Web Browsing Pet Peeves

What I hate about the Web

Browsing the Web is always an adventure because you never know where you'll end up. Unfortunately, there are lots of things along the way that make your trip less than pleasant. In this document I've compiled a list of my pet peeves -- things that make Web browsing more annoying than it should be.

They are in no particular order -- except that #1 is really #1.

Note: This was written in 2000, and I've made minor edits and additions since then.. 

<RANT> 

1. Displaying pop-up windows

There is nothing worse than connecting to a site and being greeted by a new pop-up window trying to sell you something. I'm sure 99% of the people never bother to read these damn things. They simply click the Close button automatically and continue on their way. This, by the way, is my #1 gripe. I've solved this problem by keeping scripting turned off in the "Internet zone." In the unlikely event that I encounter a worthwhile site that requires scripting, I add it to my "Trusted zone" and reload the page. Using this technique, I've reduced the incidence of pop-up windows to about one per month.

Update: Problem solved, thanks to Firefox.

2. Messing with the Back button

The Back button is there for a purpose -- to go back to where you came from. Just because you make it difficult for me to leave your site doesn't mean I'm going to spend more time there.

3. Opening a new window when you click a link

What am I, stupid? If I want to open a new window I'll do it myself by pressing Shift while I click your link. I will admit, that there are a few situation where opening a new window is a good idea. But 90% of the time, it's simply annoying.

Update: Problem solved, thanks to Firefox.

4. Stale content

How many times have you seen a web page that looks promising, but the author concludes with something like, "The latest results will be posted as soon as they become available." And, of course, the page is already 2-3 years old.

5. Playing music

Enough! If I want to listen to music while I surf the Web, I'll put on a CD or listen to a webcast. Nobody wants to hear your cheesy MIDI files.

6. Transition effects

I really hate it when Web designers use those obnoxious transition effects when a page loads or unloads. All it does it slow things down -- and make the designer look like an amateur. Fortunately, you can disable this completely with IE.

Update: Problem solved, thanks to Firefox.

7. Business that use "free home pages"

Let's see. You run a business and can't afford to pay $15 a month for a "real" web site? Hmmm...

8. Missing page titles

How many sites have you visited that display "Insert Title Here" or "New Page" on the title bar?

9. Banner ads that look like dialog boxes

I think I've clicked only 5-6 banner ads in my entire life. I'm certainly not stupid enough to mistake an ad for a dialog box. And even if I were, I'm not going to think very highly of the company that tricked me into coming there! The main culprit is bonzi.com.

Update: Problem solved, thanks to Firefox.

10. Using a "splash screen"

What a waste of time. I didn't come to your site to see your logo. Why make me click again to get to the content? Or worse, make me sit through some worthless animation?

11. Using trailing mouse pointers

Egads! Whoever came up this feature should be shot at sunrise.

Update: Problem solved, thanks to Firefox.

12. Any text that moves

'Nuff said. OK, stock tickers are an exception.

13. Misleading content

Although search engines are getting smarter, they can still be deceived by people who load their web page with keywords that have nothing to do with the actual content. These people should be banned from the Web -- for life.

14. Using hit counters

Does anybody besides the owner of the page really care how many hits a site gets? And does anybody really think those hit counters are accurate?

Update: I have a hit counter on my blog.

15. Using gratuitous background images

If you must have a background image on your Web page, use something simple that doesn't affect readability of the text. Please! Please! Please!

16. Using static backgrounds (watermarks)

Scroll the page and the background image remains fixed. This is guaranteed to make the text more difficult to read. And if the page is even moderately complex, it's going to affect performance.

17. Continual site reorganization

It's annoying to bookmark a particular page and then find that your bookmark no longer works after a few weeks. microsoft.com is, by far, the worst offender in this category.

18. Useless searches

Ever try to find something at a megasite such as www.microsoft.com? Forget it. It has search buttons all over the place, but none of them seem capable of locating what you're really looking for.

Tip: The most efficient way to search for something at microsoft.com is to use Google. Just add this to your search term(s): "site:microsoft.com".

19. Lose the "download xxx browser now!" buttons

If you really must create a site that only works with a particular browser, say so and I'll leave right away. Nobody is going to download and install a browser just so they can view your Web site.

20. Putting text in a graphic

If you want people to read something on your site, use normal text. Do not (I repeat, do not) create a graphic image from your text and display the image.

