The Web's Most Annoying Dark Patterns

Dark Mode in the Web: Angry Web Design Trap

Core points:

• "Dark Mode" refers to deceptive design techniques used in websites and applications, designed to manipulate user behavior, often causing users to feel frustrated and deceived. Common examples include annoying ads, fake news ads, blocking ad blockers, and confusing navigation.
• Other annoying dark modes include lengthy multi-page articles, mobile app promotions that interrupt user experience, single-page apps without fallback mechanisms, and unnecessary scroll hijacking.
• Some dark modes are not only annoying, but also almost fraudulent. These include subscription shaming, artificial scarcity, and ease of signing up for services but difficulty in canceling services.
• Although dark modes are widely used, they are often considered manipulative and immoral. Users can protect themselves by understanding these patterns, spending time in interacting with websites and applications, and reporting any deceptive behavior to relevant departments.

This article is part of a series of articles created in collaboration with SiteGround. Thank you for supporting the partners who made SitePoint possible.

We created a monster. Even though living and working online, many of us hate the way technology is abused. Some setbacks are inevitable, but many technologies are malicious—if not nearly fraudulent. The other dark modes are extremely stupid. Here is a list of my most annoying web design issues. I won't be humiliating anyone directly, but when I have these problems, I can't help but want to give up everything and go to live on the beach...

Bloody web page

I have complained a lot, but few developers care about page loading time or performance. In May 2017, the average page size reached 2884kb. This is the average of content pages – not apps, games, or social networks. Is the user experience increasing by more than 20% per year? I don't think so.

Long multi-page article

It is OK to divide a long article into separate pages. It doesn't work to divide short articles into sentence-size pages to increase ad impressions.

Annoying ads

Advertising is one of the biggest reasons for web bloat. Full-screen, pop-up and auto-play video ads are especially annoying. Unfortunately, some website owners think: "I have an ad for each page and made $X last month. If I put two ads, it's $2X..." This worked so much that users started Give up the site. How do some website owners solve the problem of falling revenue? More ads.

Fake news ads

Can a 19-year-old really make $5,000 by working an hour a week? It seems that we have lost the art of creating desirable products and smart advertising and are addicted to the ridiculous get-rich-fast program.

Block ad blocker

"Sorry, you won't be able to access this page unless you disable the ad blocker." The benefit of this is: Visitors never click on ads, so they will never contribute to revenue. Let's stop them. shortcoming? Visitors won't care. No one will have a hard time disabling their ad blocker just to view your content. Even if they do, they won't click on ads because they know how and when to avoid ads. These users will disappear forever and you eliminate any possibility of promoting other goods and services. If ads are your only source of revenue, you may want to consider other options now, as vendors have started blocking ads by default to increase browser speed.

Mobile jump

You are reading an article on your smartphone, and the browser scrolls to a random location because images, ads, or other resources are loaded above. Admittedly, this is a necessity for modern responsive web design, but it's annoying. Solution? I don't know of any in-page solution other than fixing the width of images and other resources (I've spent many hours trying it out!) Chrome on mobile has an experimental flag that prevents jumps: 1. Enter in the address bar chrome://flags 2. Scroll to or search for scroll anchor 3. Enable and restart the browser.

I'm not sure if it always works, but I praise any vendors who try it.

Mobile Application Promotion

You click on the link on your mobile device, but, just when you arrive at your destination, you will be invited to install the mobile app for the website and read the article there. That's right: you have to visit the app store, approve the terms, download a few megabytes of code, wait for the installation to be completed, launch the app, and try to find the same thing you could read ten minutes ago. This means: "We're investing a lot of money on many native mobile apps, but no one cares. We should probably implement progressive web applications at a fraction of the cost. Instead of solving the core problem, we might as well try to trick some people into installing it. It. Maybe our CEO will stop complaining about our poor ROI."

Confusing Navigation

I totally agree with design freedom, but if you need to explain your navigation, then something goes wrong! Horizontal and vertical link lists may not be exciting, but they work without bouncing arrows or instructions. Extra annoying: CSS is limited to multi-level cascading menus that disappear once you move your mouse out of the active area by one pixel.

Browser detection

"This site is only valid in Google Chrome." I think this nonsense disappeared in 2001. If you are trying an experimental technique, this may be necessary, but applying it to every content page will cost you visitors. "You need Flash"

I don't need it. You need to update your website.

Single-page application without a fallback mechanism

All cool kids are using JavaScript frameworks to create single page applications. Good, but at least add a little tolerance when JavaScript fails. It will fail. Progressive enhancement did not disappear.

Silly password restrictions

"Your password must be between 8 and 10 characters, containing a capital letter, two numbers, a symbol and a smiling poop emoji." This means: "We don't really understand security, But it looks like we're doing something practical. "You're not: You're providing templates to brute-force password tools and drastically reducing discovery time. Of course, enforce a minimum number of characters, indicate strength and check for stupid passwords (such as "password"). That's it.

Disable paste in the password field

Why do the website do this? You're now blocking me from using a randomly generated strong string of 500 characters set in Password Manager. You should also stop...

Destroy browser behavior

Site owners need to know some basic facts about the web. You can't: - Hide your code - Block people from viewing your source code - Block people from using the right-click menu - Detect when someone opens the developer tool - Force people to run your script or use your style - Block people from copying content (And please stop adding stupid copyright information when I try).

Destroy the back button

Breaking the back button feature is unnecessary and a bad user experience. Even novice users can understand the role of "back". There are no excuses for single page applications – the history API has been available for years, so use it! It's not just a single page application. Some sites insist on ending sessions or displaying expired pages, so you can't move back and forth and have to log in again. And don't let me start talking about websites that can't respond to mouse wheel scrolling.

