Pet Peeves and Frustrations - What could go wrong?

Free downloads

Free downloads do not equal free software. If the download is a free trial, then say so on the download page. I'm not a fan of "free downloads" where the price for the package far exceeds its realized value.

Value for the Money

Delivering real value. Overstating the "features" of an application can often lead to disappointment. This is particularly true for large-scale applications where the "feature" is only available at a premium price or requires "customized code" for a fee.

I have written my fair share of code to create features that simply were not available as described by the software provider without paying a substantial fee for customization.

I have to wonder how many times "canned" code was sold as a "customized" feature. This is particularly frustrating when the industry they're portending to support mandates the desired functionality as a standard for compliance to requirements.

Failure to launch

Nothing is more frustrating than waiting for a package to download, only to watch it fail during the installation process. This could be as much a problem with the user's internet connection, but downloading huge files to suffer this frustration is beyond disappointing.

The second most frustrating moment is watching the software fail while loading due to "missing components." Ensure all dependencies are accounted for when preparing the installation package for your application.

Last but not least is the frustration of downloading an app that fails to work as described in the "sales" pitch. If you over promise and under deliver, you've lost a customer and repeat business. I would rather discover an unadvertised easter egg.

Broken links

Broken links to a web page or website are incredibly frustrating, especially when looking for documentation or help! Integrity earns trust. Check your links to make sure they are still valid and point to the intended site and content.

Expired SSL Certificates

Expired or invalid SSL certificates for secure sites. Malwarebytes Premium prevents suspicious sites from loading. Although it is possible to grant permissions for a website to load.

I recently spent at least an hour searching for information where all reference links pointed to a site that would not load due to the error pictured above. I finally managed to search the site's name and found the author's explanation for the error on an FAQ forum.

I find it interesting that my Apple MacBook or iPad Pro often load sites that would not load on my Windows machines.

The error may appear in a different context depending on the browser you are using. I received the error as pictured above on Firefox and Microsoft's Edge browsers, a Trojan error on Google's Chrome, while Safari loaded the site without issue.

When you publish a website, see how it looks across multiple browsers to avoid the frustrations that ensue before a visitor abandons your site altogether.

Do you have any of these Pet Peeves?

I wonder how many others have experienced moments like this or others I haven't mentioned.