Most Effective Psychological Principles for Web Design

Many people who make their living through online marketing and web design forget that they should be taking time to think about the basic psychological principles that can affect their visitors. Psychological principles are generally quite straight-forward, easy to learn, and simple to implement with the right guidance.

Considering psychology in the process of designing a web page can have a number of positive effects on your end result. After all, if you have taken the time to think about what your visitors want and how they want to access it, then you are more likely to create a website that taps into the drives of your target audience. By thinking about psychology, you end up with happier visitors more likely to make conversions and referrals.

Building Trust

In order to get your visitors to do whatever it is you want them to do, you first need to get them to trust you. Unfortunately, trust doesn’t come easily, especially in an age when negative schemes, malicious characters, and scams seem to run rampant. Most people will be wary of handing out personal information to anyone, regardless of how necessary that information actually is.

By keeping this in mind, you can utilize design psychology to make your website seem more trustworthy to your audience. Creating a website that puts your visitors at ease will make them more likely to create an account, buy a product, or otherwise do business with you.

Familiarity

When someone enters your landing page, they will expect to see certain things, regardless of the type of website they’re visiting. If they don’t see these things immediately, they can feel confused and concerned, prompting them to flee. The two primary things visitors expect are information regarding the purpose of the site, and some form of navigation.

Beyond the two initial elements, there are additional things that people generally expect on certain pages. For example, blog posts should be on the front page of a blog, and products should appear on the front page of an e-commerce site.

Branding Consistency

Alongside the general elements that visitors expect to see on your website, there are things that your audience may associate with your particular company. Though this isn’t always a concern for newer businesses, it is an issue for many others.

For example, think about the colors and designs you have used in offline methods for promotion such as leaflets, posters, or outside branding. Those should be incorporated within your website in some way, even if it’s only in your heading image. The same goes for a logo – If you have used a logo in printed marketing materials, you will need to use it on your website too.

Psychological Triggers

Emotional and psychological triggers are essential when you want to influence visitors to take certain actions on your webpage. Triggers may include things such as a sense of belonging or appealing to a person’s values. Incorporating the right emotional triggers into your website design can typically be done through the language on the website itself, as well as using graphic elements as a system of support.

Images as Reinforcement

The images that you choose to use on your website will either help or confuse your visitors. A carefully considered image can put your visitor at ease and make your intentions clear, whereas a poorly chosen one can make your visitor nervous and confused. For example, if you are a flower arrangement company, pictures of floral creations are a good idea.

Abstract images may work well in some instances, but you should be wary when using them, as often meaning is vital. Sometimes, abstract images provide different responses from different people or cause the meaning to be missed entirely.