The words "under construction" are widely and frequently used across cyberspace. A search on <a href="http://www.google.com" class=l>Google</a> reveals more than 3.1 million pages that contain the phrase "under construction". There are, however, some very good reasons for avoiding its use.

Managing user expectations

Running an effective website is all about properly managing user expectations. A user that follows a link which promises some interesting information only to find that it leads to a page bearing the famous phrase "under construction" is a disappointed user because their expectations were not met. They were expecting the interesting information but instead have wasted their time waiting for a page that tells them nothing more than the information they were after is "under construction".

How to avoid disappointment

The good news is that it is easy to avoid disappointing users in this way. If part of a site is under construction do not provide a link to it until it is finished. If you want to inform users of a feature which is under development then put up a notice indicating that a feature is "coming soon" and provide an estimated completion date for that feature. This manages your users expectations and also encourages them to return at a later date to check out the completed feature.

For a humerous look at what the phrase "under construction" means see <a href="http://www.cs.utah.edu/~gk/atwork/" class=l>http://www.cs.utah.edu/~gk/atwork/</a>.