You’re about to complete your online transaction. All you need is to enter a two-digit state code in a field. 1-2-done!

But the state code field has a…pull-down menu. You have to

1. click exactly on a tiny down-arrow to activate the pull-down menu.
2. scroll down until you find your state.
3. click or select it.
4. and move your cursor out of that field.

The odds are against your success; you likely selected the state above or below the one you really wanted. So, now you have to return to that field and start over.

Annoying usability practices include complicating a simple action, such as forcing a user to select their two-character state code from a drop-down menu. Jakob Nielsen first posted this article on “user annoyance” , a thorough explanation of this annoyance and its cost.

Now, let’s check our sites for such usability annoyances and banish them!