I was recently searching for "examples of bad websites" (Yes, I know - thrilling stuff!)

Anyway, I came across this article - https://kijo.co.uk/blog/worst-websites-bad-design-examples/

It gives you a run down of what makes a website bad and includes a list of things to avoid to make sure you create a good UX

This website writing about bad websites, is a bad website itself!

Weird scrolling behaviour on desktop (if you're viewing this on a mobile you more than likely won't experience the issue, but if you're on desktop, you will)

I'm a pretty simple person and when I scroll down a page, I expect it to...scroll down the page

Not too much to ask is it? This site does a shambolic job of it. The scrolling feels slow, sluggish; like it's been dipped in honey

It's not smooth; it's not slick; it's not impressive; it's annoying!

I've seen this so many times where a cool new feature like this is introduced by someone that's so far up their own design bubble, they've forgotten about the most important thing; their users!!

Because it takes control away from the user (me)

I’m scrolling how I normally scroll, but the site says"Oh no my friend. You don't know what you want; let me do it my special way" and it drives me up the wall

I get it, people want to be creative and introduce some cool features, just don't do it at the cost of your users

Good UX gives users control; bad UX takes it away

Users know how to scroll. They know how to click. They know how to navigate.

If your site changes those basic behaviours, you’re forcing your users to do it your way and taking away control

It's like asking them to peel an orange with boxing gloves on

Or going to a restaurant, ordering a burger then the chef turns round and says "actually you'll be having soup"

• When you take control away from your users, it leads to frustration
• Frustration leads to rage-clicking
• Rage-clicking leads to closing the tab
• And closing the tab leads to one very obvious outcome for your business, they’re gone!

This doesn’t just apply to scrolling either. It’s the same with things like:

• Auto-playing videos with sound
• Forced carousels that move before you’ve finished reading
• Pop-ups you can’t close
• Overly “creative” navigation menus
• Scroll-jacking

All of these things break the most important principle in UX which is to respect your users

Trust them to control their own experience and design things that help them - not hinder

Good UX feels invisible. It works because users don’t notice it

If your website is doing something “fancy” that gets in the way of normal behaviour... it’s probably a bad idea.

By all means, make your site look great. Be creative. Have fun.

But above all else - Let your users control themselves