Popups & overlays

A popup or overlay is a message that appears on top of a web page, often to offer a discount, collect an email address, or announce something. Good tools let you choose the trigger, such as after ten seconds, after scrolling halfway, or when the mouse moves to leave the page. Justuno, Unbounce, Leadpages and OmniConvert are among the tools that list it.

Popups can capture visitors who would otherwise leave without a trace, and they can be targeted at one page, one audience or one campaign. Used badly they annoy people and can hurt search rankings on mobile if they cover the whole page. They fit shops and sites with steady traffic and a clear offer. If your site gets few visitors, effort spent on better pages usually pays back more.

• Can you control timing, pages, device type and frequency, so returning visitors are not nagged.
• Can you easily close it on a phone, and does it avoid covering the whole screen.
• Does it report views, conversions and the revenue or leads it produced.
• Does it respect cookie consent choices, and does it work with your existing email or CRM tool.