One of the first unwritten rules many newbie webmasters immediately break is to over complicate their pages with all of the nifty little tricks they find amongst the webmasters sites they surf. If a cool JavaScript is found, it immediately goes on their pages. If a crazy mouseover effect is found, that mouseover winds up on their pages. In the end, their pages look like a jumbled conglomeration of colorful madness. There is one element of media that has been misused almost every time I've seen it: sound. Just a few years ago, many webmasters seemed to think that by playing a favorite BeeGees midi file in the background of their pages, surfers would be impressed... perhaps sing along while browsing. That's just sick. Things have improved on that front in that last several years, but the problem has not gone away.

When I browse the Internet, I still hear a lot of pointless techno beats, annoying mousever sounds, wave files that play when the page loads, etc. This often annoys me, as I'm sitting in a quiet office and sudden unexpected sounds can be jarring. Many times I immediately hit my back button to make it stop.

So what is the best utilization of sound in a web site? Typically, my answer would be one simple word: Silence. That's right, there's nothing better than complete silence when browsing web sites and reading content. Noises are frequently nothing more than distractions and aggravations.

And consider something else. Many of your visitors may be browsing next to sleeping children or wives. Perhaps they're browsing sites their wives wouldn't approve of. Perhaps they're buying a gift for someone nearby and doesn't want that person alerted to their activities. When they load a page and unexpected sound blasts out of their speakers, they may not be very appreciative. And let's face it, that kind of annoyance can only hurt your chance of getting that sale.

Am I suggesting to never use a sound on your site? Absolutely not. Sometimes, audio can enhance the experience - but only if used imaginatively and effectively. As a matter of fact, if used strategically and sparingly, sounds can enhance the mood of the site. Voices can take people on guided tours of your products. Little beeps and blips on mouseovers can sometimes increase the fanciness factor of the web site without distracting from the main goal. If your site is used to promote musical artists, then an embedded music player may be appropriate.

If you've come up with a clever sound you would like to implement into your site, and do not think it too invasive, perhaps you can implement a button that will allow your surfers to turn the sound on and off. Just make sure that the audio is used in a way that will enhance your sales rather than deter them.

The key is restraint. If you're unsure whether sounds or music will enhance or detract from your site's effectiveness, then I would recommend avoiding it.