Design vs Art Blog

Using sound on an application is a very complicated issue. The big problem using sounds, designing websites with them, is that they are difficult to keep private. Everybody knows that unpleasant situation of sound unexpetedely playing while reading something online at the office.  

When to use sound? 

Keep in mind your audience. Sounds are not expected on websites like online newspapers or gubernamental sites. On the other side, they could be accepted on websites for children, music websites, online radios and such. 

Is the internet dumb?

Sounds could be used not only for advertisement, music and videos but also to improve usability like in the "real life", in desktop and mobile applications. For example, in the real life, closing a window makes a "click". Could you imagine a telephone that does no sound when you press a number? All this sounds are there to tell users that something is happening. These sounds should be as useful in the internet as in the real world. 

Unfortunately, many websites and web applications don’t use sounds. For example, Google Mail is not playing any sound when a new email arrives, something that is a default option for every desktop email client. 

What kind of sound?

In every application, desktop or web, the natural relationship between the sound and the action or information should always be respected. For example, clicking on a button should play a sound that resembles the mouse click, not a dog barking. 

These were a few tips using sound when designing a website. My general advice would be to use sound only if it is improving the user experience at you website. 

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