STAA Conference: Bells and Whistles

STAA Conference, Washington DC, January 2002

Bells and Whistles

Can be good, are often bad, and many need to be widely tested A short list:

• Flash movies
• 
  
  • (always provide an escape)
• Dark colours and type that can't be read on some monitors
• 
  
  • (an example, an English Department that should know better)
• Frames
• 
  
  • (only the first page can be bookmarked)
• Cascading style sheets
• 
  
  • (can be classy, but need modern browser and processor)
• Animations (and rotating bullets)
• 
  
  • (distract from the message -- do you really want to know this man?)
• Javascript doodads
• 
  
  • Rollovers
  • 
    
    • (do they tell you anything? they slow loading time)
  • Pop-up menus
  • 
    
    • (they can work, but why complicate things?)
• Graphics that don't have a function or are cluttered, or both
• 
  
  • (people will click on them anyway -- an example of a site that deserves no curtain call)
• Trying too hard and assuming your audience knows who you are
• 
  
  • (an example -- do you know what tdf means?)
• Coloured text that doesn't link to anything and just shouts
• 
  
  • (more wasted clicks -- and do you really think that this site is about quality entertainment?)

Red check marks highlight points that will be of interest to established sites as well as new ones.