mini rant on web design
Mar. 17th, 2004 03:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
timepiececlockThere's something that just bugs the fuck out of me on websites, especially some fandom sites.
Little unlabelled boxes for links.
A site will have an attractive background, and on the side or the top or the bottom will be a row of little boxes or circles or some other button-shape that have no labels.
What the fuck? That causes confusion and stress on my part. I either have to hover my mouse over the tiny box link for several seconds to see what it is, or I have to click it and hope it's the link I want.
It's supposed to be styish or something... but really it's just annoying.
If I navigate a website it has to be clear and easy to navigate, or 8 times out of 10, I won't bother.
I say this as a person who doesn't own any websites, but traffics a lot of them: The best sites are both attractive and functional with zero stress on my part. A site that causes even the smallest increment of frustration or confusion is flawed in its basic design.
Little unlabelled box links in rows cause stress on my part. I don't want to be stressed by the internet. I want to enjoy the internet.
(I feel like I should add a disclaimer here saying that this isn't a knock on any particular person's site, because a lot of sites do this. If you have a site that does this, well... I'm sure it's pretty. But pretty isn't enough for me if looking around becomes a troublesome act.)
Little unlabelled boxes for links.
A site will have an attractive background, and on the side or the top or the bottom will be a row of little boxes or circles or some other button-shape that have no labels.
What the fuck? That causes confusion and stress on my part. I either have to hover my mouse over the tiny box link for several seconds to see what it is, or I have to click it and hope it's the link I want.
It's supposed to be styish or something... but really it's just annoying.
If I navigate a website it has to be clear and easy to navigate, or 8 times out of 10, I won't bother.
I say this as a person who doesn't own any websites, but traffics a lot of them: The best sites are both attractive and functional with zero stress on my part. A site that causes even the smallest increment of frustration or confusion is flawed in its basic design.
Little unlabelled box links in rows cause stress on my part. I don't want to be stressed by the internet. I want to enjoy the internet.
(I feel like I should add a disclaimer here saying that this isn't a knock on any particular person's site, because a lot of sites do this. If you have a site that does this, well... I'm sure it's pretty. But pretty isn't enough for me if looking around becomes a troublesome act.)
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no subject
Date: 2004-03-17 06:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-03-17 08:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-03-17 09:16 pm (UTC)you, me, other, more
hello? what?
Sun
no subject
Date: 2004-03-17 09:37 pm (UTC)Happiness, however, is a listing for somone you don't like -- someone who thinks he's a hot-shit web designer -- on a site where people nominate the worst examples of what you described. And he's in the lead.
(No, it's not someone in fandom, but it was a definite giggle moment.)
no subject
Date: 2004-03-17 10:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-03-18 07:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-03-18 08:39 pm (UTC)