This page will explain what I consider to be some "Do's and Dont's" of web page design. I'm not saying these are rules that are set in stone, just some observations from the various sites I have visited seeing what works and what doesn't.

     Every one loves those little additions to their sites that make them stand out from the crowd, those little tidbits of "Eyecandy" that make you all warm and fuzzy inside when you see them. :) Sure some of them are neat, like the little javascript clock that tells you what time it is in 14 different countries or the little smiley face that sticks its tongue out when you put your mouse pointer over it. They are generally neat, and give your site that personal touch.

     Then there are the ones that are just downright annoying. The following are just a few examples:

     Comet Cursors: You may or may not have heard of these. If you haven't, don't go looking for them. If you have, you know what I am talking about. This was a way for you to design your own special little cursor that would show up in place of the standard cursor when people visited your site. Your visitors simply had to down load a small little program to use and see your special cursor. What they didn't tell you was that the software you were downloading was Spy-ware. From then on, comet cursor was receiving a list of all the sites you visited after installing their software. Nice, huh? I would avoid this software and any site that uses it at all costs.

     Cursor Tails: These were "neat" or "cool" for about 1.3 seconds, then they got annoying. Don't get me wrong, when they are done CORRECTLY they are great. However, when they fall into the wrong hands they can annoy you to no end. I despise nothing more than visiting a site that has War and Peace Unabridged chasing my cursor all over the screen, or a trail of pretty sparklies that randomly swirl around my cursor constantly blocking my view. What I like about the example I have provided HERE is that the tail is very small, and the tail disappears when you stop moving your cursor. If you can keep them to a minimum, knock yourself out, If you feel that there needs to be a paragraph or two trailing the mouse cursor, don't be surprised if your site doesn't win any popularity contests.

     Popup Ads: This is probably one of the most despised forms of advertising on the internet. I personally will leave a site immediately after the first popup ad rears its ugly head. If you really feel that you must advertise something on your site, do it with a catchy link title or let the visitor choose to click something that opens another window. If you start forcing unwanted things on a visitor, don't be surprised if they make a hasty retreat never to return.

     Music: I can keep this one short and sweet. Make sure there is a way to turn off any embedded music that is very easy for the user to find. There is nothing worse than forgetting your speakers are turned up, only to be reminded by a midi or wav file jumping out at you from nowhere.