Web page style

Avoid, or use with caution

1. Pages you cannot link to.
   • Very common in the age of JS and Ajax.
   • In general, avoid things that break the Web model.

2. Unstable URLs.

3. Splash screens.
4. Intro videos and animations before the main site arrives.
5. Too many moving parts. Too many visual distractions.

6. Small font size
   • Large fonts are not a problem. Small unreadable fonts are a problem.
   • OK, I can "Ctrl +" on my desktop browser to read it. And probably pinch on my mobile browser to read it. But still, best avoid.

Bad things that people used to do

1. Page backgrounds
   • At least, page backgrounds with text directly on them. Most such setups just make your page unreadable and unpleasant.
   • If the text is in an opaque div and the opaque div sits on a page with a background, there is no problem.

2. Frames
   • Using frames (e.g. for a menu) breaks the clean, well-understood Web model. It breaks bookmarks and hyperlinks.
   • iframe is useful to embed one site's content in another.

3. Changing window.status
   • Some sites in the past used JS to edit window.status to show something other than the URL.
   • This took away the user's ability to see the URL that a link leads to.
   • This is no longer a problem. Because it can be used for attacks and deceptions, browsers no longer support changing window.status.
   • The URL is an important part of deciding whether to click on a link or not. Browsers should never hide it.

Other bad things

1. In general, sites that only work on (have only been tested on):
   1. Windows
   2. PC (not mobile)
   3. powerful client
   4. fast connection

2. Over-long, complex, cryptic URLs. See URL as UI.

3. URLs where you cannot hack off bits from the RHS to move up a level.

4. In general, Things that break the Web model.

• Web page style