How to over design with CSS.

Is there such a thing as an over designed site with CSS?  Yes, over designing with CSS can be done.  You may think that sounds strange, but it is true.  When your visitors are annoyed by something you designed via CSS, then you have over designed.  Starting with Internet Explorer version 5.5, Microsoft added their own set of filter and transitions to CSS.  These proprietary CSS attributes are only supported by IE, but they will help us describe how you can over design using CSS. Continue reading some examples over where CSS can over step those boundaries that would cause users to be annoyed.

Starting with Internet Explorer version 5.5, Microsoft added their own set of filter and transitions to CSS.  These proprietary CSS attributes are only supported by IE, but they will help us describe how you can over design using CSS. The filters that Microsoft was including were suppose to help make web sites seem more like a presentation.  At the time this seemed like a great idea, but designers started using them way to much, similar to the blink or marquee HTML tags in the mid to late 90’s.  The HTML tags are now looked on as horrible designing because they are hated so much.  Why were those tags horrible?  They would annoy visitors and designers used them way to much.  It was common to see multiple marquees on a webpage in the mid 90s.  How does this relate to CSS?  Well, the filters that Microsoft created remind users of these horrible designs.   Some designers will use the transition filter that Microsoft created to transition all of their site’s pages.  This is fine the first time, but when you have to wait for a transition the fifth time,  you are wanting to find the designer who created the page and tell him what you think.   This is a prime example of where the designer over designed using CSS.

Another example of over designing with CSS, is when you use CSS when you don’t need to use it.  Have you even been to a page that changes the default mouse? That is a user who has over designed their site.  Having your site use CSS to change your mouse’s cursor to a cross hair is not fun for the user.   Most users are use to using the mouse cursor as a way to get information.  When you move your mouse over an anchor tag, your mouse turns into a hand pointing at the link.  When you hover over text, the mouse cursor turns into a symbol similar to an I.  These are very useful to users, they can now tell what “mode” the mouse is in.  There are times that changing the cursor maybe useful, such as when you have a list of questions and when a user hovers over the cursor it turns into a question mark.

Don’t change a user’s scroll bar either.  This can upset a user very quick.  I know personally if I go to a site, and they have changed the way my scroll bar looks, I leave right away.  Blending the scroll bar into your site is a nice option, but remember that to the user you are changing their browser.   With the latest releases of Firefox and Opera, users can theme their own browser interface to their liking, and you changing their scroll bar is “invasion” on what they like.  Yes, you may like the hot pink scroll bar, but to someone who has a light blue theme on their browser they could become upset.

You start to over design with CSS when it starts to annoy the visitor.  Annoying your visitor and invading their “private” space is a great way to run users away from your site.  Humans are creatures of habits even though we like to think we are not.  When you start messing with things that people are familiar with they don’t like it, and when you do it with CSS you are over designing.

Topics: CSS, Design, Firefox, Web Development