Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

I have encountered a few websites that play music when you go to the site.  If I`m in a situation where I can listen to music, I`m generally listening to something I enjoy.  If I`m in a situation where I shouldn`t be listening to music, it`s embarassing if I forgot to turn off my speakers.  I also find that it generally takes alot longer for the site to load.  I`m assuming they are including the music with the intention of creating an atmosphere.  If you are running your own site should you include music or not?  Does the benefits of having a unique feature on the site outweigh the potential aggrevation  to your users?
The sites that have music generally have a button to turn the music off, maybe they should have a button to turn the music on instead.

I`m not a big fan of the music on websites, either.
Especially when it`s that creepy, toy piano horror-movie background kind-of-stuff.
Does the customer really get anything out of it? I believe it`s a relic of the early Internet days when more was always better.

Matt

I don`t care for music on websites either. I think you run the risk of turning off potential customers who don`t have the same music preference as you do. When I worked in an office I drew a lot of attention when there was a sudden burst of loud music. I, personally, like sites that have the sounds of birds singing and other nature sounds but I don`t plan to put any sound on my site. Even they get annoying after a while.

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VickiJ
www.freshairjournal.com

Yeah, mostly I`d say don`t do it since it can really be annoying. 

The only time that it adds to the site for me is when I visit the Shack-Up Inn`s site in Mississippi.  They are in the heart of Delta blues country, plus they`re pretty funky anyway, and it makes sense.

Thanks, Sheila

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Seafarer

Author Web site |

Family Travel blog |

Every Dot Connects blog

I agree with the others, personally and professionally, music isn`t a good idea.  It just ends up frustrating more people rather than being "unique" and that is definitely not what you want to portray to your websites views.  It is also bad from a general website usability perspective.

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Marston Alfred
Marston Innovation
http://www.marstoninnovation.com/

Managed web hosting, marketing and clean web design for the non-technical small business and independent professional

Music on websites IS very annoying, I equate it to people who drive by with their car windows open and music blaring, even if it is your type of music, you are put off by the fact that you are being forced to listen to it.  For me personally, music on a website is a sure way for me to NEVER bookmark a site.  It is much more polite to include a link to listen to a sample or song.

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Roger Sibaja roger@goldenorbconsulting CIO Golden Orb Consulting http://www.GoldenOrbConsulting Owner GOBI Web Hosting http://www.gobiwebhosting.com

In the past, I assisted in the design of websites.  Should you decide to implement a website ensure the music meets the following criteria:

- The music has a "sound off" option

- Should you require individuals to log in to check messages etc...ensure that the music is NOT running in the module

- If an online shopping experience, only have your music on the home page.  Online shopping sites are used for 1+ hrs per user and no one wants to listen to the Days of Our Lives theme song 1000 times!

just to mix it up... be a little contrarian... i thought i`d provide a link to a site where music actually might make sense.

the site was submitted to me as a candidate for a "Cool Company of the Day" in our blog... but didn`t make the cut... still, i think music can work in the most special situations... give a visit... or should i say, give a listen(!)...

www.beautybar.com

rich

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Rich Sloan , Co-Founder, Chief Startupologist, StartupNation

Gee, thanks Rich, now I know that there`s a Beauty Bar opening in Austin (where I`m moving in a month) so I can prepare my wallet.

And OK, the audio wasn`t THAT annoying on this site, and there`s a button so you can quickly turn it off.

Thanks, Sheila

PS  Will let you know if spending money there makes me beeyootiful. :)

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Seafarer

Author Web site |

Family Travel blog |

Every Dot Connects blog

Audio not only slows down websites for Users with slower connections, they can be very annoying (and cheesy many times, especially MIDI files). Music is good for personal pages, but i would definetly advise against it for a Business website.

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