{"id":72354,"date":"2019-11-01T04:20:11","date_gmt":"2019-11-01T11:20:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.taterboy.com\/blog\/2019\/11\/signs-your-website-feels-more-like-a-haunted-house-than-a-welcoming-home\/"},"modified":"2019-11-01T04:20:11","modified_gmt":"2019-11-01T11:20:11","slug":"signs-your-website-feels-more-like-a-haunted-house-than-a-welcoming-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.taterboy.com\/blog\/2019\/11\/signs-your-website-feels-more-like-a-haunted-house-than-a-welcoming-home\/","title":{"rendered":"Signs Your Website Feels More Like A Haunted House Than A Welcoming Home"},"content":{"rendered":"<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.smashingmagazine.com\/2019\/10\/signs-website-haunted-house-welcoming-home\/\"><title>Signs Your Website Feels More Like A Haunted House Than A Welcoming Home<\/title><\/p>\n<article>\n<header>\n<h1>Signs Your Website Feels More Like A Haunted House Than A Welcoming Home<\/h1>\n<address>Suzanne Scacca<\/address>\n<p>                  <time datetime=\"2019-10-31T12:30:59+02:00\">2019-10-31T12:30:59+02:00<\/time><time datetime=\"2019-11-01T10:06:05+00:00\">2019-11-01T10:06:05+00:00<\/time><\/header>\n<p>When building a website or PWA, no one ever thinks, \u201cI really hope my visitors run away in fear!\u201d Yet, one wrong move could make a visit to your website seem like a nightmarish walk through a haunted house instead of an awe-inspiring tour of a new home.<\/p>\n<p>To be clear, I\u2019m not talking about dark color palettes or blood-red typography that might remind someone of something they\u2019d seen in a horror movie. If those kinds of design choices make sense and don\u2019t intrude on readability, go for it! What I\u2019m talking about are those ominous feelings emitted by the design and content of a website \u2014 similar to the ones someone might feel when walking through a haunted house.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Frank T. McAndrew answered the question <a href=\"https:\/\/www.psychologytoday.com\/us\/blog\/out-the-ooze\/201511\/what-makes-house-feel-haunted\">\u201cWhat Makes a House Feel Haunted?\u201d<\/a> in an article on <em>Psychology Today<\/em> back in 2015. He explains:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cFrom a psychological point of view, the standard features of haunted houses trigger feelings of dread because they push buttons in our brains that evolved long before houses even existed. These alarm buttons warn us of potential danger and motivate us to proceed with caution.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>When a visitor shows up on your website, the last thing you want is for them to be wary of moving through it. You want your website to give off a welcoming and safe vibe; not one that makes visitors wonder what\u2019s lurking around the corner.<\/p>\n<p>So, today, I want to look at some ways in which a website might be giving your visitors the heebie-jeebies and what you can do to eliminate those haunted house-like elements from the experience.<\/p>\n<div data-component=\"FeaturePanel\" data-audience=\"non-subscriber\" data-remove=\"true\"><\/div>\n<h3>Four Signs Your Website Feels Like A Haunted House<\/h3>\n<p>In a lot of ways, a website is like your home. You add comfortable furnishings to it. You make it feel warm and inviting. And you clean up before anyone comes over, so they\u2019re not freaked out by the accumulated dust or clutter.<\/p>\n<p>If you keep that in the back of your mind (i.e. your website = your home), you can avoid these scary missteps as you design websites (as well as PWAs and mobile apps) for your clients.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.smashingmagazine.com\/articles\/#it-feels-abandoned\">It Feels Abandoned<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.smashingmagazine.com\/articles\/#its-too-confusing\">It\u2019s Too Confusing<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.smashingmagazine.com\/articles\/#it-looks-too-low-budget\">It Looks Too Low Budget<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.smashingmagazine.com\/articles\/#it-looks-unsafe\">It Looks Unsafe<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h4>1. It Feels Abandoned<\/h4>\n<p>There\u2019s a video game and movie called <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0384537\/\">Silent Hill<\/a> that\u2019s based on Centralia, a real ghost town in Pennsylvania. Decades ago, there was a coal mine fire in the town that led to toxic conditions like the gas and smoke that billow up from the ground to this day.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s an element the video game designers and cinematographers latched onto when creating their own eerily abandoned setting for Silent Hill:<\/p>\n<figure><a href=\"https:\/\/giphy.com\/gifs\/silent-hill-favmov-hsNZxZNASc2Ig\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.taterboy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/silent-hill-centralia-toxic-smoke.gif?resize=245%2C198\" width=\"245\" height=\"198\" alt=\"A still from the movie Silent Hill, featuring the toxic smoke that Centralia is known for.\"><\/a><figcaption>A still from the movie Silent Hill, featuring the toxic smoke that Centralia is known for. (Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/giphy.com\/gifs\/silent-hill-favmov-hsNZxZNASc2Ig\">GIPHY<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Eventually, Centralia was condemned due to the dangers posed by the fire and the resulting toxicity. Today, there are only a few residents who remain in town.<\/p>\n<p>While there are some tourists who venture to Centralia out of curiosity, they don\u2019t stay long. And why would they? The town is unlivable and it\u2019s devoid of any meaningful experiences.<\/p>\n<p>Your website may be sending similar signals if it\u2019s:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Too simple in design,<\/li>\n<li>Too outdated looking,<\/li>\n<li>Devoid of useful content,<\/li>\n<li>Seemingly uncared for,<\/li>\n<li>Powered only by a basic chatbot,<\/li>\n<li>Missing contact details or a working contact form.