What annoys you the most about websites?
From June - August 2006 we asked you, 'What annoys you the most about websites?' 1208 of you responded with the following results:
- Not being able to find what you need 354 votes (29%)
- Pages taking a long time to load 171 votes (14%)
- Poorly written content 106 votes (9%)
- Intrusive adverts (e.g. pop-ups) 496 votes (41%)
- Poor search results 81 votes (7%)
Why you voted this way
A big thank you to all of you that took the time to tell us why you voted how you did. Some of our favourite comments from you, divided up by how you voted, are:
Not being able to find what you need
Nothing makes me leave a site quicker than not being able to find what I need. I just go to my next Googled result!
Katie Pearse, Alberta, Canada
This time last year I would have voted for the adverts, but with popup blockers, they aren't as much of a bother anymore. What really upsets me is clicking links that appear to be promising, but don't have the information I need.
Laurel, Ohio, USA
What's the point of visiting any website if you can't find what you're looking for? It's so frustrating to visit the site of a business that makes or sells something I want and not be able to find the information I need. And it's no good for the site owners - they won't make money from visitors who can't find what they want.
Meta Brown, Chicago, USA
It's a waste of time and effort if you cannot find the information you require. You will never return back to the site.
Natalie R, Melbourne, Australia
If you can't find what you need on a website, that website is a waste of time and cyberspace.
John Clifford, London, UK
Pages taking a long time to load
I think generally speaking when we visit websites, we're looking for information... so it's frustrating to sit and wait while some huge graphics or flash animation loads. We can see it obviously took time to make, but it has no bearing on the quality of what's in the site. If I could choose between people complementing me on my graphics or my writing, I'd probably choose the former, but only because I'm as daft as everyone else out there!
John B, Auckland, New Zealand
I quite often find myself counting to 10 in my head, and if the page hasn't loaded by then, I click the good old back button and try another site.
Jon, Hitchin, UK
Believe it or not, from time to time some of us still use dial-up access! Usually, pages that take a long time to load have nothing on them that couldn't have been done more simply or are just plain badly coded.
Leila Hodgkins, Harrow, UK
If I have to wait for a page to load I'll go elsewhere - there's not enough time in the day as it is. But I get really annoyed as maybe the right information was on that site - I'll never know!
Becky, Bedford, UK
Poorly written content
I really don't like it when I visit sites that have what I need, but I am unable to understand it because of the lack of writing skills of the author. If you don't understand English well enough to make your site readable, then don't make your site in English or hire people to do it for you...
Jean, Maastricht, Netherlands
The worst is finding the site and then having it read like a grade schooler wrote it or having it read like a text manual. A page should be fluent, flowing and easy to understand.
Linda Dinkel, California, USA
The whole reason I'm looking on the web at all is for the content I hope to find there. If it's written poorly, I'm wasting my time.
Tobin Hunt, Brighton, UK
Intrusive adverts (e.g. pop-ups)
Intrusive adverts are the most annoying to me as they are an active decision by the perpetrator. All the other criteria can be attributed to a lack of knowledge, training or resources - but at least the offending pages are ones you actually choose to view...
Andy Brown, Sheffield, UK
Advertisements which are relevant to what I am looking for and are presented in a way that they can easily be noticed are welcome as long as they do not disturb the site's information flow.
Erich Mayer, Melbourne, Australia
Pop-ups are even more annoying when they are formatted so that you cannot see the X to close the window. I never respond to pop-ups and I have a blacklist of companies/products which I will never use/buy, because they have treated me with disrespect.
John Akin, Lancashire, UK
I find ads that flash extremely annoying and distracting. If I can't stop them from moving then I don't stay on the website.
Ann, Canterbury, UK
Intrusive adverts (some sites are managing to bypass browser pop-up blockers now), any advert presented in Flash and, *especially* any advert placed within the body copy of a page are really annoying. I guess I have "banner blindness" to certain parts of a page (top right, for instance), but body-content adverts really irritate me.
Francis Storr, Tunbridge Wells, UK
I understand that many websites like to earn extra money by placing adverts on their sites. While they make money, the casual browser will lose valuable time and patience. When I arrive at a site that is cluttered with adverts, I simply move onto another site.
Ken McClure, Florida, USA
Poor search results
I find the homepage of most websites overload the user with information. Out of habit I now go to a site then search for whatever it is I need, rather than trawl through the pages looking - hence poor search results is my main complaint.
Sarah, Wellington, New Zealand
Big sites are worst for poor search facilities, particularly those for government departments. One gets the impression that they really do not care whether you find anything on the site or not. Too many search results are just as bad as none! You might as well search the site yourself as look at several hundred references
Alan Leyland, Cumbria, UK
What next?
Please contact us by phone on 0870 242 6095 or by e-mail at info at webcredible.co.uk. We'll discuss your website needs and requirements with no pushy sales pitch and no obligation to you.
See also
- Get a new website through our user-centered design and accessible web design expertise
- Get our accessible and usable CMS so your site offers outstanding accessibility
- Optimise your website with our usability consulting and accessibility consulting services
- Attend one of our 6 fantastic usability & accessibility training courses