One thing to keep in mind when designing your website is that you need to keep your visitors happy. There are many design elements which can be frustrating to viewers. For example, many visitors to websites are frustrated when they are unable to locate pages, or certain links no longer function. However, few things have the potential to chase away visitors more quickly than intrusive and annoying pop up advertisements.

Due to the proliferation of information on viruses and computer security, consumers have long been wary of popups and other intrusive advertisements. This has led to many services offering tools such as popup blockers, and many consumers additionally have begun to use other ad blockers. However, there has been a recent resurgence of a different type of popup style design element. Many websites are beginning to obscure their visitors screen with a message directly from the company which owns the website. Sometimes this will be an appeal that they make an account on your website and give you their email. Sometimes it will be a request to turn off any ad blockers. But this type of advertising can be a double-edged sword.

While it can be incredibly useful to ensure that you communicate a direct message to your visitors, you need to remember that it is incredibly easy to irritate or offend your customers while doing so. For example, a customer who is engrossed in an article or in a hurry might react with a negative emotional outburst when their browsing is interrupted with what they perceive to be a waste of their time. If you are going to employ this type of program, ensure that you take steps to try and appeal to your customer in a manner which will evoke a sympathetic response.

On a similar note, sites which auto play videos often frustrate visitors. There are few things as jarring than browsing a web page when suddenly a voice begins blaring at max volume over your speakers. If you are going to include this type of feature, make sure that your visitors will be able to easily locate and mute or close the video if they are not interested in the content.

The takeaway is not that these design elements are always bad. There are some situations where individual businesses can benefit greatly from the tasteful integration of some of these features. However, when using features which are likely to be controversial, additional care should always be taken to prevent the unnecessary loss of customer goodwill.