You know, the kind that plays automatically as soon as you click on the site. In my opinion, this is rarely a good idea – unless you’re a musician. And even then, it should probably be optional, not on autoplay. If you must have background music playing, at the very least offer a prominent “Pause” or “Stop” or “Off” button. In addition to being distracting, music can suck up bandwidth and processor resources, slowing down or even crashing your visitor’s browser.

Remember, just because you like Pachelbel’s Canon or Rick James’s Superfreak doesn’t mean your visitors will…and they may click away as quickly as possible if they can’t stand it. Don’t let Rick James cost you a customer.