Transform CONs to PROs: Autoplay Background Music

“I was listening to my music and quietly surfing the web when suddenly I heard music in my headphones. I closed the page I just opened at once.“ This is the usual reaction of people who come to a site that opens with music playing. If you want to avoid such a situation and keep your visitors, read on!

Autoplay background music is acceptable only in exceptional cases, for example where music is the theme (a fansite for a band, etc.) of a website. Otherwise you can face problems we’ll describe in this article.

The visitor is in the wrong place

Remember that your visitors not only reach your site from home and not always when they’re alone. This can cause an unpleasant situation.

• Public area

Some people go online in public places like a library or a quiet cafe. A sudden noise from their computers leads to an embarrassing moment.

• Workplace

Suppose an employee wants to surf the web for 5 minutes as a small break between work tasks. Suddenly there is music coming from his computer that all the office can hear. Imagine if a colleague or even his boss notices.

• Nighttime

Never forget that people who visit your site might have young children or loved ones who just fell asleep. Don’t provoke a scandal in a family.

Bad choices for your site

Look at the difficulties you can expect for a website with startup music:

• Load time

Background music comes from a widget. This means that if you have a lot of widgets, it will overwhelm your webpage more.

• Music that repeats

If you put a piece of music that lasts 30 seconds then after 5 minutes on your site, your visitors will listen to the same thing 10 times!

• Taste in music

Let’s be realistic – we all have different musical tastes. Don’t try to find something that appeals to everyone.

So when to use it?

When your site is strictly business-oriented, there is no place for music. BUT! If your site is all about a welcoming atmosphere, comfortable and cozy, you can try to use it. Consult our article on adding music files to your site.

Follow these tips for using background music wisely:

1) Create a button that disables the music on your site. Show respect for your visitors by giving them a choice.

2) Make sure to follow the changes in the statistics of your website, if the time that people spend on your website decreases, it’s a sign that the widget is not the choice for you.

Find more tips to avoid mistakes on your website in the article 10 things people hate to find on your website. Do you want to build your own website using a website builder? Try the step-by-step guide.