When last checked, interim survey results showed 15% of respondents would be likely to leave the site on encountering audio, and up to 30% would likely turn the speakers off. Only 44%  overall – a good proportion but still less than I would have expected – said it would depend what kind of audio. This suggests to me that some people have a kneejerk antagonism to the whole concept of sound on the web.

How have such strong feelings evolved? I remember harbouring a similar grudge against Flash graphics a few years back, when some web designers considered it clever/cool to implement entire sites as a barrage of whooshing, flashing gimmickry without apparent consideration of navigation or quality of content. Now, such sites seem to be much less common and I view Flash not as the devil incarnate but as a way of implementing particular features wherever in a site they may be useful. Will attitudes to web audio mellow similarly as more mature implementations shift the balance from annoying to useful/appealing?

Specifically media focussed websites aside, my impression is that “incidental” use of audio on the web (background music, ambience, sound effects etc) has actually declined over the past few years, no doubt partly because designers have been made more aware of the dangers of annoying visitors. I have also yet to find a (non media specific) website that uses sound for aesthetic appeal in a way that makes me think, unequivocally: ‘That’s good. That’s unlikely to annoy people.’ Nonetheless, enthusiasm for audio remains strong in some quarters, not least at the cutting edge of web development.

Interim survey results showed that 47% of respondents think web audio can be helpful or appealing. 83% say there should always be an on-screen volume control. There have also been many comments suggesting that audio should never play of its own accord, but should require an opt-in. When thinking about putting audio on websites, developers should consider seriously to what extent its benefits outweigh its potential to put visitors off, and how to give site users the maximum amount of control over playback.

Thus commences the blurb from amazon.com promoting a book about website sound. It’s true that the book dates from 1997 or earlier and seems to be out of print now, but I still see this kind of claim every day from web developers and audio recording or sound file conversion software vendors. Often an unsubstantiated claim of improved traffic or sales conversion rates is thrown in for good measure.

While it’s only natural that both web developers and audio producers should be keen to promote web audio, it seems there is now a large gap between the hype and the reality of what is useful/appealing, acceptable to the bulk of internet users, and economically justifiable.

My survey of home internet users is still online and open until the end of May 2010. If you have 10 minutes and an opinion about sound on websites (or an axe to grind), please go to http://j.mp/sitesound. Many thanks for your input!

Here are a few figures from the responses so far.

• 71% (of home internet users responding) think audio on websites is often annoying.
• 64% think it’s often pointless.
• 46% think it can be helpful.
• 83% think there should always be an on-screen volume control.
• 54% think it might improve art and craft related websites.

I am researching the use of sound on websites. Most web access devices (PCs, mobiles etc) are capable of playing sound, so it has often been predicted that audio use on websites will increase. However, aside from sites specifically offering music or video content, this does not seem to be happening, and there seems to have been little formal research to find out why not. How do internet users feel about and react to web audio? What do they regard as helpful, unhelpful or annoying?

If you have 10 minutes or so to spare, I would be most grateful if you would complete a short online survey at http://j.mp/sitesound.

Your opinions are important to me and will be highly valued! Thanks for your help.

Andrew Taylor
Audio & Music Production
Buckinghamshire New University
High Wycombe, United Kingdom