Roach Motel

Roach motel is one of the dark patterns in design. The term refers to a design in which a user easily gets into a situation but then can not get out.

In most cases, this pattern leads a user to an unnecessary purchase via trick question or makes him subscribe to a newsletter which is extremely hard to unsubscribe.

Tips & Tricks

To avoid roach motels use some simple rules.

1. Pay attention to UX Copy

Make everything clear. If you offer a subscription, explain what it is in it. And yes, users need a possibility to unsubscribe easily.

DO button
Pic. 1. This is how you can provide the option
DON'T button
Pic. 2.This is a typical roach motel when it is hard to find a way to unsubscribe

2. Give a user a chance to cancel action

All the buttons should be easily recognized. Highlight them with the color, icons and text.

Registration form
Pic. 1. You can make any option attractive by offering something to a user. But make sure that the user can refuse
Registration form refuse action
Pic. 2.How to skip the offer in this case? It is not clear even how to close the pop-up

3. Help users

Help a user to complete action, but don’t insist on it.

Purchase form
Pic. 1. Here we can see two actions and both of them are completely clear
Purchase form refuse action
Pic. 2.It seems that actions are not clear and even don’t refer to a question

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