mini rant on web design

[timepiececlock]

There'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.)

Comments

[scarlettfish.livejournal.com]

I hate that too. The best websites are clear and simple, in my opinion. Sure, they can have pretty pictures, but not to the extent where the pretty pictures take up most of the page and all of the info is crammed up in a corner. The simpler and cleaner the page looks, the better.

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

I agree... too busy is bad. But business it;sef is noth the problem, if it's well-designed. Above all the text has to be legible against the background, and there has to _be_ text in the first place.