7 Psychological Principles to Create High-Converting websites. The psychology of website design

About the Author:

Divia Acharya, Founder, and Managing Director at Digitallydiv strong believer and want nothing more than seeing you and your brand become amazingly victorious. With an MBA degree from Swinburne University Melbourne in tow and a great passion for digital marketing ,Social Media Marketing & Blogging, I am here to stay & grow!. I DESIRE a passion for helping people gain their confidence in Online marketing.

Website optimisation isn’t just about tricks and hacks! Agree, there are many tactical ways to improve your conversion rate: test your CTA button copy, test a shorter page, change this picture, make that button bigger…and so on…

However, if you don’t understand the more strategic side of things – the psychological process that goes into a winning website – then your website optimisation efforts are just a theory/Speculation.

Here are Seven psychological principles that will help you make your offer more persuasive – and turn your Conversion into a conversion Gen Machine!!

“Your website is the center of your digital eco-system, like a brick and mortar location, the experience matters once a customer enters, just as much as the perception, they have of you before they walk through the door.”

Leland Dieno Tweet

1. The psychology of pain: What customers do not want to do?

Pain Psychology

How can you apply the psychology of pain to your website

When it comes to apply the psychology of pain to your website/ landing page, it’s everything about avoidance. What do your prospects most want to avoid?

If you can cause people to remember or feel the pain of something, then they will respond by seeking to avoid it — and, assuming you’ve done things correctly, that means they’ll convert.

How it works?

Start the customer relationship by making them think of pain and draw on individual incentives to ease that pain. And that results in a desire to find a solution – to make the outlook likely to change.

Consider these Five Stages of Customer Pain when Creating a Landing page/webpage.

They feel somewhat uncomfortable in the situation they are in but in general they are doing good.
They are not happy with their pain but they can live with it.
They are very unhappy with their pain and wish for a change.
They want to change and start thinking about how they can do it.
They are desperate to find solutions.

2. Colour Psychology

Colour Psychology in Web Design Can Increase Conversions -psychology of website design

There are several variables to consider when evaluating the success of a website. For most organisations, conversions are the biggest predictor that your website works well. Were you aware that colour psychology could affect these conversions in web design?

This indicates the success of the user experience by filling out a contact form, registering for a newsletter, or registering for a webinar or downloading an eBook.. And, of course, the primary end goal is to have users purchase the product or service offered by your site.

User experience and user interface design have undeniably played a major role in the success of the website. The same applies to colour and the way it is used in your web design. Color Psychology is a powerful web design tool, and more and more designers use it to convey key messages and influence people’s attitudes and emotions.

Colour Psychology

Red

Red conveys a sense of urgency. If your goal is to promote a clearance sale, using red in ads or graphics immediately draws attention, makes the viewer eager to complete the interaction, and instills the fear of missing out at the same time

Blue

Dependability, intelligence, trust, safety, and security are closely associated with the colour blue, making it quite popular in the business world — especially the financial sector.

White

In the Western world, white represents innocence, virtue, and purity. It’s also closely associated with hygiene and cleanliness, which explains its wide use in the healthcare industry.

Black

While black is widely associated with darkness and death in many cultures

Yellow

If you want to cheer up your readers and make them feel optimistic and warm, the colour yellow can help you make it happen. Some people even claim that this sunny colour makes them feel younger. Yellow is often seen on parenting, wellness, and travel websites.

Green

Green will forever be associated with the environment. It calls to mind summer, outdoor activities, healthy foods, and overall wellness.

Orange

Many websites use orange for their CTAs. The combination of red and yellow that produces the secondary colour orange is behind this logic. Like yellow, orange gives off warmth and a sense of cheerful welcoming, while the red in the mix fosters that sense of urgency — which is exactly what your CTA should have.

Hapiness Psychology

3. The psychology of happiness: What will make prospects feel happy? psychology of website design

Well, let’s get in to real Psychology . From his teaching, experimentation, and deep thinking, Epicurus created a theory of happiness and the bottom line is this: The pursuit of happiness is every individual’s greatest desire, . Nobody is going to intentionally choose pain unless they think it will somehow make them happy.

How do you apply the psychology of pleasure to your Business Website?

