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Journal · The Clarity Series · Convert visitors

What is a popup?

By Nicholas Cabel The 60-second version lives on Instagram

A popup is a small window that appears over your page to make an offer or ask a question. You have closed ten thousand of them without reading a word, but a well-timed one actually converts.

In plain English

There are three kinds: entry popups that fire the instant you arrive, timed ones that wait a few seconds, and exit-intent ones that appear right as you try to leave. Timing is the whole difference between helpful and annoying.

Tolerated vs hated

01

Timing

Never on arrival, before a visitor has even read a word.

02

Value

Offer something real, not just an interruption.

03

An easy close button

Trap people and they leave the whole site, not just the popup.

Worth remembering

The average popup converts at just 4.82%, but the top 10% hit 57.7%.

That gap is almost entirely about timing and offer, not the format itself. Most popups are built wrong, not doomed to fail.

What to do about it

A popup done badly drives people away; done well, it captures visitors who were about to leave anyway. Get a free website audit and I will tell you whether one belongs on your site.

About the author

  • Nicholas Cabel

    Written by

    Nicholas Cabel

    Founder of MakeAndUpdate, a one-person web studio in West Chester, PA. Hand-codes fast websites for local businesses and builds in public.

    @makeandupdate