Web Design Articles
articles indexReport Shows Users Get Stressed By Bad Web Sites
13 December 06
A recent report proves bad web site design can cause stress and take its toll on our nervous systems, not to mention our mouse buttons.
The report by the Social Issues Research Centre claims there are five main web site issues that lead to so-called "Mouse Rage Syndrome". These are:
- Slow to load pages
- Confusing / difficult to navigate layouts
- Excessive pop-ups
- Unnecessary advertising
- Site unavailability
The results indicated that most web users would rather visit an alternate site than deal with the stress caused by a badly-designed and frustrating site.
Physiological tests on a group of Internet users showed the physical signs of anxiety this causes:
- Heart rate quickens
- Increased sweating
- Furious clicking of the mouse
- Simultaneous clicking and cursing the screen
- Bashing the mouse
The poor mouse seems to take the brunt of our anger, even though it is doing its job and it is the badly-designed web sites that are not.
These results should further emphasise the need to put the user first, and that poor design and difficult navigation will result in users going elsewhere.