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The <a href=\"http:\/\/www.blockbuster.com\/\">Blockbuster<\/a> website (which I can\u2019t believe still exists) is a good example of the kinds of signals a website might send to visitors if it were abandoned:<\/p>\n<figure><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/596a87cd-083b-4e3f-a288-bb6e7d1e22b0\/blockbuster-website.png?ssl=1\"><\/p>\n<p>    <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.taterboy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/blockbuster-website.png 400w,\n\t\t\t        https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/indysigner\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_auto\/w_800\/https:\/\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/596a87cd-083b-4e3f-a288-bb6e7d1e22b0\/blockbuster-website.png 800w,\n\t\t\t        https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/indysigner\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_auto\/w_1200\/https:\/\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/596a87cd-083b-4e3f-a288-bb6e7d1e22b0\/blockbuster-website.png 1200w,\n\t\t\t        https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/indysigner\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_auto\/w_1600\/https:\/\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/596a87cd-083b-4e3f-a288-bb6e7d1e22b0\/blockbuster-website.png 1600w,\n\t\t\t        https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/indysigner\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_auto\/w_2000\/https:\/\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/596a87cd-083b-4e3f-a288-bb6e7d1e22b0\/blockbuster-website.png 2000w\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.taterboy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/blockbuster-website.png?w=900\" sizes=\"100vw\" alt=\"The Blockbuster website\"><\/a><figcaption>\n      The Blockbuster website has become nothing but a single landing page owned by DISH. (Source: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.blockbuster.com\/\">Blockbuster<\/a>) (<a href=\"https:\/\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/596a87cd-083b-4e3f-a288-bb6e7d1e22b0\/blockbuster-website.png\">Large preview<\/a>)<br \/>\n    <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The copyright on this website is from 2017, which is why the design of the site isn\u2019t as bad as one might expect it to be. Even the mobile counterpart is responsive:<\/p>\n<figure><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/36264a85-7127-4921-89d5-f4bf4670eb22\/blockbuster-mobile-website.png?ssl=1\"><\/p>\n<p>    <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.taterboy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/blockbuster-mobile-website.png 400w,\n\t\t\t        https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/indysigner\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_auto\/w_800\/https:\/\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/36264a85-7127-4921-89d5-f4bf4670eb22\/blockbuster-mobile-website.png 800w,\n\t\t\t        https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/indysigner\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_auto\/w_1200\/https:\/\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/36264a85-7127-4921-89d5-f4bf4670eb22\/blockbuster-mobile-website.png 1200w,\n\t\t\t        https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/indysigner\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_auto\/w_1600\/https:\/\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/36264a85-7127-4921-89d5-f4bf4670eb22\/blockbuster-mobile-website.png 1600w,\n\t\t\t        https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/indysigner\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_auto\/w_2000\/https:\/\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/36264a85-7127-4921-89d5-f4bf4670eb22\/blockbuster-mobile-website.png 2000w\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.taterboy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/blockbuster-mobile-website.png?w=900\" sizes=\"100vw\" alt=\"Blockbuster website on mobile\"><\/a><figcaption>\n      The nearly defunct Blockbuster still has a decent looking and mobile responsive website. (Source: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.blockbuster.com\/\">Blockbuster<\/a>) (<a href=\"https:\/\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/36264a85-7127-4921-89d5-f4bf4670eb22\/blockbuster-mobile-website.png\">Large preview<\/a>)<br \/>\n    <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>That said, this website is nothing but a husk of what it once was in its heyday.<\/p>\n<p>For example, this is what shows when someone clicks on \u201cBlockbuster Store Location\u201d:<\/p>\n<figure><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/75e42062-4c53-4a48-9b2c-049c8288ff63\/blockbuster-location.png?ssl=1\"><\/p>\n<p>    <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.taterboy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/blockbuster-location.png 400w,\n\t\t\t        https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/indysigner\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_auto\/w_800\/https:\/\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/75e42062-4c53-4a48-9b2c-049c8288ff63\/blockbuster-location.png 800w,\n\t\t\t        https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/indysigner\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_auto\/w_1200\/https:\/\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/75e42062-4c53-4a48-9b2c-049c8288ff63\/blockbuster-location.png 1200w,\n\t\t\t        https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/indysigner\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_auto\/w_1600\/https:\/\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/75e42062-4c53-4a48-9b2c-049c8288ff63\/blockbuster-location.png 1600w,\n\t\t\t        https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/indysigner\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_auto\/w_2000\/https:\/\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/75e42062-4c53-4a48-9b2c-049c8288ff63\/blockbuster-location.png 2000w\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.taterboy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/blockbuster-location.png?w=900\" sizes=\"100vw\" alt=\"BlockBuster location pop-up\"><\/a><figcaption>\n      The Blockbuster website advertises a location, but the pop-up leaves visitors with more questions than answers. (Source: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.blockbuster.com\/\">Blockbuster<\/a>) (<a href=\"https:\/\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/75e42062-4c53-4a48-9b2c-049c8288ff63\/blockbuster-location.png\">Large preview<\/a>)<br \/>\n    <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>If I had arrived at this site hoping to find a local video store to rent a movie from, I\u2019d be confused by this pop-up. Does the store actually exist at 211 NE Revere Ave? What\u2019s going to happen when I call the number? And why are they telling me I don\u2019t have to leave the couch?