More on Popups, Popunders and other Unethical Behaviors

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I really dislike popups, popunders, jiggling screens, "earthquake" windows, ads that open and close, and all of those kinds of things. In fact, I dislike them so much that I host my web sites on my own Windows 2000 server so I don't have any of that junk unless I want it! I even have my own email server so I can send emails without some idiot company adding ads to bottom, side, top, inside, underside or whatever.

The most obnoxious thing I've seen is these little popups that go way off the screen so they are not seen. These stick around and pop up windows occasionally.

Actually, even beyond obnoxious is the scumware that puts ads over other people's ads as you surf. These companies need to be closed down and the owners flogged.

Look, you want to advertise your product? Then make an honest ad which informs me of the value and cost of the product. A nice picture is fine, something moving (flash or java or gif) is fine to get my attention. Tell me to click if I want more data, then give me the data I need to make a decision to spend on your product.

Please don't use fancy fad ads - One major internet site used those for a while (and they may still be). They had terminals floating all over the screen. Even though their data was interesting, I no longer visit them. It was just too annoying - their ad was cute once, then annoying, and then beyond annoying.

As far as other kinds of popups, like to sign a guestbook, join a newsletter and such - I can tolerate just one per site, as I am leaving (not when I arrive or am surfing). That's actually fine with me - appreciated, sometimes, in fact, because I may have actually wanted to subscribe or sign the guestbook but didn't think of it or could not find the link.

Additional Reading

• A poor design chases away visitors and gives you a bad name Design your site poorly and your visitors will go elsewhere
• There are many silly mistakes that you can make with text People come to your site for the content, and text is what they usually way. Make sure they can read it without being annoyed.
• Graphics are great unless you make some of these mistakes Graphics are great except when you make some of these stupid, idiotic mistakes. (See also Graphics Formats, Graphics Formats - GIF, Graphics Formats - JPG and Graphics Formats - PNG)
• Use animated GIFs very sparingly Animated GIFs are excellent when used properly, but it's easy to overdue it and chase away your visitors. (See also Graphics Formats - Animated GIFs).
• Be careful with various sound options Adding background sound to your pages is generally a mistake
• Video is tough to do correctly Careful with those videos - visitors like video but load times make it difficult to do correctly.
• Be sure and carefully plan your site navigation Carefully plan your site navigation or your visitors will not come back
• Layout your pages properly to keep people happy Plan your page and site layouts well to keep your visitors happy and fulfilled
• Use Java sparingly If you use Java without allowing for non-java visitors you will loose people immediately
• Don't use ActiveX on an internet site My advice is to not use ActiveX at all on an internet site. It's fine to use it on an Intranet site as you control the environment.
• Colors can make or break a web site Want to really lose your visitors fast? Use a bad combination of colors on your site! Make it look like an LSD nightmare.
• Organize your site Properly organized sites are a dream, disorganized sites are a nightmare
• Keep your pages relatively short Short pages are the rule in web design. One to three screenfuls is best, longer is a site killer.
• Advertising is a necessary evil You generally want to advertise but keep it short, simple and tasteful (See also The secrets of how to advertise your web site).
• Use Rings wisely Yes you want to use Rings, but don't use them incorrectly
• Careful with dynamic HTML Be careful with dynamic HTML. Can increase load time, make for slow, clunky sites, and is incompatible with earlier version browsers.
• Don't change the cursor unnecessarily Be careful with dynamic HTML. Can increase load time, make for slow, clunky sites, and is incompatible with earlier version browsers.
• Popups are stupid and obnoxious Don't use popups ever. They are annoying, stupid and scare away visitors
• Are Popups Ethical? Is it ethical to place popups and popunders all over your web site? Depends upon what you are trying to accomplish
• More on Popups, Popunders and other Unethical Behaviors There are many unethical devices such as popups, popunders and so forth. Are they needed or desired? No, they are not.

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