
1. Pop -Ups
Be it advertisements or the small windows that get displayed when you
hover the mouse over a link, any form of pop-up goes bad with the web
users. Pop-ups not only come in the way but also disrupt the smooth
browsing experience. Make sure you avoid the use of pop-ups on your
website and ensure that your visitors have a seamless navigation
experience without any 'popping' hindrance.
2. Pop-Up Windows
Just like pop-up ads, pop-up windows are a strict no-no, especially in
the age of tabbed versions of IE and Firefox. Nothing annoys visitors
more than the browser taking liberties to open new windows. There are
situations where you would want to retain the current page, like when
you provide a link to some other web page and don't want visitors to
leave yours. In such scenarios, open the new web page in a new tab but
not in a new window altogether. After all, it the visitors choice how
and where they want to view the web pages. Let them navigate as and how
they want.
3. Snapshot Pop-Ups
This is yet another
member of the abhorring pop-up family. Often websites that display
links to other websites have an accompanying pop-up preview snapshot of
the same. The idea may be good, but in functionality in hinders the
browsing experience. They are obtrusive and have no value addition to
it. Unless it is a visual galore, why would anyone want to see how a
website looks like anyways?
4. Hidden Search Box
The
search box is one of the most used features of a website. It takes the
visitors to the desired information instantly without having to
navigate through various links. And the search box needs to be placed
at an easily visible place on the web page (ideally on the top right
corners) Placing it anyplace else where uses would have to work hard to
find it just irritates them.
5. Dark Backgrounds
There are some extremely beautiful designs with dark backgrounds.
However, it cannot get as lucky every time. Dark backgrounds can hamper
read of a website and make visitors strain their eyes to make sense of
the contents. If you must use dark backgrounds, make sure you make the
text extremely readable. However, it easier opting for a dark-on-light
combination.
6. Audio Scripts
Music is good but
websites are not the best places to play unrestrained music. Nothing
irritates visitors more than having to listen to blaring music and
having no way to put an end to it. If at all you want to include music
on your website, make sure you provide your visitors an option to turn
it off.
7. Intrusive Subscription Requests
Subscription requests can act like nagging and cribbing kids. They
intrude the browsing experience and disrupt the smooth flow of
navigation. Don't make your subscription messages pester your audience
lest they succeed in irritating them out of the website.
To
retain your visitors and ensure them a rich browsing experience, make
sure you avoid these design elements completely and create a website
that is clean and inviting.