<\/p>\n<p>What DISH should\u2019ve done when buying out Blockbuster is to take ownership of this domain, but then direct it to their own website. As it stands now, it feels as though there\u2019s no one on the other side of this website and there\u2019s no point in keeping it alive (much like the business itself).<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s these kinds of questions and that eerie feeling of <em>\u201cWhat\u2019s going on here????\u201d<\/em> that you want to keep your visitors from experiencing.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<h4>2. It\u2019s Too Confusing<\/h4>\n<p>Another hallmark of a haunted house is excessive confusion. This is something that real-life serial killer H. H. Holmes mastered with his \u201cMurder Castle\u201d.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cThis edifice became Holmes\u2019 booby-trapped Murder Castle. The space featured soundproof rooms, secret passages and a disorienting maze of hallways and staircases. The rooms were also outfitted with trapdoors over chutes that dropped Holmes\u2019 unsuspecting victims to the building\u2019s basement.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.history.com\/topics\/crime\/murder-castle\">History.com<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Interestingly, there is a term in the field of environmental psychology related to this particular quality of a space: <strong>legibility<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Essentially, if a space (like a home or a website) has clear pathways and a logical organization, it\u2019s much easier for visitors to get oriented. Not only that, if a layout mirrors that of other spaces, it assists in recognizability and comfort. That sounds a lot like the legibility and navigability of a website, right?<\/p>\n<p>Obviously, you don\u2019t want your visitors to feel as though they\u2019re going to get lost in your website or like they\u2019re trapped within the walls of it. There are a number of things that could make them feel this way though:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Poor color contrasts,<\/li>\n<li>Jarring typography or animations,<\/li>\n<li>Excessively deep navigation without a trail of breadcrumbs,<\/li>\n<li>Disappearing navigation,<\/li>\n<li>Infinite scroll,<\/li>\n<li>Incessant pop-ups and disruptions that won\u2019t go away no matter how many times they\u2019re dismissed,<\/li>\n<li>An unclear or confusing call-to-action that makes them wonder what happens when they click it.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Let\u2019s look at an example.<\/p>\n<p>How many of you would feel confident pursuing any of the paths (links) available to you on the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.arngren.net\/\">ARNGREN<\/a> website?<\/p>\n<figure><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/d0ffa694-d777-42ed-a155-fa4ea64e3050\/arngren-website.png?ssl=1\"><\/p>\n<p>    <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.taterboy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/arngren-website.png 400w,\n\t\t\t        https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/indysigner\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_auto\/w_800\/https:\/\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/d0ffa694-d777-42ed-a155-fa4ea64e3050\/arngren-website.png 800w,\n\t\t\t        https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/indysigner\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_auto\/w_1200\/https:\/\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/d0ffa694-d777-42ed-a155-fa4ea64e3050\/arngren-website.png 1200w,\n\t\t\t        https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/indysigner\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_auto\/w_1600\/https:\/\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/d0ffa694-d777-42ed-a155-fa4ea64e3050\/arngren-website.png 1600w,\n\t\t\t        https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/indysigner\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_auto\/w_2000\/https:\/\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/d0ffa694-d777-42ed-a155-fa4ea64e3050\/arngren-website.png 2000w\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.taterboy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/arngren-website.png?w=900\" sizes=\"100vw\" alt=\"ARNGREN website\"><\/a><figcaption>\n      The ARNGREN website is littered with excessive links and not enough organization. (Source: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.arngren.net\/\">ARNGREN<\/a>) (<a href=\"https:\/\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/d0ffa694-d777-42ed-a155-fa4ea64e3050\/arngren-website.png\">Large preview<\/a>)<br \/>\n    <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>This is what appears when you click on the \u201cPEDALS\u201d image\/link in the top-middle of the ARNGREN home page:<\/p>\n<figure><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/8f7eb33b-68db-41d8-bba8-225cb0466d52\/arngren-product-page.png?ssl=1\"><\/p>\n<p>    <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.taterboy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/arngren-product-page.png 400w,\n\t\t\t        https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/indysigner\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_auto\/w_800\/https:\/\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/8f7eb33b-68db-41d8-bba8-225cb0466d52\/arngren-product-page.png 800w,\n\t\t\t        