You know, the age of ACTUAL pop-up windows really sucked, and it was amazing when browsers rendered them largely obsolete by limiting how websites could launch another window but at least all of those had the X in the SAME EXACT PLACE. The new crop of lightboxed modal popups that are now ubiquitous are 100 times worse since they: - are modal - often work poorly on mobile - have as many different dismiss mechanisms as…
I hate when they have an |X| in the corner to close it, but that |X| is just part of the popup, so it takes you to the other page, as though you wanted to click the ad.
You know, the age of ACTUAL pop-up windows really sucked, and it was amazing when browsers rendered them largely obsolete by limiting how websites could launch another window but at least all of those had the X in the SAME EXACT PLACE. The new crop of lightboxed modal popups that are now ubiquitous are 100 times worse since they: - are modal - often work poorly on mobile - have as many different dismiss mechanisms as…
I saw a particularly impressive one the other day which watched for mouse events on document.body, and when your mouse left the page in the "up" direction, it triggered a "Wait! Don't switch tabs! Check out this offer we have for you!" popup.
Those are called "exit intent" popups. The idea is this: If the person is about to close the page anyway, why not take a shot at offering them something? There's nothing to lose.
I'm struggling with this now and I could use some insight. I absolutely share OP's loathing of these pop-ups. On the other hand, I'm just starting to try to drive traffic to my physical-product website (through PPC ads, facebook marketing, etc). I KNOW I need to try to collect some contact information. But I cannot find a way to do it that isn't appalling. - Collect on landing page? How do they know if they want to s…
The answer to this question is the same as the answer to all business questions on HN: copy how patio11 does it. http://www.kalzumeus.com/blog/
You know, the age of ACTUAL pop-up windows really sucked, and it was amazing when browsers rendered them largely obsolete by limiting how websites could launch another window but at least all of those had the X in the SAME EXACT PLACE. The new crop of lightboxed modal popups that are now ubiquitous are 100 times worse since they: - are modal - often work poorly on mobile - have as many different dismiss mechanisms as…
I saw a particularly impressive one the other day which watched for mouse events on document.body, and when your mouse left the page in the "up" direction, it triggered a "Wait! Don't switch tabs! Check out this offer we have for you!" popup.
Sounds nice. Just yesterday I saw another version of not too intrusive popup - it came after about 20 seconds at the bottom right, not obscuring the content, but noticable (some animation, don't remember exactly), and in the popup the headline was "Hey, at least it's not centered" or something like that. I actually smiled at that, so it got a positive initial impression. I didn't sign up because I wasn't that interested in the content of the site, but still nicely done.
I saw a particularly impressive one the other day which watched for mouse events on document.body, and when your mouse left the page in the "up" direction, it triggered a "Wait! Don't switch tabs! Check out this offer we have for you!" popup.
Those are called "exit intent" popups. The idea is this: If the person is about to close the page anyway, why not take a shot at offering them something? There's nothing to lose.
In case you're wondering why anyone would use these _obviously_ annoying popups, here's why: If done right, they actually work. Here's a real example: In March I added a delayed popup to my blog to invite people to subscribe for future updates about user acquisition. It was on a delayed timer so that the reader has a chance to at least get part-way through the post. Also, if you closed it out once then you wouldn't s…
Honestly, most of the time when I'm reading something and I get a half-way popup like that, or a popup after I click the 2nd page of a multi-page article, I just leave. I find it almost disrespectful to the user.
I've definitely noticed a trend in technical blogs/ newsletters (some of which have been featured on HN) throw up a "like this article? Sign up for our newsletter" popup after you start to scroll down the page. "I don't fucking know if I like this article, you're interrupting me while I'm still in the middle of reading it!"
I love when it s a persistent bar that occupies 30% of the device screen and can't be dismissed. Saves me a lot of time o would have wasted on reading the page, I just close.
I'm struggling with this now and I could use some insight. I absolutely share OP's loathing of these pop-ups. On the other hand, I'm just starting to try to drive traffic to my physical-product website (through PPC ads, facebook marketing, etc). I KNOW I need to try to collect some contact information. But I cannot find a way to do it that isn't appalling. - Collect on landing page? How do they know if they want to s…
You find them annoying, but your customers probably wont.
Remember you are not the best case when deciding what is effective at capturing your audience. You are more "internet savvy" or whatever...
Popups, email marketing, retargeted ads, et al are very, very effective means of capturing an audience online.
In case you're wondering why anyone would use these _obviously_ annoying popups, here's why: If done right, they actually work. Here's a real example: In March I added a delayed popup to my blog to invite people to subscribe for future updates about user acquisition. It was on a delayed timer so that the reader has a chance to at least get part-way through the post. Also, if you closed it out once then you wouldn't s…
How many of those 232 signed up because they want to receive e-mails from you, and how many signed up because they thought they had to in order to proceed?
If you put up a prompt saying "enter your e-mail address" then a lot of people will obey regardless of your reason for prompting. Most computer users don't really understand computers and have no idea when a site would legitimately require an e-mail address and when a site just wants it so they can send you spam. This is especially true when you use a popup that blocks access to the page. It would be easy to assume that signing up is required in order to continue reading the page.