I usually view a lot of sites when trying to come up with inspiration for a new design. After recently re-designing a site and creating a WordPress theme from scratch (you have seen the new design, right?), I thought I’d share a couple design decisions I found annoying.
Pop-Ups
I’m not talking about pop-up ads, I’m talking about pop-ups when you hover over a link. An example I came across (unfortunately no screenshot) is when you hover over a link and it displays, “You have the nth most popular outgoing link.” I could really care less how many people have clicked on my link. It’s also demoralizing when you come in last. 
Another example of pop-ups is in-text advertising. Daniel mentions to stay away from in-text advertising. Part of this is because of the annoying pop-ups that come up when “accidentally” hovering over an ad-link.
Pop-up Windows
In the age of IE7 and Firefox tabs, pop-up windows are growing even more annoying. It is becoming common for users to open pages in new tabs, not new windows. Readers should not be forced to view pages in new windows. It should be the reader’s choice. You can never force a reader to stay on a page, so why annoy them with a pop-up window?
Let readers navigate the way they want to navigate. Don’t ever force a reader into anything.
Having the search box at the bottom of a theme
Having a search box towards the top of your theme is a given. A search box should be visible and simple, at least according to Jakob Nielson.
A search box should also be above the fold and towards the top of any theme. Having a search box elsewhere will just confuse readers. Furthermore, having the subscribe box higher than the search box will just result in more confusion.
Having a Dark Background
The RA Project re-design has a fairly dark background. I wouldn’t have it any other way (I designed it of course). However, some users do get annoyed by darker backgrounds. There are some that have the firm stance that all websites “must” have white backgrounds and plenty of “white” space.
I of course do not agree holistically, but I have seen some designs where the darker background hindered reading. I have made considerable efforts to make sure the new design is very readable, even with a darker background.
Not Separating Trackbacks from Comments
Not separating trackbacks from comments can hinder a conversation going on in a blog. Trackbacks and pingbacks are there to say to the blogger, “Hey, I’ve talked about you on my blog. Check it out.” To a regular commenter and/or reader of the post, the trackback is not really part of the conversation. To me, a trackback interspersed with with regular comments is more of an interruption than a continuation of discussion.
I’m a big fan of readers leaving a comment adding to the current discussion, and then also saying, “Hey, I also wrote about this on my blog.” Those types of comments add a lot more value than a trackback in my opinion.
Conclusion – Part 2?
I titled this post “Part 1″ because I’d like to get some of your feedback regarding what design decisions annoy you as readers. So what annoys you about a design? Any and all feedback is appreciated.
Please read part 2 of this article.
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Not only are those Mybloglog popups (the x most popular link ones) annoying, the most annoying ones are the ones from Snap – and they seem to be automatically activated on just about every WordPress blog out there. Fortunately, you can actually turn those off unlike just about every other type of popup.
However, the most annoying thing that happens when you go to a page is when it plays music at you. Not only does it slow the page down, if you’re not aware of it, you’ll wind up getting blasted out of your chair.
I don’t mind dark layouts anymore since I have a LCD monitor – I know that when I was using a CRT, they could be quite annoying, though it’s always good to have the variety.
Sephyroth
http://www.sephyroth.net
Definitely anything that makes noise automatically; from music to those annoying cyber-voiced ads: “You have just won an ipod nano.”
Videos set to autoplay not only make unexpected noise, but slow down any thing I have downloading in the background.
The Snap preview popup is one of those ideas that sounds good, but is very annoying in practice. I’d rather a small option to see the preview popped up. Text-link advertising in the content makes me nuts. Curiously, I don’t mind the “nth most popular link” thing, because its small… and it does actually increase my curiosity and click through rate. (Yes, I am one with the borg!)
Others:
Hidden subscription options.
Repeated, nagging subscription requests. (I dont mind if they’re unobtrusive)
Dark backgrounds don’t annoy me; because sometimes they’re a good choice artistically, but I’m unlikely to subscribe or stay subscribed. Some sort of subconscious trigger, I think.
Not making it simple to glance at other posts. A list of recent, favorite related or commented on articles in the sidebar makes me happy. Having to hunt down other posts to wander through makes me cranky.
In-Your-Face advertising of adspace, or reviews by the blogger.
I like the idea of separating trackbacks and comments… I’ll have to figure out how to do that : )
@MT,
I used this technique for separating comments/trackbacks on the redesign. I can also send you the code I use, but I more-or-less followed the text file mentioned in the post.
If you don’t mind, what are some examples of naggy/repeated subscription requests?
@Sephyroth,
Yes, you can get some silly looks from co-workers if you browse to the wrong page.
I can’t say anything about popups. I block all of them with Firefox, allowing only the popups that specific sites require for data entry.
As far as the search and subscribe you mention, I’m with you all the way. It works better when readers aren’t confused.
I have the pingbacks and trackbacks separated a little differently on my blog because of both the theme and threaded comments. They appear at the top and the regular comments follow them. I’ve had no complaints about it yet, but you never know about these things.
The only thing I can add to this is the placement and format of the ads that are put on sites. Ads should be unobtrusive, but I see many blogs with ads that are right there in your face. I usually don’t return to them, regardless of the content.
RT,
Good point about the ads. I actually stopped reading TechCrunch because of all the ads and also because it wasn’t really work safe (long story).