https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/indysigner\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_auto\/w_1200\/https:\/\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/8f7eb33b-68db-41d8-bba8-225cb0466d52\/arngren-product-page.png 1200w,\n\t\t\t        https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/indysigner\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_auto\/w_1600\/https:\/\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/8f7eb33b-68db-41d8-bba8-225cb0466d52\/arngren-product-page.png 1600w,\n\t\t\t        https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/indysigner\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_auto\/w_2000\/https:\/\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/8f7eb33b-68db-41d8-bba8-225cb0466d52\/arngren-product-page.png 2000w\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.taterboy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/arngren-product-page.png?w=900\" sizes=\"100vw\" alt=\"ARNGREN category page\"><\/a><figcaption>\n      An example of one of ARNGREN\u2019s product\/category pages. (Source: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.arngren.net\/\">ARNGREN<\/a>) (<a href=\"https:\/\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/8f7eb33b-68db-41d8-bba8-225cb0466d52\/arngren-product-page.png\">Large preview<\/a>)<br \/>\n    <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>As you can see, the \u201cIndex\u201d disappears from the left, so the only option visitors have is to click the home page link or hit the browser \u201cBack\u201d button to depart from the path they\u2019ve taken.<\/p>\n<p>Then there\u2019s the page itself which scrolls on and on, showing off more pictures of bicycles and scooters. There are occasional descriptions and links that appear, but it\u2019s really nothing more than a painful rabbit hole to fall down:<\/p>\n<figure><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/fe6bbd74-8449-4116-b6f5-293f163165a6\/arngren-links.png?ssl=1\"><\/p>\n<p>    <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.taterboy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/arngren-links.png 400w,\n\t\t\t        https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/indysigner\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_auto\/w_800\/https:\/\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/fe6bbd74-8449-4116-b6f5-293f163165a6\/arngren-links.png 800w,\n\t\t\t        https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/indysigner\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_auto\/w_1200\/https:\/\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/fe6bbd74-8449-4116-b6f5-293f163165a6\/arngren-links.png 1200w,\n\t\t\t        https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/indysigner\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_auto\/w_1600\/https:\/\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/fe6bbd74-8449-4116-b6f5-293f163165a6\/arngren-links.png 1600w,\n\t\t\t        https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/indysigner\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_auto\/w_2000\/https:\/\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/fe6bbd74-8449-4116-b6f5-293f163165a6\/arngren-links.png 2000w\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.taterboy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/arngren-links.png?w=900\" sizes=\"100vw\" alt=\"ARNGREN text, links, and images\"><\/a><figcaption>\n      A disorganized and poorly designed page on the ARNGREN website. (Source: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.arngren.net\/\">ARNGREN<\/a>) (<a href=\"https:\/\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/fe6bbd74-8449-4116-b6f5-293f163165a6\/arngren-links.png\">Large preview<\/a>)<br \/>\n    <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>This website is exactly how I expect visitors of H. H. Holmes\u2019 Murder Castle felt when they first stepped inside those confusing hallways or fell through one of his trap doors. There\u2019s no rhyme or reason to any of the pages and it almost feels as dangerous to backtrack as it is to move forward.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019d like to avoid taking your visitors on such a harrowing journey, focus on creating a clear and open path that\u2019s easy to traverse and to get off of when they want to.<\/p>\n<h4>3. It Looks Too Low Budget<\/h4>\n<p>It\u2019s not just real haunted houses you want to avoid emulating. You should also steer clear of certain types of haunted house attractions.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m what you might call a horror addict. I watch scary movies all year long. I take haunted tours every time I visit a new city. And I spend a good chunk of the months of September and October going to haunted house attractions.<\/p>\n<p>As you can imagine, I\u2019ve seen some really impressive haunted houses, and I\u2019ve seen some that are really poorly done.<\/p>\n<p>This, for instance, is an encounter I had with a street actor at <a href=\"https:\/\/orlando.halloweenhorrornights.com\/site\/\">Halloween Horror Nights<\/a>:<\/p>\n<figure><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/22fc2c20-a21f-43de-bd0b-2425d82d5386\/halloween-horror-nights.JPG?ssl=1\"><\/p>\n<p>    <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.taterboy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/halloween-horror-nights.jpg 400w,\n\t\t\t        https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/indysigner\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_auto\/w_800\/https:\/\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/22fc2c20-a21f-43de-bd0b-2425d82d5386\/halloween-horror-nights.JPG 800w,\n\t\t\t        https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/indysigner\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_auto\/w_1200\/https:\/\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/22fc2c20-a21f-43de-bd0b-2425d82d5386\/halloween-horror-nights.JPG 1200w,\n\t\t\t        https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/indysigner\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_auto\/w_1600\/https:\/\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/22fc2c20-a21f-43de-bd0b-2425d82d5386\/halloween-horror-nights.JPG 