How NOT to design my web site. What irritates you about web sites?

[bertha katzenengel]

I'm researching how best to design my web site. For several months I've had just the one page, updated infrequently. katzenengel.org.

I have to add at least one new page: kittens for adoption. I want to have click-on-photo to send me an email inquiring about this or that kitten. Got links I can go to about how to do that?

What kinds of backgrounds are irritating? What are best?

What colors are best? Stick with black text on white?

ANY ideas you have, ANY "this pisses me off about web sites," ANY crappy web sites you have seen -- everything will be helpful.

Thanks!

[LSK]

1. i hate weird colors, sounds that come on by themselves, disorganization

And freerepublic is a classic example of 1995 website design. :D

[blondeatlast]

3. So when did they upgrade? nt

[bertha katzenengel]

8. Bah!

:thumbsup:

[blondeatlast]

2. I despise black backgrounds and any color of text on them.

Unless the text is a graphic or a large font, say, at least 16 point, please don't use a black background for text.

I do like text that can be copied and pasted, so keep it text whenever possible, not a graphic.

[bertha katzenengel]

9. thank you, B.L.

I like text, too - will keep it text.

[Rabrrrrrr]

11. I will second that! Reading on a black background is fucking awful.

[Book Lover]

4. Unasked-for audio

That *really* pushes my buttons.

on edit: here's a tutorial that was recommended to me by a random tech guy I pulled out from the IT cube farm. I took a quick look and it seems pretty straightforward. HTH!

http://www.w3.org/MarkUp/Guide/

[bertha katzenengel]

10. ooh, I hate that too, and so does LSK (above)

thank you for the link!

[zonkers]

5. I have been to your site and thought it was simple clean and effective.

Uncluttered and quick loading is a good good thing. A few simple additions like the click on fotos is a good idea. So is a real easy one-step process for folks to donate $$$ to your efforts.

[bertha katzenengel]

12. Thanks.

I have been considering adding a donation machine. I don't know how to do that. Like would it have to be Paypal . . . guess I could look at some other small sites like mine to see how it's done.

[YellowRubberDuckie]

6. I like simple sites.

Black back grounds are great, pictures, words in light colors. Not too busy. Something that is asthetically pleasing.
Duckie

[bertha katzenengel]

13. "Not too busy" seems to be a theme.

I will keep it simple. Thanks, Duckie :hi:

[Rabrrrrrr]

7. Sites that have so much shit to be displayed on the home page

that it takes more than 5 seconds to load; and, while it's loading, the text that did show up early keeps jumping around as the browser begins parsing the images and other shit that are coming in.

Such as:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/

[sendero]

14. The #1 indicator..

... that a person with no design sense whatsoever has built a site - is a background image/texture.

Sure, they can work if they are very, very, very subtle, otherwise they are an ugly distraction.

I see you've wisely avoided them :)

[begin_within]

15. The biggest problem with web sites is slow loading time. You should

time yours to see if it loads completely within one minute or less on dialup, 15 seconds or less on DSL, cable modem, etc. Clear the cache from your web browser and load the home page again to see how long it takes. The main page should appear like lightning, with only minimal, tiny graphics. Then larger and more complex graphics and other content can be placed on other pages that are linked to the main page.

[SOteric]

16. The thing I hate most is background and text combinations

that are unreadable, or painful to read. Like a bright blue background with hot pink text, or a leafy, foliage background with green text. Yes, I know I can make the page more readable by highlighting with my cursor, but that just annoys me. I shouldn't have to know the secret handshake to read a webpage.

I also get frustrated with pages that are illogically laid out. The easier it is to figure out how to mail, how to browse the links I'm interested in, etc., the more likely I am to visit the page again.

[mainegreen]

17. Blinking. I hate anything that blinks. nt

[Mutley]

18. Me too.

:thumbsup:

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

19. Clutter.

Little doodads that move around and you can't make them stop.
Music.
Odd fonts that are hard to read, or too small, or too many mixed fonts, or all capital letters.
Especially: Light-colored or red lettering on a dark background. This is extremely hard to read.
Textured or pictorial backgrounds.
Pictures surrounded by "cute" or ornate "frames."
Organization (or the lack of it) that makes it hard to find your way around the site.

Keep it plain and simple!

[bridgit]

20. your site looks fine to me, very straight forward...

:thumbsup:

[bertha katzenengel]

21. Oh, you ALL rock! Thank you for your input. Anymore?

I'll take all I can get. Thanks!