You stumble across a website when browsing the internet. On first impression, your mood elevates. Suddenly, you feel rather light, and, yes, some happiness seems to be creeping in. The urge to see what is on the site has you clicking through the pages.Â
There is a lot to love about what you are seeing. It is in the color choice, element placement, choice of images, and content.Â
What is interesting is that you had no particular interest in what the website was about. But, one thing for sure is that it drew you in and kept you there.Â
Well, there is a scientific way to explain what just happened to you. It is all about human psychology and web design. Read on to find out more.
Exploring Web Design Psychology
Any web development company worth its salt will tell you some simple ingredients to achieve ROI with your website. The first is an engaging design. The second is the application of user engagement persuasion techniques.Â
The second is the basis for this conversation about web design psychology. You see persuasion is a lot more than shouting your brand or product attributes. You achieve more with subtle methods to communicate your messages.Â
Take the example of customer reviews, testimonials, or social proof. Wouldn’t you believe those more than hard-sell advertising language? Do you know why? Reading a positive customer review touches on your psychology to produce an emotional response. In such a case, it would be trust and positive feelings for the company.
Web design psychology follows the same principle. It taps into the subconscious and emotional aspect of your being. Web designers consider how the different elements will make audiences feel. But, that’s not all, beyond feelings, there is the subtle nudge to take a specific action.
Critical Factors in Web Design PsychologyÂ
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Psychology of ColorÂ
Color can affect moods, behavior, and responses. The Daily Mail has an interesting article on the use of color and the decision to purchase. See that red sales sign? Shoppers associate that with urgency, thus the urge to buy immediately.Â
The article goes on to say red also brings out aggression and competitiveness. It sure worked for the sale of the Nintendo Wii. A red background increased the number of bids.Â
Color will also attract different shopper types as below.Â
Picture source: Daily Mail https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2870122/Infographic-reveals-tricks-stores-use-boost-sales-Christmas.html
Website designers play with color choices to evoke particular reactions. An orange call to action (CTA) button encourages action. Blue inspires trust and a feeling of calm, and so on.
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Psychology of TypefacesÂ
What comes to mind when you see the font Times Roman or serif? You think professional or authoritarian right? You may find it on educational or financial websites.Â
What about comic sans? It is fun, light, and would appeal to younger demographics. Script font is romantic, traditional, and fun. That is why many designers use it on birthday or wedding cards.
Web designers change fonts depending on what they want the audience to feel. It starts from having a good understanding of the target audience. And, combining fonts and colors can evoke more powerful emotions.
Even in logos, typeface choices are critical. You don’t just choose whichever font feels right for you. As there’s a psychology behind the style, you should research the history and use of each font in your industry. This is where professional logo designers are good at. They know how to do deep brand research, not just the actual design process. Professional designers from DesignCrowd offer this as part of their service. They conduct research such as competitor analysis before actually designing the logo that is suitable for your brand.Â
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Positioning of ElementsÂ
Herman Ebbinghaus came up with the term serial position effect. It refers to the tendency of people to retain information about the first and last items in a series. That means the middle items will not enjoy high recall.Â
So, how does this apply to web design? The answer is quite simple. You can control the online visitor’s behavior with how you position or place specific items on the site.Â
Let’s take the example of the navigation bar. The designer will put the most critical links right at the beginning. They also display key benefits in prominent positions at the beginning of the home or landing pages.Â
At the end of the page, will be the CTA button. So, no matter how much the online visitors browse the site, they never forget the key things you want them to remember.
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Psychology of ImagesÂ
Images evoke curiosity and stimulate the mind. And, most people will have a higher recall rate for visual cues.
Research shows that after 3 days, you only retain 10-20% of written text. Yet, for images, the recall is 65%. Web designers also achieve 9% more effectiveness with illustrated rather than normal text. Immediate comprehension of messages is as high as 83%.Â
You see, images grab attention. They allow for the creation of several emotions at once. Users find pages with images easier to navigate. And, look at social media posts. Those with images get more interaction than text alone.Â
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Clean Website DesignsÂ
Clutter evokes feelings of disorganization, disorder, and chaos. That is why a never-ending trend in web design is clean, simple layouts. Users find it easier to search for and engage with content.
Optimizing spaces between letters and words makes the information look good and easy to read. Finding the right balance with content can help avoid overwhelming visitors with information.Â
Now here is where it gets interesting. Do you know that human minds create prototypes or templates of how things should look? Your mind may reject a website if it does not conform to the template.Â
A clothing website should have stylish models. Car dealers should showcase vehicles, and so on. Anything contrary to this can throw users off. But it doesn’t stop there. There is also the role of cognitive fluency. It means you gravitate towards the familiar or easy things.Â
That is why you prefer a site that is intuitive, easy to navigate, with simple-to-follow guides or prompts. So, what happens if the web designer changes the layout to something new and a little more complex?
Well, your mind may reject the new look. You may find it hard to continue to visit the site. Web designers must learn what the visitors respond to well by understanding such concepts.
Final ThoughtsÂ
Web design and development companies take time to understand human psychology. The site is supposed to evoke particular emotions. Only then can they get the audiences to take the right action.Â
We have looked at some factors that have a role to play in web design psychology. These include color, typeface, clean designs, and images. It is a fascinating topic that is critical for high-performing, functional websites.
Read more about the psychology of design:
Written by DesignCrowd on Wednesday, November 3, 2021
DesignCrowd is an online marketplace providing logo, website, print and graphic design services by providing access to freelance graphic designers and design studios around the world.