It is amazing to observe how much the Orlando web design industry has changed over the past few years. Recent developments in technology have really made the industry move forward by leaps and bounds, and it doesn’t look like they’ll be stopping anytime soon. However, because of how much this field has advanced, it has led to certain practices that are less than good, in the name of forcing or tricking users into converting.

These are what are known as “dark practices”, and these practices have a tendency to be looked on disapprovingly by users and website owners alike. In fact, prolonged use of these practices can lead to users losing their trust in you. To make sure that you aren’t using these yourself, here are some dark patterns to avoid in your own Orlando web design.

What are dark patterns and how do they work?

The first thing you need to know is what dark patterns are, and how they work. These are design patterns or elements that trick users into carrying out actions that they don’t want to, just to boost conversions. The reason why these are so bad is that users are supposed to willingly convert and interact with your site in order for it to be effective, not because they were forced into it. This can lead to a loss in trust in your website and your brand.

Bait and switch

This may be one of the most famous examples of a dark pattern. Throughout the progression of the web design industry, users have certain expectations for how things work. Bait and switching intentionally use this to the user’s disadvantage, by changing the intended outcome of the action performed. For example, if a user clicks on the “x” button to exit out of something, but it leads to confirmation, then this confuses users and causes them to perform and action that they didn’t want in the first place.

Confirmshaming

This is another popular Orlando web design dark pattern that is very much in use today. This is characterized by having a call-to-action and shaming users into carrying out the action. This usually takes the form of phrases like, “It’s okay, I don’t like great deals” in response to a discount coupon and the like. While it looks like harmless fun at first, websites shouldn’t be shaming their users into performing actions.

Making it difficult to cancel subscriptions

Because of the importance of customer retention for certain businesses and websites, some site owners are now making it as difficult as possible for users to cancel their subscriptions to certain services and email lists. In fact, some websites take it a step further and require their users to send an email or call up the website headquarters before their subscription can be canceled, which is something that no user should ever have to go through for something as simple as canceling an account.