Design Tip:
Say no to music/sound/auto-play video.
The use of music has NEVER been a good idea when integrated it into a design. Yet, no matter how many times I tell clients that music is no good, they still insist on it. Only in certain RARE occasions can it be implemented with awesome results:
- If you are a band or musician (band’s song auto-plays)
- Movie Web Sites (autoplay trailer)
- Small Sound Effects
On any other site, the first thing someone is going to do, is click away or look for the MUTE/PAUSE button.
Especially if they are browsing in a “quiet” environment — then it will invoke a sense of panic to the user. No one wants to invoke a fight or flight response when viewing a web site. You might love that song — but chances are that the majority of your readers will not. Especially if they are viewing your site at work! Take it off, or disable Auto-Play and just have it so the user has to click PLAY to start the music or video.
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So true!! I normally open a few pages at once and then have to find the one that plays music and close it. Very annoying!
It is always at work too…LOL
Agreed! The first thing I do is pause all the sounds!
There is a blog that I occasionally visit during blog hops that plays music. I like the content on that blog, but I don’t sub because of the music. It takes a long time to load and then it has to reload EVERY time I go to another post. Very annoying!
Plus, there are lots of people who don’t have access to high-speed internet or have low bandwidth limits. Autoplay saps their resources.
I hate having to remember to keep my computer on mute because of blogs with sound because I read blogs late at night and don’t want to disturb anyone in my household. And those rare times I’ve snuck a peek during the day it’s always come back to bite me.
I’ve nearly had a heart attach more times than I can count because of blogs with music. I’m surfing in peace and quiet and then BOOOOM, music. Not a good thing at all.
I have a hard time understanding why some people thing music on their website is such a good idea(except the pages that you mention where it feels more natural and where one might expect it to be sounds of some sort or another).
I HATE IT! I’ve also stopped visiting sites that have video ads because they are so annoying.