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02/10/2005: "A Web site "No-No"."

Nothing pisses me off quite as much as clicking on a link on a Web site and having something unexpected happen. For example, I don't like to click on a pdf file unless I know that it is a pdf file and I want it. Why? It sometimes crashes my PC. And I don't like my e-mail client coming up unexpectedly. Or my MP3 player.

If a person is going to get anything besides another Web page when he clicks a link on your site, TELL HIM SO!

Put a brief note under the link or by it or somewhere close --- but put it there. Tell him this is a pdf file and give him the size of the file. If it's an audio file, tell him so. If his e-mail program is going to pop up, tell him so. Suprises are not fun. They're not nice. People hate them. Don't do it to your visitors or you'll lose them.