Article

Konstantin Boyko
Konstantin Boyko 31 August 2017

The psychology behind high-converting websites

If you’ve hit a brick wall when it comes to boosting website conversions, why not see if the following principles help hone your website design?

Testing and research lie at the heart of all best-laid plans to develop a high-converting website, but sometimes you have to set the data aside, embrace your inner Sigmund Freud and pair up your experiments with a little bit of good old-fashioned psychology.

1. The Law of Prägnanz
This famous law describes the way we prefer experiences to take on a simple order and are naturally averse to ideas and designs that are too complex. A fine principle to apply to website development – particularly when you consider that best-selling computer game franchise The Sims tested the reduction of their initial four calls to action down to one and discovered conversions improved by at least 43%. Or that mobile business company Device Magic tested a cleaner version of their homepage with all bullets and videos removed, only to find CTR to the sign-up page rose by 35%.

2. The Principle of Cost vs Benefit
This principle explores the way that the perceived cost and benefit of an action influences human behaviour. For example, a user debating whether or not to download an ebook from your website might well be happy with the perceived cost of entering an email address but flinch from completing multiple fields of personal information or filling in a long-winded survey. In 2010, Expedia put this principle to the test by trying out two different versions of their billing address collection fields. The removal of one optional field made the form look shorter and led to an increase in revenue of $12m (approximately £9m).

3. Face perception
Face perception refers to the human instinct of understanding and interpreting a face – an instinct we begin acting on from birth. Faces grab attention and can be used to highlight key elements on a page – perhaps angled towards your CTA or positioned beside a special offer. Faces can also help to make that emotive connection with users – just look at the efforts of online art shop Medalia Art which switched from pictures of paintings on their homepage to pictures of the artists in an attempt to increase CTR to the relevant pages. The result? A CTR increase of 95.4%.

4. Fitts’ Law
Taking the scientific angle, this law of human movement predicts the amount of time taken to move to and select a target, dependent on the distance to and width of said target. In terms of your website, this could mean enlarging the target of a certain button to improve CTR, or positioning it with the aim of minimising mouse movement. Actions you would like to reduce, such as cancellations, could be achieved by working the rule in reverse i.e. by using smaller target buttons or placing them at a distance requiring greater mouse movement. Car manufacturer Hyundai saw a 62% increase in test drive and brochure requests when they enlarged their CTA buttons as well as a 208% increase in CTR.

Please login or register to add a comment.

Contribute Now!

Loving our articles? Do you have an insightful post that you want to shout about? Well, you've come to the right place! We are always looking for fresh Doughnuts to be a part of our community.

Popular Articles

See all
The Challenges of Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)

The Challenges of Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)

We all agree Customer Lifetime Value is important, but there’s not much agreement after that. This blog is about the challenges of Customer Lifetime Value (CLV). CLV is a fantastic concept but defining that value and...

Peter Rivett-Jones
Peter Rivett-Jones 24 May 2023
Read more
Artificial Intelligence in Content Creation

Artificial Intelligence in Content Creation

In this article, we will talk about AI in the field of content generation. We will look at what artificial intelligence is in terms of content, what AIs are on the market, and how we can interact with them.

Polina Kedis
Polina Kedis 12 May 2023
Read more
How These PIM Features can Create the Next Growth Opportunity

How These PIM Features can Create the Next Growth Opportunity

The increasing need for effective product information management solutions has become critical for businesses that sell products online. With the growing number of sales channels and the rising complexity of product...

Sudhanshu Singh
Sudhanshu Singh 31 May 2023
Read more
Exploring the Rapid Growth of Mobile App Development

Exploring the Rapid Growth of Mobile App Development

Smartphones have included mobile applications for more than ten years. The fastest-growing area of the mobile industry is the mobile app market. Only a few app developers were aware of the potential market opportunity...

Prashant Pujara
Prashant Pujara 24 May 2023
Read more
The Ins & Outs of Product Marketing

The Ins & Outs of Product Marketing

Product marketing is what drives products onto the market and keeps them there. Developing effective product marketing is the secret to your organization's development, expansion, and long-term success. It is a...

Pawanpreet Gill
Pawanpreet Gill 26 May 2023
Read more