This is a list of items that I, and many others, do not like to see on websites. Consider this when you’re designing a site, because it’s important. So what if someone doesn’t like it? Well, there are tons of websites out there, and unless you’re the only website selling your product or service, you should care. Some things on this list will cause me to automatically leave a website, regardless of what is on it.

1. Under construction signs - Why? Why do you want to take a visitor to a page that only contains a message that there is nothing on this page? Better to have a message when they hover that tells the visitor that option is not yet available. Or, perhaps leave the option off entirely until it’s ready. Just don’t make me go to a page for no reason.
2. Stock pictures of people made out to be employees or customers. I don’t even know why websites think this will attract my attention.
3. Ad pages that you’re forced to view when you click on a link. I may stay on a site that does it, generally because I need to be there. But still, I find it irritating.
4. Splash pages. In the early days of the web, these were common. I even confess to having created one many, many years ago. But they truly serve no purpose. To those who think they impress the visitor - They don’t.
5. “This site best viewed in ” - This sentence is usually completed with some version of IE. I don’t know why they would create a site that is best viewed in only one browser. That just speaks to the shortcomings of the developer. And it doesn’t take into account the fact that many people can’t or don’t use IE. I work on a Mac. The last version of IE created for a Mac is 5.2. It has a copyright date of 2001. Microsoft has decided not to update IE for the Mac. Because of its age, IE for Mac no longer works well with most sites. And that’s just the Mac users. There are other operating systems as well as other people who prefer other browsers to IE.
6. Sites that feel the need to adjust your browser’s window size. I think these sites are misguided in their intent. They are trying to accommodate lower resolution PCs by making the window larger - so that the entire site can be seen. But it irritates me when they do that. I have a fairly high resolution monitor. I like my screen arranged the way it is. If you insist on messing with it, I’m going to insist on going elsewhere.
7. Sites that check if you are running IE and won’t let you in if you aren’t. I’ve even heard that some sites are already insisting that you run IE7. This is an extension of item 5, but it is worse. Suggesting that a site is best viewed in IE is one thing. But not letting me in unless I’m running IE? I cannot imagine a website that I would want to get to bad enough that I would change computers in order to visit. This is further evidence of developers with a limited knowledge of web development.
8. Flash and other moving things - even animated GIFs. This is much more than a preference. I suffer from migraines. The motion on a page can trigger a migraine for me. There are also many people that are bothered by motions for other reasons - such as those with epilepsy and cognitive disorders. If your website has much motion on it, many people, myself included, will have to leave your site immediately.
9. Websites that play a video ad when you first get to them. This is so annoying. If nothing else, consider the fact that your visitor might be somewhere that they don’t want sound playing - at work, a coffee shop, etc. There is a local website that had a video ad for a car dealer on it. It took me several visits before I even associated the voice with the ad. So, not only was it annoying, but it was ineffective advertising.
10. Music and Sound - If you’re a musician, I can understand having music on your site. Even then, it’s annoying if I’m not expecting it. If you have music, provide me an option to turn it off. Better still, provide the option to turn it ON and leave it off by default. And please, never have someone start talking to me. I’m not going to listen anyway because I’ll be busy hitting the Back button! More importantly, consider those who are visually impaired. They use screen readers such as JAWS in order to ‘view’ a website. If you have sound playing automatically, it could interfere with their reader. This would make your website inaccessible to those with vision problems.

If you notice, many of the items on my list refer to advertising. It annoys me that advertisers are turning the web into an commercial nightmare. There are better ways. Use text ads or ads with static graphics instead. If you have an annoying ad, I’m likely not to buy the advertisers product, and I’m likely to leave your website. Remember, your website is not unique. If people don’t like what they find on your website, they can easily vote with their feet. And your left wondering why you have no sales…

That’s my 2 cents, your mileage may vary. Have something else you find annoying? By all means, leave a comment.

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Perhaps you’ve noticed that some websites are listed with “www.” at the beginning while others are not. What is that all about?