1600w,\n\t\t\t        https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/indysigner\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_auto\/w_2000\/https:\/\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/22fc2c20-a21f-43de-bd0b-2425d82d5386\/halloween-horror-nights.JPG 2000w\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.taterboy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/halloween-horror-nights.jpg?w=900\" sizes=\"100vw\" alt=\"Halloween Horror Nights scare actor\"><\/a><figcaption>\n      That\u2019s me trying not to giggle too hard at the Halloween Horror Nights scare actor. (Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/orlando.halloweenhorrornights.com\/site\/\">Halloween Horror Nights<\/a>) (<a href=\"https:\/\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/22fc2c20-a21f-43de-bd0b-2425d82d5386\/halloween-horror-nights.JPG\">Large preview<\/a>)<br \/>\n    <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Although I have a slightly cowered stance, you can see that I&#8217;m laughing. That\u2019s because I could see his face through the holes of his mask.<\/p>\n<p>Now, this by no means is a low budget haunted house\/Halloween event. And this actor deserves all sorts of kudos for walking around steamy hot Florida in that getup and on stilts, no less. But I will say that being there in the daytime where I could see through the mask did deflate my enthusiasm. It also had me wondering if the rest of the experience would be as disappointing. (For the record, it wasn\u2019t.)<\/p>\n<p>You definitely don\u2019t want your visitors noticing flaws, odd design choices and other errors on your site. Then, wondering why the company behind it didn\u2019t put more money into design and development.<\/p>\n<p>If your website looks cheesy, overdone or like it was cheaply thrown together, you\u2019re going to have a big problem on your hands. The rest of the web has set a very high bar for what a website should look like and how it should work. Fail to live up to those expectations and you\u2019ll find that people will start to question the legitimacy or worth of the business behind it.<\/p>\n<p>For instance, this is the website for <a href=\"http:\/\/art.yale.edu\/\">Yale University\u2019s School of Art<\/a>:<\/p>\n<figure><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/41341a60-a610-43ac-96b3-bbfa7d4f8bd5\/yale-school-of-art-website.png?ssl=1\"><\/p>\n<p>    <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.taterboy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/yale-school-of-art-website.png 400w,\n\t\t\t        https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/indysigner\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_auto\/w_800\/https:\/\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/41341a60-a610-43ac-96b3-bbfa7d4f8bd5\/yale-school-of-art-website.png 800w,\n\t\t\t        https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/indysigner\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_auto\/w_1200\/https:\/\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/41341a60-a610-43ac-96b3-bbfa7d4f8bd5\/yale-school-of-art-website.png 1200w,\n\t\t\t        https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/indysigner\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_auto\/w_1600\/https:\/\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/41341a60-a610-43ac-96b3-bbfa7d4f8bd5\/yale-school-of-art-website.png 1600w,\n\t\t\t        https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/indysigner\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_auto\/w_2000\/https:\/\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/41341a60-a610-43ac-96b3-bbfa7d4f8bd5\/yale-school-of-art-website.png 2000w\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.taterboy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/yale-school-of-art-website.png?w=900\" sizes=\"100vw\" alt=\"Yale University\u2019s art department website\"><\/a><figcaption>\n      This is the home page of the School of Art at Yale University. (Source: <a href=\"http:\/\/art.yale.edu\/\">Yale University School of Art<\/a>) (<a href=\"https:\/\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/41341a60-a610-43ac-96b3-bbfa7d4f8bd5\/yale-school-of-art-website.png\">Large preview<\/a>)<br \/>\n    <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>I thought it was a joke, that somehow I\u2019d landed on someone pretending to be Yale University at yale.net instead of yale.edu. But I was wrong. This is the real website of the art department at the Ivy League university.<\/p>\n<p>So, I dug a little further, hoping that somewhere on this subdomain would be an explanation of why this website sucked so much. This is what I found:<\/p>\n<figure><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/93970b12-78e2-4cd3-8bb2-f1f5117f2113\/yale-art-site-message.png?ssl=1\"><\/p>\n<p>    <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.taterboy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/yale-art-site-message.png 400w,\n\t\t\t        https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/indysigner\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_auto\/w_800\/https:\/\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/93970b12-78e2-4cd3-8bb2-f1f5117f2113\/yale-art-site-message.png 800w,\n\t\t\t        https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/indysigner\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_auto\/w_1200\/https:\/\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/93970b12-78e2-4cd3-8bb2-f1f5117f2113\/yale-art-site-message.png 1200w,\n\t\t\t        https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/indysigner\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_auto\/w_1600\/https:\/\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/93970b12-78e2-4cd3-8bb2-f1f5117f2113\/yale-art-site-message.png 1600w,\n\t\t\t        https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/indysigner\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_auto\/w_2000\/https:\/\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/93970b12-78e2-4cd3-8bb2-f1f5117f2113\/yale-art-site-message.png 2000w\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.taterboy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/yale-art-site-message.png?w=900\" sizes=\"100vw\" alt=\"Yale School of Art web design\"><\/a><figcaption>\n      The Yale School of Art explains why their website \/ wiki looks the way it does. (Source: <a href=\"http:\/\/art.yale.edu\/\">Yale University School of Art<\/a>) (<a href=\"https:\/\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/93970b12-78e2-4cd3-8bb2-f1f5117f2113\/yale-art-site-message.png\">Large preview<\/a>)<br \/>\n    <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Let me point you to the most revealing parts of the explanation. First, they explain that this site is an open-source wiki:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>It is a wiki, meaning that every graduate student, staff person, and faculty member of the School can change this website\u2019s content or add to it at any time.