Pop-Ups, Slide-Ins, Autoplay Hell: How Not to Build a User Experience

This is UnMarketable.

Let’s talk about the absolute circus some of y’all are running in the name of “conversions.”

Because I’m convinced that a lot of websites today weren’t designed with user experience in mind — they were designed during a caffeine bender by someone whose job description said “UX designer” but whose true passion was psychological warfare.

And before you say it — yes, I know pop-ups convert. Slide-ins work. Autoplay videos increase engagement.

But at what cost, Jeff? At. What. Cost.

Let me walk you through the average experience of trying to read a simple blog post in 2025:

Step 1: You land on the site.

You’re excited. The headline looked promising. The snippet said “Here’s the simple fix that saved me $1,200 a month” and you’re like, “yes, please and thank you”.

But before the page even finishes loading…

BOOM.

Pop-up #1: “Wait! Don’t leave! Sign up for our newsletter!”
I haven’t even read the first sentence, Brenda. What makes you think I’m emotionally ready to commit to email updates?

Step 2: You try to close the pop-up.

But oh, silly you — the little ‘X’ is microscopic, floating somewhere near the North Pole, and if you miss it by even a pixel, you accidentally click on a “YES! I want to 10X my life!” button that downloads a 68-page PDF you didn’t ask for and subscribes you to a 7-day drip campaign you’ll resent until the end of time.

Step 3: The pop-up disappears. You breathe.

Only to immediately be greeted by a slide-in. Lower right-hand corner, waving at you like a drunk friend at a concert.

“Our founder is here to chat!”

No, he’s not. That’s a bot named Jason. And Jason has one job — to pretend he’s a real person until you ask him anything remotely human and he short circuits.

Also: I just want to read the article. I don’t need a guided tour or a motivational quote. I want the tip. The hack. The thing you promised. Is that too much to ask?

Step 4: You scroll.

That’s it. That’s the whole crime: you scrolled. How dare you?

And suddenly —
💥 AUTOPLAY VIDEO WITH SOUND 💥

It starts out of nowhere, usually tucked in the sidebar, screaming at you about something adjacent but not really related to the post. It features a person who looks like they were mid-blink in the thumbnail and now they’re yelling about their journey from broke to billionaire in under 30 days.

The volume is at full blast, and no matter where you scroll, the video follows you around the screen like a digital parasite. There’s a mute button, sure. But it’s playing peekaboo like it’s being paid not to be found.

Step 5: You panic-click somewhere random.

And just like that, you’re on a completely different page.

Why?

Because someone thought it would be a great idea to turn entire paragraphs into affiliate links. No underline. No warning. Just surprise!

Click.

Redirect.

Gone.

And you know what? At that point, so am I.

Let’s be real. That’s not a user experience. That’s a stress test.

Here’s the part where I say something “constructive,” I guess, because otherwise this would just be me throwing shade at half the internet (and okay, maybe it still is). But if you care at all about building a site people don’t immediately rage-close, here’s a novel idea:

Design for the actual human who landed there.

Not just for your open rate. Not just for your list growth. And definitely not just for your affiliate commission on blue light glasses or probiotic toothpaste.

A few ground rules for building a site that doesn’t make people want to yeet their devices into the sun:

1. Pop-ups are not the devil… if used like a sane person.
If someone’s been on your site for 45 seconds or more, and they’ve scrolled at least halfway down the page, maybe they’re ready for a gentle invite. Not a flashing seizure square with a fake countdown timer and a guilt trip.

Tone it down.

Let people browse in peace first.

If they’re vibing with your content, they’ll want to hear more from you. If you shove it in their face before they’ve even read the headline, that’s not marketing — that’s just desperation in Helvetica.

2. Kill the autoplay video.

This isn’t 2010. We’re not all impressed by flash and sound.
People browse at work. People browse at 2:18 am while their partner is sleeping. People browse with a literal child napping next to them.

You know what wakes all of those people up?

AUTOPLAY. WITH. SOUND.

If you must have a video (and I’m already giving you a side-eye), have it there, muted, with a clear play button. Let us choose.

Revolutionary concept, I know.

3. Make your exit pop-ups not feel like emotional blackmail.

You know the ones: “Are you sure you want to leave without becoming a millionaire?”

“No thanks, I enjoy being broke and sad.”

How about…no.

How about you let me go without trying to make me feel like I just kicked a puppy?

If your copy has to bully me into clicking, it’s not persuasive. It’s manipulative. And also? It’s tired.

4. Make your links obvious. Or don’t bother.

We don’t need mystery meat navigation where every 6th word is secretly clickable. If you’re going to link something, make it look like a link.

I’m trying to learn, not play Minesweeper.

5. Respect the scroll.

If I’m scrolling, it means I’m engaged. I’m curious. So don’t interrupt me every six seconds with something flashing, sliding, chiming, or bouncing.

There’s a reason books don’t pop up with a form halfway through chapter three asking if you’d like to subscribe to the author’s newsletter. Because it’s disruptive as hell.

Let me finish what I came for. If it’s good, I’ll stick around. You won’t need to trap me.

Bottom line?

A lot of you are so focused on “conversion tactics” you’ve completely forgotten the most powerful marketing tool of all time: Respect.

Respect your visitor’s time.
Respect their attention.
Respect that if they’re on your site, they chose to be there.

That’s the part everyone seems to forget in their race to 10x everything.

And ironically? The moment you stop trying so hard to convert people and just focus on creating something worth reading in a space that doesn’t feel like a Las Vegas slot machine… your conversions will probably go up.

Funny how that works.

You don’t need tricks. You need trust.
You don’t need more “tools.” You need taste.

And above all — you need to stop building websites that feel like trying to read a pamphlet during a rave.