Fake functionality on business websites

Question

The company I work for currently has icons on it's website for things like Facebook, Twitter, Google+, etc. but they're just painted on images. Additionally, there isn't anything on the website that you logically would want to share, there's no blog posts or articles or events. It's a bare-bones website. There's also a search box that does nothing. These "dummy" items are all at the top right of the page and when I asked what the purpose of having them was my boss's response was that "companies put in fake links all the time, it makes it look like there's more there." Keeping in mind that the target demographic of visitors to the site are business managers looking for accounting software, does this seem like it would help, hurt, or not matter from a user experience standpoint?

Answer 1

"companies put in fake links all the time, it makes it look like there's more there."

That's about the dumbest thing I've heard, no offense.

Visitors aren't dumb and shouldn't be treated as such. Only one thing will happen when a visitor finds out that you are lying to them: they will simply leave and never come back.

I suggest you do 1 of 2 things: 1) create the social media accounts that you are linking to and make the search box work or 2) remove the "fake functionality" as fast as you can.

Answer 2

1. I would definitely remove the search box.

2. However, if...

   • you don't actually have/yet have the social media accounts, or
   • there are issues with your accounts, e.g. you don't have time/energy/resources to devote to
     • creating them
     • making them presentable
     • don't yet have/are still thinking about content
     • etc

   ...then you should at least NOT MAKE the SoMe icons (FB, Twitter, G+) live links/hrefs.

   • That is, remove any anchors (<a href="...">text or image</a>) or JavaScript onClick() events/handlers.

   • In other words, the mouse should not change from an arrow to a hand pointing finger when hovering over the icon.

   The benefit of this is that it will at least NOT ALLUDE to some actionable content in/under the link, which would:

   • at best, confuse the user, or
   • at worst, lead the user to think that your site is broken and you are too lazy and/or inept to notice and fix it.

   At the same time, this hopefully will have the upside of implying that you have a SoMe presence or at least are thinking about it (which I hope you/your employer does/is).

   It may be a slight annoyance when they can't instantly get to one/any SoMe profile page, however. So, you should provide SOME WAY of contacting you... at least have a form, a link to a form, or an email icon that works (with a <a href="mailto:[email protected]"> link)

Answer 3

These "dummy" items are all at the top right of the page and when I asked what the purpose of having them was my boss's response was that "companies put in fake links all the time, it makes it look like there's more there."

This is simply untrue. One of the main tenants underpinning UX is the removal of distraction from the page, in order to focus on the call to action.

Keeping in mind that the target demographic of visitors to the site are business managers looking for accounting software, does this seem like it would help, hurt, or not matter from a user experience standpoint?

Your answer is right there in the question: "user experience". Simply ask yourself what the user experiences if they click a fake link or attempt to use a non-functioning search box? I believe anyone in your office, even your derp-dee-doo boss, could nail down the right answer on their first try.

Confusion; possible frustration. That's what gets experienced and, thus, emotionally associated with your brand.