21. Don't mess with the status bar

When I hove the mouse over a hyperlink, I like to check the status bar to see the URL. And this doesn't work if you insist on displaying your own useless text in the status bar.  

22. Displaying an email address that is ignored

Why bother? It's better to have no email address than to list one that never replies back.

23. Mouse-overs

If something on your site changes when I move the mouse cursor on it, you can pretty much bet on the fact that I find it annoying. OK, changing the color of hyperlinks is an exception to this rule. But changing the text size of the hyperlinks is a sure sign that that site was designed by a moron.

24. Pop-up alert boxes

Just because you know how to program a pop up Alert box using JavaScript doesn't mean you should -- especially if its only purpose is to welcome me to your site. Sheesh! But I've solved this problem (see #1, above).

25. Dead links

It goes without saying...

26. Inviting me to bookmark your site

Thanks, but no thanks. If I want to bookmark your site, I know how to do it. And for god's sake, please don't ask me if I want to make your site my start page! I also know how to do that.

27. Small-time sites that try to look like a huge corporation

You really aren't fooling anybody. And why would you want to?

28. Sites that require you to register and "log in"

Unless it's some type of pay site, why bother? And who, except for a complete Web newbie, would actually provide an email address just because a web site asks for it? Most people are probably like me, and enter a bogus HotMail address.

29. Slow servers

If the page doesn't come up in 8-10 seconds, I'm outta there. All servers have occasional problems, but if the sit is consistently slow, it's time to look for a new host.

30. Sites that don't understand the concept of "thumbnail" images

A thumbnail is a smaller version of a graphic file. It does absolutely no good to use the Height and Width parameter of the <IMG> take to make a full-size photo appear smaller.

31. People who tell me to "Get paid to surf"

Forget it. Just because you're an idiot, don't try to convert me into one.

Update: Fortunately, this has pretty much gone away.

32. Bad color combinations

As a web designer, you can control the text color and the background color. It seems that some designers go out of their way to make text as difficult as possible to read. Dark text on light backgrounds is the best. Light text on dark backgrounds gets annoying very quickly. Putting dark text on a dark background is a sign of a brain-dead designer.

33. Sites that have no real content

I'm thinking about 30% of all web sites fall into this category.

34. Sites that are "Under Construction"

It's very simple: If your site is not ready, don't put it up.

35. Putting too much on a single page

Some people just haven't discovered that a web site can consist of more than one document.

36. Overusing animated GIFs

OK, one per page may be acceptable. Anything more and the site looks like a freakin' circus.

37. Sites that try to be a movie

The Web is not a movie theater. Nobody want to watch animations about your company.

38. Sites that have a guest book

Who came up with this idea? Every guest book that I've read contains stupid comments or disparaging remarks about the web site.

39. Web developers who think everyone uses the same screen resolution they do

Web pages should be designed to accommodate any video resolution.

40. Sites that require JavaScript

I keep active scripting turned off. I'm continually amazed by the number of sites that simply display a blank page if JavaScript is not enabled.

Update: Problem solved, thanks to Firefox.

41. Sites that prohibit "deep linking"

Some sites want you to link only to their main entry page so you can view all of their ads. These sites almost always have a "terms of use" section that describes the policy. Yeah, right.

42. Link And Image Overload

Daniel Bond pointed this one out, and I couldn't agree more. The problem: Sites that have so many links and clickable images that it's almost impossible to click on the page without activating a link. People who use a scroll wheel mouse will relate to this. You need to search and search to find a "safe" place to click so you can commence scrolling. Sites like amazon.com and pcworld.com come to mind. I just looked at a random product page at Amazon. It had 182 links and 92 images!

43. Inappropriate Use Of Flash

It's not that Flash sucks. Flash certainly has its place on the Web. It's great for games and special types of presentations. But in the vast majority of cases, it simply doesn't work when it makes up an entire site. Why? (1) The text is not resizable, (2) The window itself is not resizable, (3) It's impossible to link to a particular part of the site, (4) It's usually very slow, and (5) Flash designers have a tendency to reinvent the wheel and come up with all sorts of weird navigational systems.

44. Sites that change my browser window size

What makes you think that your site is so important that it must fill up my entire 1600 x1200 screen?

</RANT>

Original content © 2009, John Walkenbach