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Next, they warn you that you may be shocked by what you see:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>As you move through it you may, in consequence of such openness, encounter content that surprises you or with which you don\u2019t agree. That will be the sign that this website reflects life in our institution in all its heterogeneous dimensions.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Considering the editor of this page used a negative review from Facebook as the repeating background image, there must be some inside joke here. In fact, when I looked into it further, it seems as though this school has had a tradition of scary web design choices <a href=\"https:\/\/hyperallergic.com\/12252\/reddit-yale-art-dept\/\">as far back as 2010<\/a>. So, they obviously know what they\u2019re doing.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s the thing though: even if you\u2019re designing for someone with as well-known a reputation as Yale, building something that looks like it was thrown together in Paint back in 2001 is no way to go. There\u2019s no exception for design this bad and I don\u2019t think your visitors will be happy that you wasted their time either.<\/p>\n<p>I realize this might help with the virality of a site, but it\u2019ll do nothing for the credibility of it. All you\u2019ll end up with is a few thrill seekers stumbling through in search of a good laugh or shock. What you need instead is visitors who feel comfortable and confident enough to convert.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<h4>4. It Looks Unsafe<\/h4>\n<p>The last thing that might leave people feeling unsettled is a lack of security (or at least the perception of none).<\/p>\n<p>One of the things I often get asked by people who don\u2019t like scary movies or going to haunted houses is:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cBut aren\u2019t you scared?\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Of course, I\u2019m scared! I enjoy all of this horror stuff because <em>I can do so safely from a distance<\/em>. I know that the scare actors in a haunted house aren\u2019t going to hurt me and I know that Michael Myers isn\u2019t going to pop out of my TV screen and butcher me in the middle of the night. Plus, it\u2019s a much more enjoyable way to get my cardio in without having to hit the treadmill.<\/p>\n<figure><a href=\"https:\/\/giphy.com\/gifs\/halloween-michael-myers-1978-januZWivPkRRC\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.taterboy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/halloween-michael-myers-1978.gif?w=500\"  alt=\"A still of Michael Myers sneaking up on Laurie Strode in Halloween.\"><\/a><figcaption>A still of Michael Myers sneaking up on Laurie Strode in Halloween. (Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/giphy.com\/gifs\/halloween-michael-myers-1978-januZWivPkRRC\">GIPHY<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>I think for some people, though, they don\u2019t have that same sense of security when partaking in activities like these, which is why they steer clear. And this is something you need to be extra careful about when it comes to your website. Specifically, be mindful of:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Installing SSL certificates on every website.<\/li>\n<li>Using security badges at checkout.<\/li>\n<li>Preventing 404 errors.<\/li>\n<li>Fixing faulty contact forms.<\/li>\n<li>Blocking spam in comment sections and forums.<\/li>\n<li>Monitoring for server downtime.<\/li>\n<li>Repairing the white screen of death.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Let\u2019s look at an example of a website that sends a number of red flags pertaining to security. This is <a href=\"http:\/\/www.roadkilltshirts.com\/\">RoadKill T-Shirts<\/a>:<\/p>\n<figure><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/10fed034-ad49-4d3d-9478-a00fd8257163\/roadkill-t-shirts-website.png?ssl=1\"><\/p>\n<p>    <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.taterboy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/roadkill-t-shirts-website.png 400w,\n\t\t\t        https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/indysigner\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_auto\/w_800\/https:\/\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/10fed034-ad49-4d3d-9478-a00fd8257163\/roadkill-t-shirts-website.png 800w,\n\t\t\t        https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/indysigner\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_auto\/w_1200\/https:\/\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/10fed034-ad49-4d3d-9478-a00fd8257163\/roadkill-t-shirts-website.png 1200w,\n\t\t\t        https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/indysigner\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_auto\/w_1600\/https:\/\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/10fed034-ad49-4d3d-9478-a00fd8257163\/roadkill-t-shirts-website.png 1600w,\n\t\t\t        https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/indysigner\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_auto\/w_2000\/https:\/\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/10fed034-ad49-4d3d-9478-a00fd8257163\/roadkill-t-shirts-website.png 2000w\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.taterboy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/roadkill-t-shirts-website.png?w=900\" sizes=\"100vw\" alt=\"RoadKill T-Shirts website\"><\/a><figcaption>\n      This is the home page of the RoadKill T-Shirts website. (Source: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.roadkilltshirts.com\/\">RoadKill T-Shirts<\/a>) (<a href=\"https:\/\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/10fed034-ad49-4d3d-9478-a00fd8257163\/roadkill-t-shirts-website.png\">Large preview<\/a>)<br \/>\n    <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>At first glance, you might think this e-commerce website is okay. The design is outdated, but it\u2019s a low-end tee-shirt shop. Visitors can\u2019t be expecting too much from the design.