Things NOT to Do when Designing Your Myspace Page

If you are as addicted to Myspace as I am, then you have probably seen scores of elaborate myspace layouts. Before you go crazy pimping your myspace, consider some of the following things that you should avoid.

Offensive Images
Unless you work at a smoke shop and don't plan on needing a professional job anytime soon, then be careful what you put on your Myspace layout. Many employers now try to find your Myspace page to find out things about you that wouldn't be revealed on your resume.

While you may love the contrasting blue and yellow of this Corona layout, it does not send a good message to employers or really to anyone. It basically says that beer is the most important thing in your life.

Along the same lines, you also should be careful of what sexual messages your Myspace layout sends. Although this playboy bunny layout is super adorable, it will definitely send a message about who you are. An employer may immediately decide against hiring you, not wanting someone who is going to be the office slut. Even worse, an employer might hire you for the wrong reasons, thinking that they can get favors from you. You may also find yourself getting tons of friend requests from obnoxious people looking to find sex partners online.

I think it goes without saying that this Marijuana leaf layout is a far stretch from classy.

Even if you are just a teenager and not looking to get a job anytime soon, you really should be careful not to put anything offensive on your Myspace. Remember that moms and dads are a lot more internet savvy than they used to be, or often have friends or co-workers who are. I helped a co-worker of mine find her niece's Myspace and she was shocked at the overtly sexual content this 12-year old girl displayed. The girl's dad was notified immediately, and I'm sure he wasn't happy.

Overall, no matter what your situation, it's just a good idea to stay away from these kinds of layouts.

Too Much Stuff
Perhaps this is a personal preference, but I highly recommend that you limit the amount of stuff that you put on your Myspace. When I click on a profile that has too much stuff, I find that it takes forever to load. Unless I really like the person who's profile that I am visiting, I usually won't wait. I'll go back to my homepage and forget about that person.
If it does load, the visual overload of tons of glitter graphics, videos, songs, and slide shows, makes me not want to stay on that page for very long.

Anything hard to read
Just like any webpage, people do not want to have to strain to read the information. For the most part, if something on the internet is hard to read, viewers generally just won't read it. This means that busy backgrounds or dark backgrounds without a good contrasting color in a large enough font are not a good idea. For example, there is this awesome leopard print background. As much as I love leopard print, it would be hard to find a text color or size that would be easy enough to read.

The same goes for this scenic layout of Los Angeles. I am a proud L.A. native, but this busy layout would not be a good way to show that, since people wouldn't read any of the text.

If you think that anything on your Myspace is worth reading, then make it easy to read.

Hiding Things
My biggest pet peeve is when someone decides to hide practically everything on their Myspace. In case you haven't seen this, let me explain what I mean.

There are a bunch of internet sites devoted to special codes that help you hide things on your Myspace. There are codes for everything from "Hide Extended Network," which is really no big deal, to codes that show you how to hide your contact box, friends, or comments.

I think that all of these are incredibly stupid. Why hide your contact box? If people can't find your contact box, then they can't friend you or message you. What's the point of having a Myspace without things like this?

The funniest thing about it is that Myspace has settings that allow you so much control, hiding these things really isn't necessary. If you don't want friend requests from annoying strangers or bands, set it up so they have to know your last name or email address to send a friend request. If you don't want people putting comments you would find inappropriate, then set it so your comments must be approved first. If you don't want people to know who your friends are… well… then maybe you should consider making your Myspace available to friends only or deleting your friends that you would be ashamed of for whatever reason.
Seriously, don't be a retard and go hiding everything.

Being a copycat
If you and a friend accidentally chose the same Myspace layout, that's can be a funny coincidence. However, if you intentionally copy the layout that your friend has, then you are just a loser.

Be an individual! One of the best parts about Myspace is that you can really express your own unique personality. There are so many cool layouts out there that are completely premade and easy to put on your Myspace. While choosing a premade layout does mean that someone else out there, probably several people, have the same layout as you, at least it's one you chose. Since many people have the same group of friends, there is a good chance that people will notice that you have the same Myspace as one of your friends. Not only does that make you like unoriginal, it makes your friend look unoriginal too, since people may not know who had it first.

If you need ideas on Myspace layouts, check out Hot Profile Plus for the coolest selection of Myspace layouts I have found.