Sound On Web Sites

While reviewing many Web sites, I was appalled at how many scared you with music or freaky sounds and that’s with the audio on a little lower than normal volume. For some sites, music works well and blends in. For others, “WHY?”

One tip: If you get nothing else from this, always… always give the user a way to easily turn off the sound. While they can certainly mute it or turn down the volume, it is not so easy for all of them to do it depending on their computer and speaker setup. Not only does it make it easier on the user, but also shows you’re respectful of their audio preferences.

I believe that it’s best not to have sound automatically play as I’ve heard many stories where the user arrived on a site only to be greeted by blasting music scaring the user and nearby cubicle mates. Every business is different. Some don’t provide headphones and the users don’t want to bring in their own. Some provide little control over sound. Some require the audio be turned off. But it’s understandable if a team is concerned that the user won’t turn on the sound once arriving at a site.

The answer for whether or not to greet users with sound isn’t in black or white. It means knowing the audience and the Web site’s goals. Obviously, if it’s a band’s Web site… you get it.

Another thing to consider is taste. What you might like isn’t necessarily what your users like. I’ve arrived at sites where the music was not music to my ears and some of these were blogs. A band Web site, on the other hand, doesn’t have to worry about that as much. Why would someone who doesn’t like their music go to their site (unless it’s the competition)?

I came across Freesound, which prompted this entry. It’s a collaborative database with sounds licensed under the Creative Commons licenses. Don’t get too excited as its focus is on sounds, not songs. But it’s a good resource to have.

Meryl K. Evans, who rarely discusses politics, is helping with a person’s school board campaign in Plano. When not persuading people to vote for Missy Bender, she is busy as the Content Maven behind meryl.net and helps companies get better results through simple words that make a big impact. You can visit her blog or drop her a line.

[tags]audio,music,sound,web design,meryl k. evans[/tags]