Types Of Website Pop Ups And How To Use Them Right

Using pop ups on your website is risky business. However, with great risk, comes great rewards.

Sure, pop ups can sometimes seems intrusive to the user experience on a website but when used right, they have the potential to significantly boost conversions. In certain industries, like eLearning, pop us can impact significantly positive performance.

Hence, if for instance an eLearning marketeer needs to design converting pop up banners, it is first important to know the kind of pop ups available, and how they can be used to boost conversions, without feeling intrusive.

Here’s a list of different types of pop ups and the best strategies to use them:

Click Pop Ups

Just like all the other pop ups on this list, the name of click pop ups is pretty self explanatory.

The good thing about click pop ups is that they are prompted as a result of an action taken by the user and hence, are hardly intrusive.

The best thing about these pop ups is that they don’t make the user leave the page they originally opened.

How to use click pop ups right?

The short answer is, get creative!

Click pop ups prompted by clicking call-to-action buttons work, but there is a lot of room for creativity. Think pop ups prompted by clicking on images and website banners.

Time-Based Pop Ups

Time-based pop ups are prompted after a user has spent a pre-specified amount of time on your website or landing page.

Having spent more time on a website/landing page is a sign that a user may be interested if you make an interesting offer.

With that said, they can also turn out to be intrusive. For instance, consider that a user is reading a blog post on your website, and suddenly after a few seconds of reading awesome content, their experience is disrupted by a pop up asking them to sign up to your newsletter.

How to use time-based pop ups right?

A basic rule of thumb would be to display the pop up after the user has spent at least 30 seconds on a page. However, the best time to display the pop up may vary and can only be determined by A/B testing.

Scroll-Based Pop Ups

Scroll-based or scroll pop ups appear when a user has scrolled to a certain point on a certain page.

The logic behind scroll pop ups is similar to time-based pop ups. That is, if the user is scrolling down on your webpage, consuming more content, they are more likely to accept an offer from you.

How to use scroll pop ups right?

Scroll pop ups work best on article pages. While A/B testing is still the best way to determine the right pages and moments to display these pop ups, showing them after a user has read 70% of your article is a good place to start.

By this time, the user is invested enough to consider your offer and even if they don’t like it, they will continue reading the article.

Entry Pop Ups

Possibly the most frowned-upon pop ups, entry pop ups have a bad rep of ruining user experience, and probably for good reason.

However, entry pop ups can work beautifully when coupled with a powerful offer.

How to use entry pop ups right?

The best way to use entry pop ups is to include an offer that overshadows the intrusive nature of these pop ups. This especially works well for ecommerce stores. As soon as a user lands on your website, show them your best discount code.

With the right copy (and the right offer) you will have the user’s contact details even before their session starts.

Exit-Intent Pop Ups

Exit-intent pop ups prevent your users from leaving your website. While these are also a bit intrusive in nature, they are extremely powerful tools of conversion.

Why?

Because they tell the user “hey! Don’t leave just yet. I have an offer that you cannot refuse.”

How to use exit-intent pop ups right?

Including a powerful offer within your exit pop up is a good idea. However, the exit pop up best practices revolve more around when NOT to show the pop up. For instance, if a user has already subscribed or purchased something from you, make sure they are not spammed with a pop up. Similarly, showing the same pop up to repeat visitors may turn them away from your website, for good.

An exit pop up is a powerful tool but it needs to be used with discretion.