Do you have a Website?

I am the first to admit that I spend way too much time sitting in front of my computer. I am starting to feel that my computer knows me better than my husband which definitely is not good for several reasons which I’ll reserve for another rant.

I visit so many websites while doing research for Designers Circle and for my design jobs that I feel like a self-proclaimed expert on the good, the bad and the ugly site.

Here are some suggestions to make a better site, in my humble opinion:

1. Slow-loading sites. How slow is slow? When I get a coffee refill in my kitchen and return to office and the site still loading. That is s-l-o-w! Check with your web guy/gal to find out how your site can load more quickly.

2. Sites with music playing. Do I really need to listen to your choice of music while I’m trying to get some information on your site? Definitely very annoying.

3. Things that are jumping, blinking, flashing or crawling across the screen. The last thing I want to see is a something moving while I’m trying to read. Get rid of the flash!

4. Using stock photos. Or, worse yet other peoples’ photos and taking credit for what’s not legitimately your own. I have gone on sites that have my project pictures on them without proper credit. They actually have taken credit for being the designer.

5. Having to fill out a form to contact the owner of the site. An email or phone number should be easily found on the site. Why would expect anyone to give you their contact information when you won’t give out yours?

6. Pop-ups. Don’t even think about it. These are so obnoxious that many people have blocked pop-ups through their browser.

7.  Old sites. Sites that look old and dated is not a good communication tool.  You put the money into building the site but if you don’t maintain it, the site is useless. Why would I want to read old magazines?  Same holds true with an old site.