- Don't use constantly-animating GIFs
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All animating GIFs with no delay and in a continual loop do is distract and annoy your users; it doesn't impress anyone.
- Never change the default font size
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Your user chose his font size for a reason; because of this, the majority of the content of your site should be displayed in the default font size. Exceptions should be rare.
- Use bold or large text appropriately
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Bold and large text can make your point more strongly, but they can also distract and annoy if used too much. Use them sparingly.
- Don't use the BLINK tag
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Does it need to be said? The <BLINK> tag is not only non-standard, but it's jarring, obnoxious, and annoying. Don't use it.
- Avoid excessive distortion effects on logos
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Distorting effects (such as punk, bloat, free distort, tweak, blur, etc.) can have good effects, but can make logos difficult to read and hard on the eyes. Use them conservatively.
- Use frames wisely
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Frames can help to make your site more navigable and more convenient. They can also make your site obnoxious, uncomfortable, unwieldy, and intimidating. There are circumstances where the use of frames are unnecessary; instead separate pages substituted with frames could be used. Using frames should be a conscious, not an automatic, decision.
- Don't use more than four or five frames total
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Don't go overboard with frames; the fewer frames the better. If you have more than four or five frames, you should have a really good reason.
- All frames should be small and at the edges of the window except one or at the most two
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There should be one "main" frame which contains the primary information, or at the very most two in some extreme and specific applications. Be cautious with your use frames.
- Avoid hard-to-read rasterized fonts for logos
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Your logo should be the most readable, easily-understandable portion of your site. Don't use fonts which are difficult to read.
- Avoid borders in tables
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Borders in tables are distracting and break the reader's flow. Avoid them unless the divisions they create are essential to your message.
- Antialias small text in images
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If a raster image contains small text, it should be antialiased to admit greater readability.
- Avoid difficult-to-read color combinations
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Watch out for color combinations (text on background color, text on images, etc.) that are jarring or difficult to read.
- Avoid complicated background images
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If you feel it necessary to use background images, make them subtle, simple, and not overly complex. This can make the actual content of your pages difficult to read.
- Frame borders should either be visible or should be obvious from the context
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Frame borders should either be clearly distinguishable from the context (i.e., the background color of one frame is different from the other), or should be visible. If you're using frames, it is a disservice to your users to hide where they begin and end.
- Never have more than one looping animated GIF, regardless of the delay
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Even if you feel the need to use animated GIFs, never use more than one per document, regardless of the delay.
- Avoid excess whitespace in HREFs
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Whitespace padding the contents of an HREF will often appear as excess blanks in your page. Avoid them.
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