Webpages obviously made for 17inch (large) monitors are really irksome, not only do the pages and images not fit most monitors, these webmasters are ignoring most computer screens. Take a ruler and measure from bottom left corner to upper right corner of the browser on your screen, if larger than 14 inches (30 cm) then shrink your browser to that size and see how the page is displayed. Also affecting the view of your website is the resolution, a resolution greater than 800x600 will "magnify" the page size for anyone looking at a 640x480 monitor, and unfortunately 50% of surfers are set at this resolution. It is extremely frustrating for most of our surfers to use the horizontal scrollbar back and forth to read every sentence. We already have to scroll the vertical, we have enough to contend with. Another cause of extremely wide pages is the forcing of images side by side by side using the highest res possible, ad infinitum.
Automatic loading of music, especially sounds lasting more than a few seconds, not only slows your website down, most midi tunes are irritating to say the least. Not all MIDI drivers are created equal, and what may sound like a full orchestra on your system could very well sound like a child's
game sound effects to others, it depends on the drivers which are loaded or on the sound card installed on a system. Now I know that you think that your website only has tasteful music and images...to you, but not to others, keep this in mind. You either have something to offer others, or you just aim to please yourself, and yourself is the only visitor you will get who is going to come back. If you must have music on your site, give your surfer the option to pick the tune and to press the start button, not to have to look for the stop button because your website loading has slowed down to a crawl. You may have the fastest Pentium and accellerated video and a 56Kb modem or faster...but if your visitor is not able to connect faster than 28 due to a multitude of extraneous conditions (usually not of his making) then it sometimes appears that your site is not loading at all, zzzzzzzzzsnortzzzz..
Background colors and images should not interfere with the text. Some background wallpapers are lovely, and colorful, but best kept off the site. Ask yourself, "would I wallpaper my home with this?" When a person needs to squint and strain their eyes to be able to read text you can bet they won't try for long. Unless your background image or logo is very subdued leave them off.
Totally black background sites are a personal choice, in my humble opinion only an undertaker or funeral home should display their complete site in black. My favourite hangout is FortuneCity, which unfortunately is of the opinion that black is cool and it is in some circumstances. On the other hand it is colorless, a total absence of light and therefore (again my opinion) without character. One or two pages of your site could look cool in black, such as an art gallery or a night-time theme page. Use colours, most of us thrive on colours, and the days of the black-painted room with a dayglo Jimi Hendrix poster on the wall are over, oh God, please let them be over!
Java applets..these are small programs which run usually without problems in the 2 main browsers on the market. But they can hang up some other browsers. Never put more than one applet on a page, and watch that the applet is not too large, it will slow down the browsing process considerably. Most who abuse these applets are young webbuilders, teens who for some reason think that this makes their sites "rock". Far from it, it slows it down to a pace where I want to go get a pillow and snooze until it loads. I will not mention any of these websites but I came across one with a java applet, a shockwave app, opening midimusic which couldn't be turned off, and automatic background color changer which left me to wonder if I were ever going to see his website. I waited a full 3 minutes just to load the "splash" page, then I went my merry way somewhere else.
The Splash Page Syndrome. Even a lot of commercial site boo-boo on this one. Large moving images, shockwave (takes another plugin), and any page where you have to hit another "entry" button is a waste of space and time.
I have a "splash" page, but most people who know me will enter directly on the "next" page. Unless your main entry has a lot to say or directions on surfing your site, discard it.
Frames present a whole slew of problems, and many sites now use them as a matter of course. Some extremely beautiful layouts can be accomplished but can also give the surfer, let alone the developer, some extreme headaches. Use them judiciously, perhaps only 2 sections, but when I see a page cut in 4 or more sections it's goodbye Charlie.
Bandwidth, or how big the wire is leading in and out of a server or site, can be affected by linking images or pages from other sites to be called on at your site. The banner exchange is an example, the actual banner comes from another server and is hauled into your page. This is done by the link exchange people themselves. However, linking to someone else's images or pages as part of your website is not cool, in fact is downright not kosher. Unless otherwise directed load all images from your own site. Theft of bandwidth is an absolute crime and will get you black-listed and talked about in not-so-friendly terms.
Contact links such as emails and forms on your page should be answered promptly, also an acknowledgement when someone signs your guestbook. To do otherwise is not good netiquette. Other sites would prefer it if you let them know that you have them linked on your site, sometimes they have certain requirements such as "please don't come in the back door". This also gives them a chance to let you know when they move. And there are times when they don't want a link from you, perhaps of your content. I had a problem with the Aryan Nations, they had me linked from their white supremacist site. I found it through a search, requested they remove me which they flatly refused. They have since gone under, the plug was pulled. I was linked because I had Native content on my SkyDancer site (the predecessor to this one) for target practice..I always wondered if those viri came from them! At that same time I actually got some 'hate' email.
Content, last but not least and this should actually be No.1. If you have some wisdom, art, knowledge, points of information or education to offer...good. If not, then there really is no reason to clutter up the web. I have come across a lot of sites where halfway down the page after scrolling...viola, a nude babe, a xxx action image, or links to illegal sites or items for sale. Please indicate on the opening part of the screen what content we can expect. Use a ratings icon such as is at the top of this page, or a statement, ie: Rated G or rated Family or rated XXX.
Nothing turns off a surfer more than a surprise which may be shocking or objectionable to their morals.
