Innovation in the world of Web designing means exploring new prospects, taking risks, and finding new strategies. It simply does not mean doing something just because you are able to! This is exactly what seems to be lacking amongst the designers who are fascinatingly using HTML 5. There is no doubt that HTML 5 when coupled with CSS 3 as well as Javascript gives rises to some really cool aesthetics and functionalities never seen before. But this does not mean that the Web designers should include these outcomes in each and every site just because they can do so. The focus actually needs to be not on the technology, but for whom it is being used – client and visitors. But because this is not happening, the designers using HTML 5 have invited some worthless design styles to make an unexpected comeback. The fault is not of the technology but of the lack of desired focus due to which several HTML5 sites are having the below discussed issues.
Forced Navigation
There are newly designed sites, which convey that they have been designed for iPad or Tab. Although this is suitable for these mobile users, you are actually forcing the desktop users to use the arrow keys for navigation. Now, this is something that badly impacts the user-friendliness aspect of the site. What’s more to it is that the smartphone users cannot use arrow keys because their phones do not have them. So, what has happened here is that an imbalanced focus on one kind of target audience has neglected the others due to which the option of using the arrow keys has become the sole way of navigation, instead of being ‘an extra way of navigation’.
Unexplained Icons
Can you recall the purpose of icons? They were introduced as self-explanatory symbols to replace text. This means that icons are only useful if they are obvious to understand. However, this is totally hampered by a few latest HTML5 sites. Many mysterious icons have been included, which do not directly convey their own purpose. This means that the user is kept thinking as to what these icons will do on clicking. This simply spoils the user experience. Further, the purpose is only known when the user hovers over it. However, unfortunately, this hover state is not available on smartphones. There are two cons of implementing such icons – keeping the users in the thinking mode rather than in the navigating mode and making smartphone users to wait until they can think on what will happen.
Missing Main Navigation
Nowadays, several new sites made with HTML5 feature different types of scrolling mechanisms. There is no doubt that they are useful because they facilitate visitors to go down the page for viewing new sections instead of moving through a collection of new pages. Usually, this works but a major problem crops up when the main navigation is absent. As a sign of good design, the main navigation panel or section must be present on all pages of a site for ideal user experience.
Absent Sections
Have you seen a page being fully loaded but with some of its sections showing ‘NOT FOUND’ error? Well, this is something that some well designed HTML5 sites have shown. Although it is easy to remove, it is a bug that needs attention before making the site publicly available.
Irksome Load Delays for Image
Some HTML5 sites have shown delay in loading images due to really slow speed. This is irritating to the users as nobody prefers waiting, especially on the fast World Wide Web. This is evident when an entire grid of images takes much time to load!
Note: Sites are not mentioned, as this is not to point to anyone’s work but to focus on these issues in order to avoid them.
