I was stumped this morning when I read my friend Tim Nekritz’s tweet:
https://twitter.com/TimNekritz/status/724621615774965761
At first, I assumed Tim was referring to audio or video autoplay on a website, a practice that annoys users who don’ appreciate being surprised by a video or audio they starts automatically.
But as I found out, Tim was referring to an audio player on a website page with no volume controls for desktop/laptop.
You could start, pause, and restart the audio player, but you didn’t have any volume control to adjust the sound level.
Which was odd, because Tim said it was on the National Public Radio (NPR) site, the First Listen section, where you can listen to upcoming albums in their entirety.
NPR is a site that generally gets things right when it comes to audio.
As someone who reads NPR program transcripts rather than listen to podcasts, I appreciate the transcripts they provide.
Why would NPR choose to remove a basic feature, the ability to control volume, from their audio player on the desktop/laptop?
Lack of Volume Control is a Usability Issue
From a usability perspective, providing no volume controls means users don’t have control over sound in the player.
They can’t lower or increase the volume.
Because of this missing important feature on the desktop/laptop, users either have to:
- Accept the default sound level, which may be too loud or too quiet
- Take the extra effort to manage volume through their desktop/laptop volume controls, distracting them from enjoying the audio/video content as they look for the controls
And when a user turns down the volume globally on their desktop/laptop, they run the risk of missing notifications or alerts from other applications.
https://twitter.com/TimNekritz/status/724627424999276544
Users should have volume control in the player over the audio and video they listen to or watch online on the desktop/laptop.
Providing controls to adjust volume is as important as providing controls to play, pause, and start audio or video.
Are Players Without Volume Control an Ongoing Trend?
I’m not sure why NPR is using a player without volume control, but Tim mentioned it’s not the first time he’s seen it.
https://twitter.com/TimNekritz/status/724628228942487555
Giving users volume control allows them to adjust the sound level on audio/video content in the player. Removing that feature means the user no longer has control over volume.
This is the first time in a while that I’ve seen a player without volume control for the desktop/laptop. I hope it’s not a trend.
And I hope users complain about the issue so sites and publishers understand the need to include volume control.
How about you? Have you been on websites with audio or video players for the desktop/laptop, with no volume control? Which ones? Let me know what you think in the comments.
This really annoys me too, Deborah, for all the reasons you have stated. Especially when combined with autoplaying video. I’ve seen it done recently on marketers’ landing pages.
Hi Claire,
Thanks for your comment. Unfortunate to hear you’re seeing this marketers’ landing pages.
With SoundCloud users reporting the same issue, I fear the lack of volume control will become the norm. While mobile users may not have an issue with lack of volume control, desktop and laptop users do.
If I don’t want to turn the sound off, or can’t easily do so, I’m likely to close the offending tab altogether.
So it doesn’t even make sense from a marketing point of view – they’ve lost me as a potential customer.
It does seem contrary to their goal of attracting customers. At least with the NPR First Look pages, there is no autoplay. But I wish I knew why they removed the volume control.