Category: ‘Web Sites’ · TangleBones
Top 1 Web Navigation Design Tips: Don’t use Flash for Navigation
People love lists. They never want to read an article about how to actually do anything: They want to read the 10 ways to do it. Or the 5 worst places to be when they’re doing it. Or the 3 most famous people that ever did whatever it is they want to know about doing. Fine. I’ll play along.
Here’s the Top 1 Web Navigation Design Tips: Don’t use Flash for navigation.
See what happened here?
I just wanted to open New Balance’s “Where to Buy” link in a new tab. But what do I get instead? The Flash right-click menu. And it’s not even as though the link does something inside the flash movie: it takes me to an entirely different page on the site! So why can’t I open it in a new tab? Because - and this is me guessing - they really loved moving the words I was trying to click on 5 pixels to the right.
But look: I’m not some anti-Flash curmudgeon! I love Youtube as much as the next guy. Hell, I’ve done my time building Flash sites. Some of the nifty stuff Chad and I were doing 8 years ago still isn’t common practice today. So believe me when I tell you: there’s a time and a place for Flash. This just isn’t it.
So here’s the deal, my designer friends: I’m not buying your shit when you interfere with using the browser the way it’s meant to be used. I’m done putting up with your bogus non-standard navigation. You’ve lost my business. How hard can it be to remember one rule?
Unnecessarily Large
The checkout process at TeeFury ends with this lovely bit of interface design:
Oh, they say it’s unnecessarily large, but I love it all the same. Just what a checkout needs: giant easy-to-read buttons with funny copy. A+!
I also love their concept: one tee-shirt a day, up to 3 shirts per customer, $9 each, and $2 shipping. Couldn’t be simpler. And obviously I picked up the inaugural tee for me and Sierra. Now all they need is a feed.
Amazon Discounts Reach a New Low
Oh Amazon, how did I live without your deals in my feed reader for so long? Such savings! Such convenience! And $0 off? Have you been reading my diary?