10 things visitors will dislike on your website

1. Bridge pages – that have big graphics & say enter- these pages were the norm 10-15 years ago. Nowadays web users are savvy & want to access content immediately. They also slow page loading time & google will punish your site
2. Flash intros – Avoid using heavy flash intros because surveys show 80 percent of visitors do not like them and they hurt your search engine optimization efforts.
3. Outdated content and broken links – are very unprofessional and shows lack of commitment. Remove ex employee information promptly. Use a content management system (CMS) to update your site frequently. They are very easy to install. No more excuses that you cannot access your website content.
4. Hit counters – are useless because they only track one element of site statistics. There are plenty of sophisticated, easy to understand and free analytics tools available. Use Google Analytics or other analytical tools.
5. Under construction pages – are unnecessary and may cause you to lose business. Create a basic page listing your contact address, phone number, email and add a short paragraph about your products or services.
6. Top navigation –Limit your menu choices between 5 and 7 then make sure your navigation appears in the same spot on every page. If you have more pages – group the pages according to content.
7. Music – is a major annoyance especially when there are no controls to turn it off, mute or lower the volume. Unless you are in the music industry & are trying to sell through your site do not play background music
8. Animated clipart and scrolling text –Unless an animated GIF or scrolling text complements the information on your page, don’t use them.
9. Side scrolling websites – Technology is quite advanced these days. You can easily set up websites that do not scroll sideways – that way they will look more professional.
10. Sites that use scripts that state the date of the last update on the site. – Many sites installed these scripts but do not actually update the site. Most of the content on the site remains outdated.

The cat graphic in this post is actually an annoying gif animation. The cats keep moving towards each other in a loop. I decided to display them as a still graphic to make a point.