Lately I stumble more and more upon websites with the dynamically flowing ads, that slide right on top of the article and stay there until you click on an obscure “close” button. That annoys a heck out of me.
Actually, I’m not totally against popup windows if the content there is short, or they contain an image. You would be surprised how many people don’t know how to open a link in a new tab or browser window, then they get lost and can’t find their way back to the original site. Bear in mind that it relates more to regular websites, not so much to blogs. So sometimes it’s actually a good idea to have popups when clicking on links (I hate automatic popups), it all depends on your site’s target audience.
Vivien (inspirationbit),
Target audience indeed plays a big factor. I suppose there is a good way to go about doing pop-ups by having them done via JavaScript instead of hard-coding them in (for accessibility purposes).
I definitely agree about the dynamically flowing ads. Urgh! JavaScript and Flash used together for purposes of ads is not a good combination
I prefer dark backgrounds but steer away from using them on my own blog due to most people preferring light ones. Cowardly, yes.
I really like the new one. I find dark sites much easier on the eye.
Snoskred
http://www.snoskred.org/
Thanks many for the tips. I can really see the importance of separating TBs from Comments.
I agree with most of those points Ronald, but not all.
In terms of trackbacks I think it depends on popularity. I have trackbacks and comments together on my blog, but I get so few of them it doesn’t get in the way. Not to me anyway. Now if my blog was quite popular and I got a lot of trackbacks then I agree that would really get in the way of the conversation.
The other point I disagree with is that having search at the top of the page is a given. I think it is a convention born out of linear thinking, i.e. lots of people will no doubt say that it must be at the top, just like people say that users don’t scroll, that navigation works better on the left hand side, and important content must be above the fold. I think it is more complex than that and that it requires deeper thought.
I agree with the rest though for sure. Snap previews, in-text advertising, and those flash adverts that are all designed to interrupt you and prevent you getting to the content properly actual work against the company. If a company that is willing to shove their product in my face that way then they must have a significant amount of contempt for the customer, or at best, think their product is so poor that no one would take notice any other way.
Andrew,
I can definitely see where you’re coming from with regards to search. I personally find it annoying when people tell me, “Oh, too much scrolling” or “the background is too dark.”
I do feel that a search box should be very visible and should be positioned in a way that any other form input cannot be confused with it.
Thanks for your input.
Thanks for the link to the code, Ronald. Yay! I’ll see if I can’t get it working this week.
As for examples of the subscription-nags… I keep running across blogs with big outlined boxes at the top of posts, noting that I look new, and asking me to subscribe. They just annoy me — especially since often I’m already subscribed. (I think this is due to a cookie/ip checking plugin/script, intended to show only to new readers — but I’ve got a dynamic IP, and I use Firefox (which frequently updates and resets) so I’m often getting messages intended for first time users)
Then same post may also have a “Liked this article? Why not subscribe?” notice at the bottom. And then there are a wealth of “subscribe for X benefit” programs, too…. which make links/offers/products only available in the feed.
It seems like some bloggers have become so focused on the feed that they forget some of us prefer to read on their actual blog. Just because I’m *on* the blog itself doesn’t mean I haven’t subscribed. It actually means I’m a more loyal reader, and more likely to see any ads and click links etc. I don’t often read the feed…. I just skim titles. If subscribers are offered an extra goody, and it isn’t noted on the blog, I won’t see it.
It’s interesting to watch the changes as the trends and focus changes. The current stress on subscribers over pageviews just boggles my mind. I don’t get it!
Thanks for elaborating MT. Thanks your and all of the reader feedback on this post, a part 2 is definitely on the queue.
I’m a big fan of reader choice. In the case of page views, some bloggers limit their feeds to just an excerpt to increase their page views. In your case, some bloggers are pushing you to their feed reader. I, too, have experienced what you have when you go to a blog and they say, “Hey noob, subscribe to my feed.” It’s even more painful, as you point out, when you are already subscribed and perhaps want to leave a comment on a post.
I know there’s been a great deal of pro/con discussion on the use of links that open in a new browser window. I still do use the TARGET=”_BLANK” on outbound links, but have made a concerted effort to make sure that EVERY link has a TITLE tag and those which will open a in a new window indicate as much. Many of my readers are older, less-experienced web users, so they aren’t versed on forcing links to open in new tabs or such. And my GA stats indicate that a good percentage of my visitors are not using a tab-enabled browser yet. So, I’m still trying to cater to the majority…
On a related note though, I really dislike Snap and other automatic pop-outs!
I’m also not crazy about dark backgrounds, but I’ll concede that there are some sites where this works well.
Rob O.,
I do hate new windows, but sometimes they are necessary. However, using target=”_blank” can potentially cause accessibility problems. My technique is to use JavaScript to open new windows. That way, if someone were to have JavaScript disabled, the window would open normally. If JavaScript were enabled, a new window would appear. Accessibility problems would be minimized.
Here is a link regarding using unobtrusive JavaScript to open pop-up windows.
Too-small fonts.
I realize this is somewhat subjective, but if one’s font size makes post text look like “fine print” compared to “most” websites – it’s too small.
Also I’m not a fan of forced horizontal scrolling.
Thanks for asking.
And thumbs-up from me on the new design in place here; nicely done.
Dark background rocks. It saves eyes and the readability is much better for me.
Having search button down the template is pretty stupid
, but fortunately I haven’t seen much sites with this “feature”.