Ask HN: What's your bounce rate against modal popups?

3 pointsrhizome3 comments

If you use page-blocking mailing-list signup forms, modal popups, or any other content-obscuring link-doors on your site, how many people hit those pages and then only the back button? That is, what percentage of visitors only ever view the form without filling it out, clicking any buttons, or even the window-close 'X'? Is the bounce rate a lot higher for these pages than unencumbered ones? By how much?

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Anecdote: I see these popups and immediately leave the site. A popup demanding my attention tells me all I need to know about the site operator and what to expect while I'm there. 100 http calls for all sorts of crap. Analytics up the wazoo. That is what is important to the site owner. The user's pleasure? Not so much.

Mantra: Attraction, not promotion.

Anecdote: I see these popups and immediately leave the site

But are you the target audience? People who work in technical fields generally have a way lower tolerance for things like this than the general public.

Which is exactly what I'm asking for.

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