Web site Pet Peeves

The World Wide Web has matured. Web sites’ quality rises. Generally, there remains considerable room for improvement. While active Web surfers use the Web for purchasing (Amazon and eBay enjoy high popularity), increasingly they surf for news items (including election returns), medical information, local phone numbers, government statistics, as well as entertainment. Unfortunately, even experienced surfers encounter annoyances detracting from a pleasant session.

Like many surfers, I browse the Web with two distinct behavior patterns. First, I visit a small handful of sites with regularity and high frequency. These would be considered my “core” sites. On occasion, I shift to a second mode. Here, I branch out on the Web with the intent of accomplishing a specific task. Usually, the odyssey begins at a core search engine (Google.com) and many sites are visited, often for the first (and last) time. Success with this type of exploration relies on a style that employs rapid evaluation of Web site content. Moving quickly to fresh sites when the desired information is either not found or holds questionable value increases chances for success. Both surfing patterns, at times, result in frustration. The Internet is imperfect. My pet peeves follow.

 

Slow Loading Sites

Some Web sites are just plain slow. Either the computer hosting the site lacks horsepower or the hosting provider lacks sufficient bandwidth. Either way, the pages come to my computer slowly. Frankly, the magic number is four seconds. If nothing arrives (either text or images), I leave. Clever Webmasters can dice (slice into uniform pieces) large images. While the overall composite may load more slowly, the visitor is not left wondering about the source of the bottleneck. Frankly, seasoned Web surfers have almost zero tolerance for slow Web sites.

 

Popup Screens

We are seeing a trend where Webmasters have fast loading homepages but once at the site an ad appears. Annoying. A perfect example of this is the iWon homepage. Game sites giving away prizes (sometimes cash) have taken this tactic to an annoying extreme. The Webmillion.com site pops an ad after every entry in every contest. The annoyance factor has almost reached the breaking point with me. If I do not win a prize shortly, I will drop Webmillion as a core site.

 

Flash Images

Macromedia Flash images usually represent glitzy, empty content. When Flash images appear, I leave. In fact, some Webmasters compound the damage by adding sound (usually music) to their Flash creations. A bad situation just became considerably worse. Where Flash is used, the default setting (with or without sound) should be off. Sadly, Flash seems to be on the rise. I hope this changes fast. However, this may be wishful thinking.

 

Hard Navigation

As often happens, a surfer visits a site specifically with the intent of making a purchase. Some sites make it so difficult to find the checkout the visitor leaves in frustration. How about missing the obvious? For example, go to the Costco site with the intention of finding the store hours. Frustrating. In addition, Web sites sporting broken links detract Web site quality measurably. Finally, when I want to correspond with someone at the Web site but cannot obtain the e-mail address of the author, my blood pressure rises. This is a major shortcoming of many newspaper Web sites.

 

Homepage Design Changes

We are creatures of habit at the core sites. My comfort level is high. I dislike change. With careful planning, the front door to a good site needs few modifications. For example, there is little that can be done to improve on the search engine Google.com Web site. Contrast this with Altavista.com, formerly one of my core sites. When a frequently visited site is changed (or rearranged), I am overcome with the very same feeling as when someone rearranges my tools by hanging them on a pegboard. Please leave my things alone. Thank you.

 

Web Site Traps

The BACK icon on the browser gets a strong workout when I surf. Should a Webmaster create a homepage disabling the ability to “go back,” my annoyance level reaches the breaking point. The only workaround available involves clicking the down button at the end of the address window. As the list of URLs visited appears, the first site indicates the Web site visited prior to the trap. I never revisit a trapped Web site.

If you have a favorite Web surfing pet peeve, please drop me line. Incidentally, several readers have expressed frustration with poor cable Internet service (especially e-mail) with Charter/Earthlink in Newtown. The problem was determined to be an AT&T router in New Jersey. It appears the problem has been addressed. Hopefully, smooth surfing ahead.

URLs (Uniform Resource Locators) of interest:

http://www.google.com

http://www.altavista.com

http://www.costco.com

(This is the 234th of a series of elementary articles designed for surfing the Internet. Next, “Seven New Domains” is the subject on tap. Stay Tuned. Until next week, happy travels through cyberspace. Previous issues of Internet Info for Real People can be found: http://www.thebee.com. Please e-mail comments and suggestions: rbrand@JUNO.com or editor@thebee.com.)