You can dress to kill and you can literally Dress to KILL. That is the case with a quite a handful of websites that try to dress up so overtly that they end up killing the traffic altogether.

In a bid to include fancy features, website designers end up including elements that irritate the visitors and make them go away never to return back. Here are some common design elements that don't go too well with the internet users and should rather be avoided.

1. Pop -Ups
Be it advertisements or the small windows that get displayed when you hover the mouse over a link, any form of pop-up goes bad with the web users. Pop-ups not only come in the way but also disrupt the smooth browsing experience. Make sure you avoid the use of pop-ups on your website and ensure that your visitors have a seamless navigation experience without any 'popping' hindrance.

2. Pop-Up Windows
Just like pop-up ads, pop-up windows are a strict no-no, especially in the age of tabbed versions of IE and Firefox. Nothing annoys visitors more than the browser taking liberties to open new windows. There are situations where you would want to retain the current page, like when you provide a link to some other web page and don't want visitors to leave yours. In such scenarios, open the new web page in a new tab but not in a new window altogether. After all, it the visitors choice how and where they want to view the web pages. Let them navigate as and how they want.

3. Snapshot Pop-Ups
This is yet another member of the abhorring pop-up family. Often websites that display links to other websites have an accompanying pop-up preview snapshot of the same. The idea may be good, but in functionality in hinders the browsing experience. They are obtrusive and have no value addition to it. Unless it is a visual galore, why would anyone want to see how a website looks like anyways?

4. Hidden Search Box
The search box is one of the most used features of a website. It takes the visitors to the desired information instantly without having to navigate through various links. And the search box needs to be placed at an easily visible place on the web page (ideally on the top right corners) Placing it anyplace else where uses would have to work hard to find it just irritates them.

5. Dark Backgrounds
There are some extremely beautiful designs with dark backgrounds. However, it cannot get as lucky every time. Dark backgrounds can hamper read of a website and make visitors strain their eyes to make sense of the contents. If you must use dark backgrounds, make sure you make the text extremely readable. However, it easier opting for a dark-on-light combination.

6. Audio Scripts
Music is good but websites are not the best places to play unrestrained music. Nothing irritates visitors more than having to listen to blaring music and having no way to put an end to it. If at all you want to include music on your website, make sure you provide your visitors an option to turn it off.

7. Intrusive Subscription Requests
Subscription requests can act like nagging and cribbing kids. They intrude the browsing experience and disrupt the smooth flow of navigation. Don't make your subscription messages pester your audience lest they succeed in irritating them out of the website.

To retain your visitors and ensure them a rich browsing experience, make sure you avoid these design elements completely and create a website that is clean and inviting.