Things that make you go hmmmm. . .

I've been doing a lot of competitor searches for clients lately and I've come across websites that just . . . make you want to go "hmmmm . . ." Thought I would share a few of these with you to serve as reminders that your website is being visited by real people. Do Unto Others - right?

• Why does a butcher shop need a photo gallery? I'm just sayin'
  
  
  
• It's called website DESIGN for a reason - no need to cause your visitor to have a seizure with bright flashing colors that force you to look away. That's the worst of the many undesirable design techniques in use.
  
  

• How does a customer contact you when there is no phone number at all, no address, nothing on the website?
  
  
  
• Is it really necessary to launch music whenever a visitor comes to your site - without asking them first? Can you say "send me the earplugs please!"
  
  

• Why would a company want to use images for normal text instead of just straight text? Search engines like plain text better.
  
  

• Are we still assuming that EVERYONE is using the same browser? Internet Explorer, FireFox, Chrome, Safari - guess they don't care if the website is completely destroyed in IE6 or doesn't function in Chrome.
  
  

• What is with the small fonts? Maybe they don't expect that anyone would want to read the text so it doesn't matter . . .
  
  

• And what is with the light gray text on white backgrounds? Better hope that the visitor's screens are set to high contrast or they see nothing.

If you're curious and want to know the address of some of the "losers" n this list send me a note. If you've come across other things that make you go hmmm, please share them below!