Somebody Made A Very Bad Decision
June 11th, 2008 Posted in Grade FAutoplay for an audio-enabled site is bad. Giving no option to turn the sound off - ridiculous!
Grade: F
Company: Mays & Associates
Event: Visiting the Columbia Festival of the Arts Web site
Location: Online
What Can I Say
I was looking for some online information this week about the upcoming Columbia Festival of the Arts when I found the (apparently) official site for the event. As soon as the page loaded, some music kicked in along with a Flash slide show. Not so good, I thought, as I searched desperately for the pause or stop button. Really not good, I began thinking, as I got a little more frantic looking to stop the noise. THIS IS NOT GOOD AT ALL! I concluded as I realized there was no option for me to control the volume aside from leaving the page or turning off the sound on my computer.
Hello, Goodbye
There are some instances where I expect videos, Flash animation or Flash audio to start when I bring up the site. In most cases though, designs with these elements come from people with little Web experience. Everyone gets a little carried away when they make their first Web page and a few jumping smiley faces or, these days, a little overzealous Flash animation can certainly be forgiven. However, it is unforgivable for a professional Web design company to engage in these practices. The poor design choices has a tangible negative effect on people interested in the event. I really like living in Columbia. I really like all of the great events we have in this wonderful city including the Arts Festival. I do not like this site and it is a shame that I have to navigate around it to find the information that I need.
