So, what's this all about? Well, after countless hours and months surfing the net, I've come to find some particularly annoying things about some sites. Worse yet, this stuff is becoming so common that I felt the need to place this page on my site in desperate effort to help people build a better website. Sure, I'm no expert, but isn't the opinions of the everyday person just as important? We want visitors to be happy and return to our sites again and again don't we? Sure we do.

These things may have impact on visitor numbers and surfer wipeouts. I know they have an effect on me and which pages I visit regularly and which I give a "heave-ho" to and never visit again unless they remedy the troubles. Some of these are fairly common gripes, others, are more my own. Please take these into account when designing your own site. Please note that these are in no particular order.

Another interesting note is that I've noticed many of these very same things listed below in several professional web site reference books and articles. So, I guess some of my opinions can also be backed up by fact now.

#1-PLUG-INS : These things are VERY annoying and are capable of freezing or locking up a visitor's computer. Do NOT make them automatic! If you wish to place a plug-in on your site, then make it a clickable OPTION. Nothing like fighting just to get online only to have to shut down and reboot because of some incompatible plug-in that freezes a computer! This is my MAJOR gripe of all site annoyances. I do not visit pages again that have these things and I know of others who have similar reactions to "plug-ins" so it's not just me.

#2-FRAMES: Please be sure there is a "no-frames" option! Some browsers do not support frames. Also, pertaining to my gripe about it, be sure to be considerate to those who have 14 and 15-inch monitors. Not everyone can afford or has space for a TV size monitor. The most popular monitor sizes sold for business and personal use are 14 and 15 inch monitors! There is no pleasure in pretending to be a typewriter by scrolling back and forth horizontally.

#3-MIDI's: Again, these are something that should be optional and not automatic. Some people, such as those who use a library for their net surfing, prefer or are required "quiet" surfing. MIDI's also have a tendency to slow or stall load times of your pages. It is rather disturbing to be quietly surfing then BLAM! some MIDI blares your way into a site. Also, not everyone has a compatible MIDI player so why bother? I stress again, make it OPTIONAL. I have grown so disgusted with this that I keep my speakers turned off,etc., but still my surfing slows if a MIDI is present.

#4-LARGE PICS & NUMEROUS PICS: These take an ETERNITY to load!!! Please use a photo or graphic editor and reduce the image to something that is smaller than 1/4 the size of the page you'll be loading it onto. If you do not have a photo or graphic editor, then you can physically adjust the pic by using height and width tags in the image's HTML coding. Remember, the average surfer will wait less than ten seconds for a page to load before losing interest.If you must use numerous pics on a page, keep them small (both in visible size and in numerical size, ex: 7K verses 70K).

#5-BACKGROUNDS: Yes, a beautiful pic makes for a nice background for your page, but not if the writing atop it cannot be read! Fade the background pic using a photo or graphic editor. (One of my editors calls this "smoked glass.") Again, if you do not have such an editor, then either test the colors of the writing on the pic or opt for an alternate choice pic. I mean, what good is your site and all the hours you put into it if nobody can read the information you put there.

#6-UNDER CONSTRUCTION: If you have to edit or revamp your site, please leave the old one up until the new one is ready. Simply place a small "under construction or revision" note atop your page (no fancy blinking or animated pics either). It is a major turn-off to go visit a site that once existed only to find a big blank page with a huge sign saying "under construction-be back soon." If it is your first attempt at a site, then that may be an exception since nobody has "seen" your site until now.

#7-GRAMMAR: Yes, it matters. With today's technology, there is no excuse for improper spelling of words. There are spellchecks and get this, a chunky book called a DICTIONARY. Learn how to use these. International pages are an exception to this rule unless English is the official language in the country of residence. Though even if English isn't your native language, make sure you spell correctly in your language as well. If you have time to create a page then you have time to check your spelling.

#8-BROKEN LINKS: Very annoying as well. Yeah, I'll just click on that and go to another great source only to find it no longer exists! Keep track of your links by checking them once in a while. If you have a large or multiple links pages, like I do, try to enlist the help of your visitors otherwise, this task becomes next to impossible and VERY time consuming.

#9-UPDATES: I know most people have lives outside of their websites, but if you cannot update every few months or so, then why bother to have a site? The only way to maintain visitors and interest in your site and to generate more traffic is to have something new for people to look at. Even if it just means explaining some future plans for your site, at least it's something to get people to return, correct?

#10-DESIGN SIZE: I've mentioned this before, but it's own section seems appropriate. Be considerate to the variance of monitor sizes. Use the standard "default" settings of 640 x 480 pixels. Remember, not everyone has a large, fancy monitor that you may be fortunate enough to have. If you value each and every return visitor, you'll want to optimize this by thinking small rather than large. People with small monitors (14"-15" in USA) have it a bit easier since they already see the "condensing" and will design a site that allows them to see everything. Therefore, if they see everything, larger monitors will too.

#11-BROWSER VARIANCES: Browsers are slowly beginning to cooperate with each other and improve communication between them, but even now, differences still need to be taken into account. Granted the most popular and widely used browser is Microsoft's Internet Explorer, but don't rule others like Netscape out. As a matter of fact, 99% of the time, I use Netscape myself. The differences in browsers may alter how your page is shown. Broken or "uncertain" images may appear as well as crunched up wording or layout are just a few examples of impacts between the browsers. Both MIE and Netscape are free downloads online. I suggest having both on your system and viewing your site through both to see where you could make some adjustments if need be. These two browsers are the two most used and are considered "name brand" browsers. Also, there's no excuse for having an old, outdated browser anymore. Again, the downloads are free from the maker's homesites and many other computer download sites.

Okay, those are my rants for now. I'll add more as I need to and yes, I'm even guilty of a couple of these. But by following some of these, you (and I) may be well on our way to having a great, surf-friendly site. Thank you for taking the time to read these. They're here for your benefit as well as my own, and you'll keep your visitors returning with a smile.