<\/p>\n<p>But then you move over to your mobile device and realize it\u2019s not responsive:<\/p>\n<figure><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/39c989e4-e09c-44ca-b5ee-25752927e45e\/roadkill-mobile-website.png?ssl=1\"><\/p>\n<p>    <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.taterboy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/roadkill-mobile-website.png 400w,\n\t\t\t        https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/indysigner\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_auto\/w_800\/https:\/\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/39c989e4-e09c-44ca-b5ee-25752927e45e\/roadkill-mobile-website.png 800w,\n\t\t\t        https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/indysigner\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_auto\/w_1200\/https:\/\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/39c989e4-e09c-44ca-b5ee-25752927e45e\/roadkill-mobile-website.png 1200w,\n\t\t\t        https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/indysigner\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_auto\/w_1600\/https:\/\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/39c989e4-e09c-44ca-b5ee-25752927e45e\/roadkill-mobile-website.png 1600w,\n\t\t\t        https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/indysigner\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_auto\/w_2000\/https:\/\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/39c989e4-e09c-44ca-b5ee-25752927e45e\/roadkill-mobile-website.png 2000w\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.taterboy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/roadkill-mobile-website.png?w=900\" sizes=\"100vw\" alt=\"RoadKill T-Shirts not responsive on mobile\"><\/a><figcaption>\n      The RoadKill T-Shirts website is not mobile responsive. (Source: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.roadkilltshirts.com\/\">RoadKill T-Shirts<\/a>) (<a href=\"https:\/\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/39c989e4-e09c-44ca-b5ee-25752927e45e\/roadkill-mobile-website.png\">Large preview<\/a>)<br \/>\n    <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>That said, there may be some visitors who are able to look past these design missteps, especially if there\u2019s a tee shirt decal they really want.<\/p>\n<p>One of the first red flags that <em>should<\/em> stop them in their tracks though is the \u201cNot Secure\u201d notice in their browser window. Although there is a GoDaddy security seal at the very bottom of the checkout page, I\u2019m not all that sure I\u2019d trust that to protect my purchase as a consumer either.<\/p>\n<figure><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/a013f86a-728b-4cd9-9eaa-8a1c8ce73ea2\/roadkill-security.png?ssl=1\"><\/p>\n<p>    <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.taterboy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/roadkill-security.png 400w,\n\t\t\t        https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/indysigner\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_auto\/w_800\/https:\/\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/a013f86a-728b-4cd9-9eaa-8a1c8ce73ea2\/roadkill-security.png 800w,\n\t\t\t        https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/indysigner\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_auto\/w_1200\/https:\/\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/a013f86a-728b-4cd9-9eaa-8a1c8ce73ea2\/roadkill-security.png 1200w,\n\t\t\t        https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/indysigner\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_auto\/w_1600\/https:\/\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/a013f86a-728b-4cd9-9eaa-8a1c8ce73ea2\/roadkill-security.png 1600w,\n\t\t\t        https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/indysigner\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_auto\/w_2000\/https:\/\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/a013f86a-728b-4cd9-9eaa-8a1c8ce73ea2\/roadkill-security.png 2000w\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.taterboy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/roadkill-security.png?w=900\" sizes=\"100vw\" alt=\"RoadKill T-Shirts GoDaddy security seal\"><\/a><figcaption>\n      The RoadKill T-Shirts website includes a GoDaddy security seal at checkout. (Source: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.roadkilltshirts.com\/\">RoadKill T-Shirts<\/a>) (<a href=\"https:\/\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/a013f86a-728b-4cd9-9eaa-8a1c8ce73ea2\/roadkill-security.png\">Large preview<\/a>)<br \/>\n    <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Then, there\u2019s the matter of the contact form. I was curious to see how secure users would feel about filling in contact information without submitting a payment, so I forced an error:<\/p>\n<figure><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/4840747b-2e1c-47f2-89fd-22849ec1a1d6\/roadkill-contact-form.png?ssl=1\"><\/p>\n<p>    <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.taterboy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/roadkill-contact-form.png 400w,\n\t\t\t        https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/indysigner\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_auto\/w_800\/https:\/\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/4840747b-2e1c-47f2-89fd-22849ec1a1d6\/roadkill-contact-form.png 800w,\n\t\t\t        