Use the wrong input type

HTML5 introduces a series of new input types, including url, email, tel, number, date, time, color, etc. Browser vendors can optimize the user experience to limit certain characters or to appear with appropriate controls (such as calendars) (this is still not in Firefox – how long will it take for Mozilla to complete?!) Use the correct input controls for work. Anyone who uses a yes/no radio button instead of a single checkbox should be subject to all the ridicule they deserve.

Cookie Warning

You may not see these, but EU residents are bombarded with “We Use Cookies” banners and pop-ups on almost every website they visit. Few people care about it. Fewer people read them. Millions of people are now pre-set to ignore safety warnings, which may one day become more severe. This stupid rule is loaded into the law and I do not assert that you participate in criminal activities. However, the law must be enforceable; how many websites are fined for refusing to display cookie notifications? There is a simple option: install an auto-click plugin, such as I don't care about cookies.

Unnecessary rolling hijacking

I really like it when scrolling hijacks subtlety and highlights some key points. It's less pleasant when it's overused, combining a dozen parallax sections and 57 floating items moving into place. My eyes are bleeding, thank you.

Infinite scrolling prank

I don't really like pages that load and attach extra content when you scroll down to the bottom of the page. I don't really like sites that can't quickly attach content, don't indicate when the page ends, or make it impossible to bookmark a single article.

Social login is stupid

When OAuth is implemented well, it is great to sign up and log in with your Facebook, Twitter, or Google account and save time. When the implementation is not good, the website will then continue to ask you for email and other passwords to register - Why?

"Used" items added to my cart

I don't mind some product recommendations, but automatically adding something to my cart goes beyond the boundaries of reasonable e-commerce behavior! Man, you just lost the opportunity to sell.

Subscribe to humiliation

Automatically joining people to services or products is a dark mode that is still being adopted in certain corners of the network. Worse are the marketing phrases that turn you into a bad guy, like “I don’t care about orphan puppies, so I want to unsubscribe to your newsletter.”

Artificial scarcity

"We have 2 items available and 47 people are viewing this product." It's great to know you're out of stock, but it's unethical to use these strategies to induce sales. Travel sites are notorious for this information, but other sites have also implemented scarcity panic. Visit the page again after a week of trying – strangely, the product is still available.

Easy to enter, difficult to exit

Lastly, the ultimate dark mode. The site is easy to register: you only need an email address. Cancellation of service is another matter. You must visit the company headquarters in Pyongyang, submit a handwritten cancellation letter, provide fifteen types of photo identification (original, not photocopy), fill out a fifty-page resignation questionnaire, and agree to medical treatment of your first child experiment.

Thank you for reading. I'm going to lie down for a while. Have you experienced more serious violations? Have you been asked to commit any violations? Do you refuse or surrender to the dark side?

FAQs about nasty online dark modes

What is the dark mode of the web and why are they annoying?

The web dark mode is a deceptive design trick used in websites and applications to trick users into doing things they may not want to do, such as signing up for services, buying products, or sharing personal information. They are annoying because they manipulate user behavior and often lead to frustration, wasted time, and the feeling of being deceived or cheated.

How to identify dark modes on the Internet?

Recognizing dark patterns in the web can be tricky because they are designed to be deceptive. However, some common signs include confusing language, hidden information, pre-selected options, and difficult processes to exit. If a website or app makes it difficult for you to make an informed decision or is prompting you to take some action, it may be using Dark Mode.

Is the dark mode of the Internet illegal?

The legality of the dark mode of the network varies by country and the specific technology used. Some countries have laws regarding deceptive business practices that may apply to the dark mode. But law enforcement can be difficult due to the global nature of the Internet and the subtlety of many dark patterns.

How to avoid falling into the trap of dark mode of the Internet?

The best way to avoid falling into the web dark mode trap is to understand them and spend time interacting with websites and applications. Read all information carefully, especially the disclaimer and don't feel stressed to act immediately. If something is wrong, trust your intuition.

What should I do if I am deceived by the dark mode of the Internet?

If you are cheated by Dark Mode on the Web, you can report to the customer service department of the website or app, complain to your local consumer protection agency, or share your experience on social media to warn others. If you suffer a significant loss, you may also want to consider taking legal action.

How to protect my personal information from the dark mode of the Internet?

Protecting your personal information from the dark mode of the Internet includes being alert to the information you share online. Be alert to unnecessary personal information and use privacy settings to control who can see your information. Additionally, consider using a Virtual Private Network (VPN) for enhanced security.

Are all dark modes on the Internet bad?

While the web dark mode is often considered manipulative and immoral, not all dark modes are necessarily harmful. Some may just be annoying or inconvenient. However, any design skills that intentionally deceive or mislead users are problematic and should be avoided.

Will the dark mode of the network affect my computer performance?

Network dark mode itself does not usually affect the performance of the computer. However, they can result in unwanted downloads or subscriptions that can slow down your computer or take up valuable storage space.

How to report a website or application using the dark mode of the web?

If you encounter a website or application that uses the dark mode of the web, you can report it to the customer service department of the website or application, your local consumer protection agency, or relevant regulatory authorities. You can also share your experience on social media to warn others.

How to learn more about Dark Mode on the Internet?

There are many resources available online to help you learn more about Dark Mode on the Internet, including articles, blogs and videos. You can also join online communities or forums that specifically discuss and raise awareness about this issue.

The above is the detailed content of The Web's Most Annoying Dark Patterns. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!