Annoying visitors to a website is probably not something anyone intends to do, yet everyday folks visit sites that frustrate and disappoint them. Irritated visitors are likely to leave, never return, and tell others. Part of the problem is people are bothered by different things. What may seem innocent to some is an annoyance to others. The best strategy is to consider any and all possible irritants and steer away from them.

Avoid these Annoyances

Bomb blasting visitors with music

Most visitors don’t want to be subjected to music. Randomly shared music has a small chance of fitting the tastes of the visitor. They want to navigate your site. You aren’t Pandora.

Flash this

Flash in its day it was…flashy. Not so much today. Leave it at home.

Unrequested video

You should offer video on your site, for example, staff introductions, virtual tours, and customer testimonials, but it should be the visitor’s choice. Don’t push it down their throat.

Disabling right click function 

Really, you think this will endear you to visitors and keep them on your site? Think about it.

Banner ads

Yes you may be able to share a few, especially if they’re easy to opt out of, but if you attack visitors with banner ads and make it difficult or impossible to proceed you’ll be banned.

Circular routing

When a visitor attempts to browse, and it leads them back to the landing page before they find what they want they’ll only take that trip once.

Pop-Ups

Cliche’ but they still exist. Forcing a visitor to close a window as soon as they visit your site is a no-no.

Misleading links

I recently clicked on a service link for an internet provider, and it led me to a customer forum. I didn’t want a forum. I wanted troubleshooting answers and advice from the provider. Yes, this is a rant.

Demanding information

When a site requires information such as email to continue navigation—it’s not just annoying it may be phishing.

Lack of contact information and options

Some visitor’s want your email others want your phone number, and still others want to find you on social media. It should all be available.

Sharing religious or political opinions on a business site

Whatever side you take, you’re going to polarize a segment of your market. Having strong beliefs is an admirable quality. Sharing them on a business website is not.

Too many pages

It may seem like you need a page for everything any customer could think of, but if you try you’re going to end up with a confusing and difficult to navigate website.

Not considering multi-generational use. 

Millennials don’t know who Bing Crosby was, and boomers never heard of Arianna Grande. Make your site easy enough for your grandmother to navigate and current enough for your son’s college roommate to appreciate.

Don’t try to do too Much

Keeping your website, simple, elegant, and well-designed will make for a website that annoys few and is enjoyed by many. Taking the time to beta test your site, searching for annoyances, even if the A/B testing is conducted with employees, friends, and family, may save your site from unintentionally disappointing visitors. What annoys you about websites?