No-Kill Pop Box; Part II
In the "No-Kill Pop Box (Instead of Popups)" article, the first part of this series, code was provided to make a box of content pop onto the web page the visitor is viewing. It was presented as an alternative for webmasters who are losing income because of pop-up killers.
A pop box is content within a rectangular area that might or might not be visually similar to a pop-up, but which displays on top of the content of the current web page rather than in a separate window of its own.
This type of message delivery mechanism has been called pop-in, pop-on, pop over, and pop box. Here, we use the term "pop box."
This article will provide code to delay the appearance of the pop box and the ability to display and vanish the pop box with clickable links.
There is an important distinction between pop-ups and pop boxes. Intellectually, it's understood that pop-ups are separate windows and pop boxes are part of the current window. However, when a webmaster decides to use pop boxes, several things become clear.
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Unlike pop-ups in their own separate window, the pop box must be designed to work with the web page, else the page looks cluttered.
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Every pop box covers some of the window's content. Unless they're stacked on top of each other, the number of pop boxes on a page is self-limiting.
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If the surfer feels abused by the content or number of pop boxes, s/he can simply close one window (or go to a different page) and all the pop boxes close along with the window.
Pop boxes can be controlled in ways similar to how pop-ups can be controlled. Examples:
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Display only once per visit.
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Display after visitor has seen three pages.
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Display on every page until a certain action is taken.
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Display 90 seconds after a page loads.
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Jiggle it a bit if it stays open more than three minutes.
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When one is closed, another displays.
But when the web page is closed, the pop boxes are closed too, automatically. There is no residue -- no windows are spawned all over the desktop. Everything is connected to the web page, all nice and tidy.
Maybe that will let Internet users feel more in control and be more accepting than they have been of pop-ups. Whether or not pop boxes will be more effective marketing tools remains to be seen.
The rest of this article is at
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It is a fact that web sites that require income to exist will either have that income or die. Those who have been depending on pop-ups for much of their income will need to do something to replace the income pop-up killers have been destroying. The pop box may be the self-limiting substitute that all can live with.
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The No-Kill Pop Box was first presented in the
June 17, 2003, WillMaster Possibilities, issue #204, feature article,
"No-Kill Pop Box (Instead of Popups)," and "No-Kill Pop Box; Part II" was published in the
July 1, 2003, WillMaster Possibilities, issue #206.
Please see the
articles for reference.
(In addition to the above links, the demonstration Pop Box opens automatically 10 seconds after page load.)
Source code:
Will Bontrager
©2003 Bontrager Connection, LLC
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