I read a couple of blogs where people say they don’t like Snap Preview Anywhere popup previews. Here’s my take on the matter.

I’m a designer writing about (mainly web) design. When I browse the web, the look of a site is very important to me as to how much I value the content of the site. Of course there are exceptions. So when I have the chance to see a snap shot of a site, it’s easier to decide whether or not I want to visit the linked site or not. Such a snap shot is also helpful to see if it’s a site you have already visited.

I read in most of the reviews that they talk about the service where the preview pops up when you hover the link. Most of the reviews were from last year.

Icon only
SPA comes in 3 modes:

• Link: When you hover the link itself, the preview pops up.
• Icon: There is a small icon displayed at the end of the link. When you hover this icon, the preview pops up. When you hover the link, nothing happens
• Link and Icon: hovering both the link and the icon shows the preview. This method can be used to show people that that particular link has a SPA popup connected to it.

In my blog I installed the second mode. If someone is interested in looking at the site preview, they just hover the icon behind the text. If they are not interested in the preview they just can hover the link as much as they are used to with the same result they are used to: No preview popup, only the link in the status bar.

What do you think?
I’m interested in knowing if this works for my visitors. To me those little icons are not disturbing and you can use them whenever you feel the need to. But my opinion in this one is less important than yours. What do you think of the little icons behind my links and the preview they produce?

Suggested Hardware
Acer 19″ Wide LCD Monitor