It’s 2010 and there are an infinite amount of graphic design options available, amazing web/graphic technologies, and tons of free resources… yet people still insist on having websites that have outdated elements, poor color choices, horrible navigation, or are just plain ugly.

Although memorable in its own right, how can anyone take you seriously?

Here is a list of some web design practices and/or elements that make my skin crawl:

1) On Today’s Menu: Mystery Meat

“Mystery Meat” navigation refers to the use of images/icons for navigation with no explanatory text. It focuses on the aesthetic aspect of the design rather than function and practicality, resulting in hard-to-navigate sites. At first they’re pretty and intriguing, but can quickly push users away. As an example, check out http://www.mindengine.com.

This site was just upsetting. What is this website even about? Not only was it extremely difficult to find useful information, it was difficult to read as each pop-up box would float depending on the position of my mouse. Ridiculous…

We internet-surfers are an impatient bunch and expect everything to be fast. Within 4 seconds of visiting your site, I should be able to understand what your site is about and easily find the information I want. Think about your users first… what information do they want readily available?

Note: I’m sure they produce great work (I think they specialize in interactive web apps), but I couldn’t find their portfolio. Kudos to you if you can find it.

2) Skip This Intro…

Forget flash intros. This may be a matter of personal preference, but I think lengthy intros serve no other purpose than to give the site owner a Michael Buffer-esque introduction, “And in this corner, standing 1024 pixels by 768 pixels…”

According to a MarketingSherpa case study, 80% of consumers hate flash intros and skip it entirely.

If that statistic doesn’t turn you away from intros, visit the site www.skipintros.com (warning: turn the volume down before visiting).

3) Who the *#@% is this Person Walking/Talking on my Screen?!?

Web presenters or hosts are a very obtrusive element to have on a website. Please don’t buy into this gimmick when they say it’ll provide a large impact and convert sales.

Having a web presenter is like going into a retail location to look around, only to immediately have a salesperson in your face explaining the benefits of their products. “Uh, excuse me, I haven’t even had the chance to look around yet.”

Would you really want something like this? http://www.synergy-training.com/

4) Aren’t Animated Images the Coolest?

Now I’m not referring to well designed flash-based websites, flash animations, CSS animations, or Javascript animated images. These have their appropriate uses and can provide for a good user experience. What I’m talking about are the old animated GIFs that are still being used. Y’know, the ones that are on a constant loop?

Aren’t they distracting? There is no way of stopping the animation either. All they do is draw your website visitors away from the important content and give off a very unprofessional look.

5) Nobody Else has this Font on Their Site.

And for good reason too. It’s best to implement standard web fonts for website content and web copy. Users’ operating systems will have a wide variety of fonts installed, but if they don’t have the font you designed your site with it will be replaced by the default font; often breaking a website’s layout. Leave the fancy fonts for use in header/title images and logos.

Note: Some of the newer browsers support a feature that allow you to load publicly available fonts, regardless if the user has the fonts installed or not. Potential Problems:  Limited browser support and font licensing issues.

6) Hey! Look at all the Groups I’ve Joined!

Yes… it’s great that you are part of various organizations, associations, and networks. I’m sure each have their benefits for your business, your community and your clients, but that doesn’t mean you should cover your site with badges. The best place to highlight some of your memberships is on your “About Us” or “Company” page. In some cases, I think displaying 1 or 2 (I think even 2 is pushing it) small badges in your footer is acceptable.

7) Your Website – an Endless Novel About Your Business

Make your content easy to scan through by utilizing blocks of text, headers, and titles. Keep the content straight to the point and trim any fat. According to UseIt.com, “nearly 80% of site visitors will quickly scan over a new web page with only 16% reading word-for-word”

Here’s a good example of how to trim some fat:

Instead of this

Cut down to this

End result

8 ) What?!? My Site has to be Usable by Those with Disabilities?

To make your website more accessible, even by search engines, you should include “alt”, “title”, and “meta” tags. Let me quickly explain what these are. “Alt” tags are an alternative text description for your images. Often misused, where people will fill them with keywords for page rankings, Alt descriptions are to be used in situations where the image will not load or be visible. For example, those who may have poor eyesight and require a screen reader will hear the text read to them.

“Title” tags are used to describe any page element like links, tables, or images. Although not required, they can be beneficial for your users by providing additional information about the element. Additionally, search engines will read through these as regular page content.

“Meta” tags refer to a description and keywords associated with your site and helps search engines to understand what your site is about. Each page should have its own description and set of keywords.

9) Um… Where am I?

You know your site is pretty bad when users get lost or can’t figure out where they are on your site. Aside from using headings, you should also make use of page titles. Page titles not only serve as an identifier, but are also the clickable headers found in search engines.

10) And Now…a Word From Our Sponsors

Commercials… we hate ‘em. That’s why we all have some sort of Digital Video Recorder connected to our cable box, right? Then why would you consider placing an advertisement in the middle of your blog post, article, or other written content? That is equally annoying. You might as well just fill your site with useless pop-up ads.

11) Spelcheker iz frree

It’s easy to fall victim to common typos and punctuation errors, but before publishing your website or blog article be sure to at least use your spell checker. A website full of spelling errors says a lot about you and your business. Be aware of the common spelling and grammatical errors that your spell-checker won’t flag:

Your – You’re – You

Their – They’re – There

Lose – Loose

Complement – Compliment

Principal – Principle

Stationery – Stationary (I made this mistake in the early stages of tek-uniQue… how embarrassing. Thanks for looking out Rabors!)

Except and Accept

Affect and Effect

Peak and Pique

Assure, Insure, and Ensure

Moot and Mute

Are there any elements of web design that you simply can’t stand? What makes you leave a website before even taking a look around?