The power of Pop-ups: convincing the user they can't leave without your offer

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#popups

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Introduction

Ah, pop-ups. The most pesky of all web creatures. The average user might not think of them much, but they are a great way to sign up users in some stuff they would rather not do consciously.

Here are some dark behavior to watch out for:

Ever got some pop-up asking you to sign for a newsletter?

Seems pretty harmless at first sight, until you realize a lot of those might have a tiny section somewhere at the bottom signing you up for some subscription (and of course, that box is already ticked for you).

Another way to trick you is the big pop-up window urging you to sign up for a website’s newsletter with a big red “Sign Me Up” button, while the opt-out button is much smaller and passive-aggressively implies that anyone who clicks is a bad person who doesn’t care about saving money or staying informed.

Another way would be those pop-up ads videos that automatically start playing without your consent, only to have the X button so small you would have to try so many times to close it… without success, of course. All you might achieve is clicking on the ad accidentally and getting redirected to the ad website.

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Conclusion

The world of pop-ups is a treacherous one as they are one of the favorite medium to trick users into subliminal actions. Even the man who invested the pop-up ads -ethan zuckerman- explains that he had unintentionally created one of the most hated forms of advertising on the web and apologizes for this invention!

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