Because I do a tremendous amount of online research and develop Web sites, I probably surf the Web more than most people. But I figure I can’t be alone in my distaste for certain "features" of the Web sites out there in cyberspace. I’m starting to develop quite a laundry list of things I’d like to NEVER see again on the Web. Here they are in no particular order:
1. Broken internal site links and under construction pages. Sites that you link to outside of your own can change, so I can accept those types of broken links. But come on, if you can’t figure out the links in your own site, that’s just lame. If a page on the site isn’t done, I don’t need a page to tell me that. Just leave it off.
2. Stupid Microsoft Publisher sites that are nothing more than a cut up gigantic graphic. They take forever to download and they’re just a sad excuse for a Web site.
3. Dumb and gratuitous Flash or JavaScript. An opening animation might be mildly interesting the first time. After that it’s just annoying.
4. Font size screw ups. Sadly, they are almost always developed by isolated Mac developers who don’t bother to proof their sites on PCs. (I’m not being hostile; they often proudly say "developed on a Mac" on the site.)
5. Music. Playing music without asking first is just plain rude. It freaks out my dogs and me. I’ve actually turned off the sound on my computer because this obnoxious trend actually seems to be increasing. Oh the horror.
Of course, bad color combinations and ugly design abound, but not everyone has the same aesthetic sense, so they don’t bother me as much. But the big 5 are making me think that there’s probably a market for an "anti-bookmark" which would be a list of sites that are just too bad to ever be subjected to again.