Business
95% of users hate pop-ups, 69% use pop-up blockers
Usability guru Jakob Nielsen presents findings of research done by Yahoo! and eBay in regards to the most common site annoynaces.

Usability guru Jakob Nielsen presents findings of research done by Yahoo! and eBay in regards to the most common site annoynaces. It's hardly a surprise that pop-ups, slowness and various gimmicks to enforce users clicking on the ads rated at the top of the annoyances list.
Design Element | Users Answering "Very Negatively" or "Negatively" |
---|---|
Pops-up in front of your window | 95% |
Loads slowly | 94% |
Tries to trick you into clicking on it | 94% |
Does not have a "Close" button | 93% |
Covers what you are trying to see | 93% |
Doesn't say what it is for | 92% |
Moves content around | 92% |
Occupies most of the page | 90% |
Blinks on and off | 87% |
Floats across the screen | 79% |
Automatically plays sound | 79% |
Source: Nielsen Norman Group |