Here’s a great example of a ‘dark pattern’ I encountered today. Dark patterns are UX (user experience) interactions designed to trick or mislead users. Note the ‘Temporary offer, only 1 left’ in the screenshot here? This is a very typical example of this type of manipulation – trying to make you think you’re going to miss out on a great deal if you don’t jump on it immediately. Also, they make it look like the products are on sale, but these prices have always been the same… Dark Patterns in the Wild These practices are deceptive and unethical, and there… Continue Reading
dark patterns
Weekly Links Roundup – Optimize Images, Seasonal Marketing, Dark Patterns, SEO Tools
The top website and marketing links of the week. “Optimize images” is almost always one of the recommendations when testing a slow-loading website. Optimizing means making images no larger (dimensions and resolution) that they need to be for your site to reduce loading time. It also has to do with making them findable in search engine results. Here’s a nice guide to image optimization, not too technical, that can help you get your own site loading faster. If you run a seasonal business, marketing can be tough. Here’s a post from Constant Contact with 3 easy steps to year-round marketing… Continue Reading