The list of common Web site errors is so long that it's hard to know where to start, so let's begin with a few of the most egregious ones in no particular order:
Broken links. When readers or customers see broken links on your site, you look like you don't care about your business. It's the same as telling you to turn to page 620 in this book when there is no page 620. Instant credibility meltdown! There are many simple ways to redirect outdated links either to your front page or, perhaps better, to a specific page that tells readers why a particular page is no longer there, with instructions on how to find similar material elsewhere on your site. Of course, this should be necessary only for readers coming to your site through links from search engines or other referring sites. You should never have any bad links of your own that is, links on your site leading to dead pages.
Making readers jump through hoops to get to the "meat" of your site's message. If you are running a news site, the first thing a reader should see, front and center, is news. If you are selling goods or services, your offerings should be top dead center. The worst thing you can give a new reader is a message that says, "You need the latest version of AudioIntruder installed to take full advantage of this site's features. Download it here." Huh? We just want to read an article or price some merchandise, not download software. So we readers click away when we see that message. There are plenty of other Web sites that work fine with software we already have. We also don't need to see mission statements, cute animated introductions, or any other time-wasters before you give us the information we want. (You can use all the animation and other cute tricks you want somewhere or other on your site, as long as you don't force them down our throats on your first page, okay?)
Bad navigation schemes. Your site can be full of wonderful copy and great art, but if site visitors can't find all this goodness, every bit of effort and money you put into your creation is wasted. Sure, you can find your way around your Web site. But what about the rest of us, the people who have never seen your site before or come to it only when we're in the market for your products or looking for specific information? Wouldn't you rather have us concentrating on what you have to offer than groping around trying to find it? We are not going to put a lot of effort into rooting around on your site, looking for half-hidden information, before we go back to a search engine and try to find something similar elsewhere.
Crashing readers' browsers. This is the worst Web site sin you can commit. Browser crashes are usually caused by bad Javascript or poor code generated by Microsoft Front Page or other "easy" Web site creation software. Writing HTML, Java, and Javascript takes skill, and the more complicated a site's HTML, Java, and Javascript get, the more skill it takes to make everything work right. (If you or your hired Web designer don't know how to make a complex site that will work with almost any Web browser, get a new Web designer or make a simpler site.)
Take Pity on Phone Modem Users. You may have a broadband Net connection at your office, but over 80% of U.S. Internet users and up to 95% of all Internet users worldwide use telephone modems that can take minutes, not seconds, to download a Web page full of large graphics and complicated HTML formatting. A page that takes much more than 10 seconds to load will drive most users away and you can't think that because a phone modem is "supposed" to work at 56K and handle 56KB per second that a page with a total of 560KB worth of information will load in 10 seconds. Depending on the page's file structure, and the actual, real life speed of your potential customer's connection, which may be closer to 21K than 56K for all you know, you may be forcing that customer to wait as long as two minutes to view that page. Of course, after 10 or 20 seconds, she's probably going to click away from your site, never to return.
There are many other evils inflicted on the Web-using public by clueless designers and site owners, but the ones listed above are the worst of the worst. Now that we've got them spotted, we'll look at ways to make a good site, starting with its basic architecture and moving into just enough technical detail to show why some sites work well (and are popular) and others don't work well (and are either unpopular or not as popular as they could be with a little reworking).
