3 extraordinary website UX blunders we still make in 2017
So this is a bit of a rant post, expanding on my tweet earlier in the week about poorly timed popups. (It apparently touched a nerve.)
It boggles the mind that we still have these UX atrocities on big websites in 2017, and no one has called out the Emperor on his lack of clothes.
1. Delayed ‘join our newsletter’ / ‘got a question’ popups
If you write code that makes a guess at what people are doing and you get it catastrophically wrong, then surprise surprise, users get massively frustrated.
Exhibit A, circa 1997 (kids, google ‘Microsoft Clippy’):

And yet… many web teams think they know exactly when I might need online chat support, or when I should consider signing up to their newsletter. And by implementing these ham-fisted assumptions as popups, I’m stopped from doing ANYTHING ELSE ON THE WEBSITE while I hunt for a way to dismiss them.
You don’t know want I want! Because you’re not in my head! Arriving at the need for help or deciding on an interest in follow-up engagement is incredibly complex and nuanced. Psychology, folks.
Websites trigger these intrusive delayed popups at the most awkward of times, like:
- After 10 seconds on a page;
- After I’ve scrolled 60% down the page.
If your offering is good, I’ll see your prominent newsletter call-to-action at the base of the page, or in the sidebar. If I need help, I’ll find it in the usual places.
Friends don’t let friends do timed/scroll-triggered popups.
2. Auto-play videos
I honestly can’t believe it has to be pointed out to so many companies—and website owners, not just advertisers—that auto-play videos piss people off. Universally. It is the pinnacle of chasing statistics (video impressions) over experience. It’s false engagement, and it damages websites and damages brands.

If you’re not YouTube, where the video itself is the sole purpose of the visit to the page (no article, etc), then do NOT autoplay the video.
- It scares the crap out of me if my volume is loud, especially with headphones on.
- It wakes up my wife and child sleeping next to me at night when I’m browsing on my phone.
- Because I didn’t start the video, I don’t know where it is on the page to stop it, nor do I know immediately how to stop it.
- It pisses me off because it often assumes I came to the page to watch the video, when most of the time I want to read the accompanying article. (So-called news sites, I’m looking at you.)
- It pisses me off because it’s often for an ad that has approximately 0% to do with the page’s content.
And here’s the thing: if your video content is that good, it takes just one click or touch for the user to start it. Job done.
3. Interstitial ads
Yes. Still. In 2017.
Basic psychology: when I’m focused on a task, I typically screen out anything not relevant to my task. That’s how we work as humans, so we aren’t crippingly overwhelmed with conscious thought about trillions of bits of irrelevant information.
So when, for example, I go to a website to read an article, guess what: I’m going to have zero interest in your irrelevant ad that is shown—on a timer (!!!)—and requires interaction before I’m allowed to get to the page I requested in the first place.
I don’t care if it’s accompanied by a ‘quote of the day’ or some other trite snippet of info (Forbes, I’m looking at you). I AM FOCUSED ON MY TASK, GET OUT OF MY WAY. Things that actively get in my way will annoy me greatly.

This tends to be a news and media website trend, so here’s the insight (not new), that I’m writing only for myself because news and media still have blinders on to what’s happening: the days of you being the de facto destination for advertising dollars and daily engagement are over, and these days the value of information once published tends to zero very quickly because bits and bytes are essentially free and instantly distributable worldwide. So instead, focus on building subscription models based on meeting niche needs (e.g. insightful, original news in specific locales or narrow verticals) and/or on the expectation of high-quality, investigative journalism in national spheres such as politics, health, etc. I say again, focus: say no to 100 things, say yes to one. You are no longer the source of ‘news’. Instead, make your focused content mind-bogglingly, instantly-shareworthy great. (That’s the end of my unrequested insight.)
And in the meantime, get out of my way when I’m trying to read things and do things, because I will associate your brand with desperate money grabbing and obfuscation. And that’s not good.
What other UX monstrocities are you amazed still exist in 2017? Let me know on Twitter or in the comments.
