1. Frames
Frames were rarely done in a search-friendly manner. In the age of cellphone browsers and section 508 compliance, frames must go.
2. IE 5 Mac hacks
Internet Explorer was a miserable little browser on every OS it ran on, but was particularly miserable on the Mac. It required CSS hacks that other browsers tripped over. Some standards it – inexplicably – did not support. Even on MacOSX, it sucked.
3. Splash pages
These pieces of eyecandy were frequently skipped by visitors, and even more frequently cursed under their breath. Known to be slow-loading and pointless, it is nice to see them used less often.
4. Microsoft Frontpage Extensions
These buggy little replacements for scripting would break if you looked at them funny, and gave years of frustration to unix admins. Even Microsoft is turning it’s back on the Frontpage product, and not a day too soon.
5. Popup and Popunder windows
There are still sites that tout the effectiveness of popups and popunders, but let’s face it: We all hate them. Every good browser tries to block them, but every once in a while you’ll see one. They are the junkmail of web browsing, and it’s time for them to go far, far away.
6. Animated layers that block content on page load
There are few things as annoying as a layer that suddenly slides over to block content you are reading. They usually make users dismiss the ad to read page content.
I’ve gotten so that I dismiss anything that slides over, not even taking the time to read the ad.
The web will be a better place when these web design techniques are no longer seen. Have others? Add a comment and let us know!