When it comes to creating a high-converting landing page/Homepage/sales Page, there are many things you can do to align yourself with your prospects’ compelling search for happiness:

Always Remember, People think of themselves first. So, Focus on them in your website copy. Use the word “you” a lot. Refer to their happiness and wellbeing the choice they’re making and how it’ll make them feel. Avoid using ‘Our’ word in all the pages except in AboutUs page.
People feel happy when they clearly Know about the service. Give Importance to Clarity .Show pictures of the Service in context, or at the very least, clearly describe it. So, Provide Clarity about what you offer.
People feel happy when they know that other people are happy (Other users , of course). Feature testimonials of happy, smiling customers.
People feel happy when they are brought to a satisfying and logical conclusion. Use a long form landing page/sales page with a clear start, cognitive flow, conclusion and call to action.
People feel happy when they read happy words. Write copy that is upbeat, delightful, optimistic and nonthreatening..

Spending Psychology

4.The psychology of spending: How much does tour customer want to spend?

How can you apply the psychology of spending to landing pages?

Leveraging the psychology of spending on your website is all about aligning yourself with your prospects’ expectations:

Find your prospects’ ideal price point and show them that number.
Show prospects how much they’ll save by purchasing your service/what are the benefits of your service

Language matter!

Language and psychology

5. Psychology of Language

Make use of urgency and guarantees in your website copy

Urgency appeals to people’s fear of missing out( A.K.A FOMO). Studies have shown that we place a higher value on items that are scarce. If your customers are worried that they’ll miss out on purchasing a high-value item, they’re more likely to purchase right away.

You may want to add a banner to the top of your site or your checkout page using words like:

For Limited Time
Right away
Running out
Now
Last chance
Hurry up

So you might say, “Offer is for limited time! Get yours before we close out.” You can create a similar urgency with coupons by only offering a discount for a set period of time.

Guarantees for converting customers are also integral. Your customers want to be able to trust your company and to buy goods or services, reliable products or services. Include them on your entire website when you have accreditations and certifications. Reviews and testimonials also have a great impact. As a Matter of fact, 31 per cent more customers want to spend on a company with positive reviews!

Tighten Marketing

Psychology of Story telling

6.People love stories

Everyone loves a good story. And including stories in your website adds authenticity and personality to your brand. They also grab attention and help consumers remember your products/Services.

When we hear a good story, our levels of the happiness hormone, Oxytocin, increase. This boosts our feelings of trust and empathy and positively affects our attitude towards a product and brand.

Here are a few ways to use storytelling:

Create a story around your brand. Share your customer success stories, especially ones that are emotional or exciting.
Be transparent about your practices and Process.
Give back to the community.
Focus on the benefits of your products or services talk about how your can create Transformation for your New users.

Business

foot-in-the-door technique

7.Psychology of Risk aversion..

If you’re marketing to first-time users of your products or services, it’s best to start with asking for something small. Why?

People are more likely to give into a small request because there’s less risk involved and it’s often easier than saying Blunt “no.” Later, when customers are asked for something bigger, they’re more likely to agree. This is known as the foot-in-the-door technique. It goes back to the age of door-to-door sales people, i.e if a salesman literally got their foot in the door, they were less likely to have it slammed on their face.

Here are a few ways you can put this into practice:

Ask for an email address in exchange for a discount/offer/any Digital stuff to download. One in three email subscribers purchases something from the brand that they subscribe to.
Allow for small donations if you’re a nonprofit. Donors will feel good about themselves and be more likely to make a repeat, larger donation down the road.
Sell a small part of your Service . for Instance: For a Dentist ” say free Tooth whitening, when they get new Veneers Or Braces done by you. Customers will feel better about getting the chance to try out your service with little risk.
Offer a free trial/ free Offer/ Buy One to get 1 free and so on. Did you know, an impressive six in ten free trials convert to paying customers.

“Websites promote you 24/7: No employee will do that.”

― Paul Cookson Tweet

Psychology is about more than sales

Understanding the psychology of your customers is not just a way to increase your leads or the Purchases. It allows you to connect more deeply with people who make up your core support base and enhance their shopping experience.

It’s not meant to trick consumers, but rather to be used as a tool to improve your communication so that the messages you spread are perceived as intended.