https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/indysigner\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_auto\/w_1200\/https:\/\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/4840747b-2e1c-47f2-89fd-22849ec1a1d6\/roadkill-contact-form.png 1200w,\n\t\t\t        https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/indysigner\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_auto\/w_1600\/https:\/\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/4840747b-2e1c-47f2-89fd-22849ec1a1d6\/roadkill-contact-form.png 1600w,\n\t\t\t        https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/indysigner\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_auto\/w_2000\/https:\/\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/4840747b-2e1c-47f2-89fd-22849ec1a1d6\/roadkill-contact-form.png 2000w\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.taterboy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/roadkill-contact-form.png?w=900\" sizes=\"100vw\" alt=\"RoadKill T-Shirts contact form error\"><\/a><figcaption>\n      What the RoadKill T-Shirts contact form looks like when an error occurs. (Source: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.roadkilltshirts.com\/\">RoadKill T-Shirts<\/a>) (<a href=\"https:\/\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/4840747b-2e1c-47f2-89fd-22849ec1a1d6\/roadkill-contact-form.png\">Large preview<\/a>)<br \/>\n    <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>I\u2019m happy to see that the failure to fill in required fields triggered such a response. However, here\u2019s what happens to the bottom of the form as a result:<\/p>\n<figure><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/d3a911fd-a268-405d-84c7-bc8d368eb526\/roadkill-broken-form.png?ssl=1\"><\/p>\n<p>    <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.taterboy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/roadkill-broken-form.png 400w,\n\t\t\t        https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/indysigner\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_auto\/w_800\/https:\/\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/d3a911fd-a268-405d-84c7-bc8d368eb526\/roadkill-broken-form.png 800w,\n\t\t\t        https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/indysigner\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_auto\/w_1200\/https:\/\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/d3a911fd-a268-405d-84c7-bc8d368eb526\/roadkill-broken-form.png 1200w,\n\t\t\t        https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/indysigner\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_auto\/w_1600\/https:\/\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/d3a911fd-a268-405d-84c7-bc8d368eb526\/roadkill-broken-form.png 1600w,\n\t\t\t        https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/indysigner\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_auto\/w_2000\/https:\/\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/d3a911fd-a268-405d-84c7-bc8d368eb526\/roadkill-broken-form.png 2000w\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.taterboy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/roadkill-broken-form.png?w=900\" sizes=\"100vw\" alt=\"RoadKill T-Shirts error on form\"><\/a><figcaption>\n      RoadKill T-Shirts error-filled contact form leads to a hidden \u201cSubmit\u201d button. (Source: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.roadkilltshirts.com\/\">RoadKill T-Shirts<\/a>) (<a href=\"https:\/\/cloud.netlifyusercontent.com\/assets\/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629\/d3a911fd-a268-405d-84c7-bc8d368eb526\/roadkill-broken-form.png\">Large preview<\/a>)<br \/>\n    <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Users can tab down to reveal the \u201cSubmit\u201d button. However, what if your visitors don\u2019t know that they can do that? They may just end up abandoning the form and the website altogether if something as simple as the contact form is so fraught with error.<\/p>\n<p>There are a variety of ways a website might seem unsafe to visitors, so do what you can to fortify it on the backend and then provide trust marks on the frontend to put their minds at ease.<\/p>\n<h3>Wrapping Up<\/h3>\n<p>When a visitor enters your website, what do you want their first thought to be?<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cOh great! There\u2019s the product I was looking for!\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Or:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cHmmm&#8230; Maybe I should go back to Google and see if there\u2019s a different place to buy this product from.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>There are so many ways to give your visitors pause when they visit a website. But if you start looking at your website like a home, you can avoid the common pitfalls that make a website feel more like a haunted house than a warm and welcome homecoming.<\/p>\n<div>\n  <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.taterboy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/logo-red.png?w=900\" alt=\"Smashing Editorial\"><span>(ra, yk, il)<\/span>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p class=\"wpematico_credit\"><small>Powered by <a href=\"http:\/\/www.wpematico.com\" target=\"_blank\">WPeMatico<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Signs Your Website Feels More Like A Haunted House Than A Welcoming Home Signs Your Website Feels More Like A Haunted House Than A Welcoming Home Suzanne Scacca 2019-10-31T12:30:59+02:002019-11-01T10:06:05+00:00 When building a website or PWA, no one ever thinks, \u201cI really hope my visitors run away in fear!\u201d Yet, one wrong move could make a&#8230;<a class=\"moretag\" href=\"https:\/\/www.taterboy.com\/blog\/2019\/11\/signs-your-website-feels-more-like-a-haunted-house-than-a-welcoming-home\/\"> Read the full article&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":72355,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[371],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-72354","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-user-experience"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t<!-- All in One SEO 5.0.0.1 - aioseo.com -->\n\t<meta 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