Back in the Dark Ages of the internet (you know, last century?), WWW was used to specify the http:// protocol. But now, all the browsers assume that anyway, so there really isn’t much purpose left for WWW. Except that for some websites, you have to type it in. For others, you don’t.

The reason you have to type it in for some domains is that the website owner hasn’t set up their DNS to allow for entering just the domain name without the www. Why not? You’d have to ask the owner or the administrator. It makes sense to me to set it up that way to accommodate lazy typists like me. Plus, then I don’t have to stumble over saying double-u double-u double-u. (Why did they pick the only 3 syllable letter, anyway?) I also expect that one day, www will be dropped entirely.

(Note: You may not always notice that www is required because modern browsers will add it for you, if needed.)

But, just because your domain is set up to work without WWW, that doesn’t mean everyone will specify it that way. And so you’ll find links on various websites that look like this:

bwhWebMusings.com

And like this:

www.bwhWebMusings.com

They will both get you to your website, but there is an important difference. The Search Engines will treat them as two separate websites. If you could make the search engines see them as the same website, it would result in increased rankings.

How do you know if your website is set up correctly? Go to a browser and type in your domain with www into the address bar. Open a new window and type in your domain without www. Once your site loads, look at the address bar.

Do they both read the same? Then you’re all set.

Or does each read just like you typed it? Then perhaps you should contact your webmaster or administrator to correct it. If your website’s server is running Apache, it’s a few lines added to the .htaccess file. Geeks can reference this page for how to set it up.

All websites built by bwh Web Designs are set up to work without www. Furthermore, typing either www.bwhWebMusings.com or bwhWebMusings.com will resolve to bwhWebMusings.com.

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First, what is a blog? The term originated as a shortening of the term weblog.

Here’s the Wikipedia definition:

A blog (a portmanteau of web log) is a website where entries are written in chronological order and displayed in reverse chronological order. “Blog” can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog.

The dictionary on my Mac says:

a Web site on which an individual or group of users produces an ongoing narrative

So how might this be used in your business? A blog can be used as a means of keeping your customers informed about your business. You can tell them about sales, new products, new services, etc. It can do many of the same functions as a mailing list, and a bit more. To me, a blog is a more informal means of communication than your newsletter. It also allows for interaction - between you and your customers and amongst your customers. A blog can also help to bring new visitors to your website.

You can also use your blog to advertise your website. Do you read other blogs? Do you comment on these blogs? When you comment, most of them ask for your website. You can put your blog there to drive traffic to your blog and website.

In addition, you can use your blog to keep your home page continuously fresh and updated. As an example, take a look at the sidebar on the home page of bwh Web Designs. I’ll wait.

Back already? Did you see the “Recent Blog Entries” on the sidebar? That section updates each time a new blog entry is made. It always shows my 5 most recent posts. You could also show recent comments on your blog.

What could you put into your blog? Everything related to your business that you want your customers to know about. New products. New services. Sales. Shows. New features on your site. Changes to existing service. You could also use it to poll your customers about items they might be interested. The possibilities are endless.

Do you need another domain for a blog? I don’t think so. I’ve done some reading on this and the opinions are split pretty much down the middle. I chose to have separate domains for my website & blog. Doing so has created some challenges regarding linking the two. Having one domain for both is a simpler solution.

Contact bwh Web Designs today to get your own blog!

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We had our second Photography Class on Saturday, 07/07/07. For this class, we had 2 students. Each one brought their cameras and a couple of jewelry pieces for which they’ve had problems getting good pictures.

We had a really fun time. We started off with a presentation. I talked about theory and gave them basic information they needed in order to understand close up photography. The presentation had lots of images - both good technique and bad.

Following the presentation, we played with the cameras. I brought some jewelry, but we used the pieces the students brought. I took pictures with my camera and the students took pictures too. Then we uploaded them to the computer and compared.

The students took home a CD which had the full presentation, including pictures, as well as some pictures for them to play with.

I think that we ALL learned something from this class. And we had a great time!

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