OKay what are the top five things that annoy you on a website you are visiting?

For me that is pretty easy:

1. Pop ups/unders, especially more than one
2. Interstitials
3. Comet or trailing cursors
4. Opening my bookmark utility for me in the assumption I want to bookmark your website.
5. No right click scripts.

Number one is pretty self explanatory especially in the case of multiples.

2. I get annoyed by most of those as they block what I am trying to read and sometimes follow the mouse or bounce around the page.

3. There is bad blood between me and Comet Cursor. I don't allow them now. Trailing cursors are just distracting.

4. This is a big one. If I wanted to bookmark a site I know how to do it. If someone assumes I don't, hence the opening of my bookmark tool to get me started, they should put a link on the page that reads 'click here to bookmark this page.'

5. No right clicks are a big one and the funny thing is I used to use them. I may also still have one floating around on a page or two that I have neglected to remove.

The thing is they are so easy to bypass, even in a frameset, that it isn't even funny. The only thing I want to see is the code because something was interesting and I want to see how it was done.

Well those are my top five. #6 would have to be those hideous flashing banners that read, "If this is flashing you have won! Click here" I can't wait to get away from them.

Heidi

What are the top five things that annoy you on a website you are visiting? Mine are probably about the same. Really, really bad colors annoy me also.

1. Pop ups/unders, especially more than one

I usually don't mind ONE pop-up or popunder simply for the fact that it is one of the few ways to actually make a little bit of money on a smaller site (or a site that does not sell anything but has high traffic). More than one really annoys me though. More than 2! I never go back.

And what about those sites that have popups. Then you try and close them and more popups pop!! That is the worst!

2. Interstitials:

Don't really bother be if it is just one, placed nicely and does not flash like crazy.

3. Comet or trailing cursors:

I don't see this that much so I can't day that it really bothers me.

4. Opening my bookmark utility for me in the assumption I want to bookmark your website.

Yep, this is annoying. If I want to bookmark your site I can do so myself. I don't mind the Bookmark Us link though.

5. No right click scripts.
There is usually a way around this...

RED, FAST FLASHING banners are probably my #3 most annoying..

I'll think if I can think of some more.

Good post. Anyone else?

1. Midi's - if I want music while surfing, I will use my own thank you! Most annoying are the kind you can't turn off - so I just close the window.

2. Probably popups, I know they are sometimes necessary but when I get bugged on every page with them I usually give up and go elsewhere.

3. Having to register before being allowed to see a page - yes, I'll agree it has it's place but when I'm following up referrer information in my logs I sometimes encounter messageboards I need to register with before I can see what was said and how I was linked...

4. Blind Links - I like to see where I'm going, but those designed to look like they go to the same site but actually go to a sponsor via a referral link I really loath!

5. Good content, but little thought to printability... the number of times I've resorted to copying and pasting an article in Word just so I can print it out in an easy to read format...

Midi's - if I want music while surfing, I will use my own thank you! Most annoying are the kind you can't turn off - so I just close the window.

I'll second that one.

Top 5 Annoyances[list=1][*]Pop-Ups/Unders This bothers me so much that I have Pop-Up Stopper as an integral part of my IE browser toolbar. I also use NoAds.[*]Neverending music Cut the surfer a break by either having a stop button or loop it only once.[*]Misleading links Or blind links. They make you think you're getting one thing and you get something else, usually an advertisement.[*]Scrolling right Most suggest that sites still be made at 800x600. I agree with that and use that. I don't mind scrolling vertically, but I sure don't like scrolling horizontally.[*]Java dates for sales This is the date on the page that says the sale ends, prices go up, will not be available after, etc. If it really ends, fine! If not, well, seems like another false advertising claim.[/list=1]

Dave

I liked that question. It gave me an opportunity to vent frustration!!!

Following is another brain burp by Dave......you know, thinking outloud........I wonder if we could start a poll that would allow multiple choices and multiple votes, and be able to add items as it went along? That way we could start a list of annoyances and have a representation or ranking of how bad they are considered by the people surveyed. And the poll needs to be added to since every annoyance won't be thought of when it's first made. Hmmmm.......

Designing a website is the worse!

Ohh... I've probably got more than 5 but I'll stick to just 5

1) Flash intros - hate 'em, they are in my way, I don't see the need and unless they're amazingly entertaining, they are a waste of time and bandwidth.

2) Music on landing, even if it's in a Flash movie, and ESPECIALLY if I cannot turn it off. If I'm listening to my own music while surfing, I don't need to hear someone else's music choices.

3) Tiny text/badly contrasted text - Not everyone is 15 years old with perfect vision. I hate getting a headache trying to read what's on a site. I use FF so I can always make the text bigger, but IE won't do that. Hand in hand with tiny text is badly contrasted text, light gray text on a gray background just causes eye strain and I'll usually just leave the site and look elsewhere.

4) Mystery navigation. Some people are trying for a new idea, but it's really annoying when the navigation is a guessing game.

5) Popups/popunders - of ANY kind are annoying as heck. I use FF, so I can block most of them w/o much effort, but those that get by..arrrrggghhhhh !!!

A few others: tiny crosshair cursors, blinking/screaming text, too much animation all over the place, constantly scrolling text boxes (distracting), garish/glaring colors or badly contrasting colors, usurping my status bar, scrolling right, endless vertical scrolling too !

1) Things that follow me as I scroll down the page. I know how to scroll back up to get to your navigation, and I sure as heck don't need to keep seeing your ad.

2) Right click scripts that tell me how terrible it is that I would even consider right clicking on their precious website.

3) Too many spelling mistakes. I understand that some are simply going to get by. A whole page of them is inexcusable. I'm fairly lenient with blogs, personal sites, and "just for fun" pages and sites, but even then please try to use "their", "there", and "they're" correctly.

4) Too many grammar mistakes. If your site takes a conversational tone then I toss the grammar book out the window. But when you're going for a professional tone, "me and him" didn't do anything.

5) Sections that won't let me scroll horizontally when I really need to. I really hate only being able to read most of what you're saying.

People who don't understand the difference (speed) between pngs, gifs, and bmps. If I have to wait more than 5 seconds to look at a site, I'm out.

both pngs and gifs have their place though.

I prefer to use an animated gifs over Flash for instance due to browser constraints (like not coming with the plugin) and while png's may have set about doing all a gif can do it still lacks anoimation.

Jpg I use for nice pictures of products etc while gifs I reserve for adverts and logo's (as i can take advantage of transparency).

The secret been do not overload your page with images. (I.E more link images, may look good but adds to load time)

Ibbo

There's a lot of things that can annoy you when visiting a site, but my top 5 would be...

1. Very loud nonsense music that doesnt fit the site.
2. Pop Ups...one the most annoying things ever, exspecially when you get a ton.
3. Difficult to understand, hard to understand the style or difficulty navigating.
4. Hard to read text, when someone uses text that blends with background color...argggg
5. Color mismatching...I hate it when they use colors that do not fit the subject at all or don't go well together at all. It looks goofy and can be annoying on the eyes.

The top five most annoying features for me would be:

1. A website that is poorly constructed and hinders your ability to find your way around.

2. Pointless intros e.g. images that take ages to appear. This is so frustrating if you are in a hurry.

3. When the essential details, like contact information etc. is not immediately accessible.

4. Usage of bad fonts and clashing colours.

5. Images or icons that follow your cursor around, so that scrolling down the text takes a lifetime.

Regards.