Music might be ok if it would be the visitor's favorite tune, not that of the site owner. (gotta javascript for that?)

Yes, in our retail stores, we play very soft background elevator-type music. But that doesn't slow down the shopping experience as does music on a website. Nor is it as intrusive.

On the other hand, I'm something of a Civil War buff and enjoy period music on those sites.

New to GHFs.

However, I suspect that, as with many other things, it depends on what the website is about. For instance, if I were to utilize online banking, I would not want to hear:

"All you need is love, dah dah dah da-dah!"
(The Beatles)

or

"The lure of easy money has a very strong appeal."
(The Eagles)

I guess it's a matter of what belongs where.

[This message has been edited by DianeV (edited 02-07-2001).]

Thought about using "Glory Glory Hallelujah" but that sounded a bit desperate.

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To return to the subject, I can't ever recall hearing music or sound of any kind on a major adult e-commerce site, other than a music related site perhaps. Or maybe I'm just missing 20 or so plug-ins.

So, what we see here is that not everyone is solidly against hearing music on a website, but that a way to turn it off/on is preferable. Or, perhaps, a way to turn it on/off.

I think it's important to look at this from a wider, more philosophical perspective.

It's good to remember that, as we learn the basics, the "shoulds" and what works in building websites, that there is no one pat answer for everything. There comes a time when you can code with your eyes closed and can debug a script even without being a Perl guru. On the other hand, as we take on new clients, one thing we learn quickly is that industries and markets differ, that what works for one might not work for the next. That clients may not be web designers but are often professionals in their own fields, that it is best to know your basics and yet to keep an open vision of what could be ... and that, approaching design not as something that's already been seen and done, one might have the most intensely creative discussions with clients regarding what might be used here and what might be left out there.

It's like learning to play music or learning any other art ... there are the basics, which one should learn cold, and then there's thinking out of the box and doing new things. And, if there's anything we can likely count on, it's the fact that things change, and that what works today may not work next year or even for the next client. It's like ... well, it's like being creative, and learning to question whether what we know is applicable to the sites we're presently designing, to each and every case rather than just being dismissed out of hand. After all, few of us are still designing sites circa 1997.

It may feel daring, but that is the nature of art and marketing, is it not?

• A site about a beach resort could use splashing waves or seagulls.
  
• A cooking/restaurant site could use the sizzle of a steak as it hits the hotplate.
  
• A travel site could use an airport announcement to bring back memories of the last holiday.
  
• Bushwalking sites could use birdsong.
  
• A rapidly beating heart could convey excitement in any number of sites.
  

Has anyone ever tried adding ambience to a site? And did it help or harm the site?