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
How to Review a Website — A Guide for Beginners

How to Review a Website — A Guide for Beginners

A company website is crucial for any business's digital marketing strategy. To keep up with the changing trends and customer buying behaviors, it's important to review and make necessary changes regularly...

Digital Doughnut Contributor
Digital Doughnut Contributor 25 March 2024
Read more
The Impact of New Technology on Marketing

The Impact of New Technology on Marketing

Technology has impacted every part of our lives. From household chores to business disciplines and etiquette, there's a gadget or app for it. Marketing has changed dramatically over the years, but what is the...

Alex Lysak
Alex Lysak 3 April 2024
Read more
The World Is Shrinking: 6 Degrees of Separation Is Now 2!

The World Is Shrinking: 6 Degrees of Separation Is Now 2!

Six degrees of separation is not just a party game, it's a reality. Everyone is the world is interconnected, and thanks to social media, that connectedness gets tighter and richer each day. See the research...

Scott Christley
Scott Christley 9 August 2017
Read more
10 Factors that Influence Customer Buying Behaviour Online

10 Factors that Influence Customer Buying Behaviour Online

Now is an era where customers take the center stags influencing business strategies across industries. No business can afford to overlook factors that could either break the customer experience or even pose a risk of...

Edward Roesch
Edward Roesch 4 June 2018
Read more
What Marketing Content Do Different Age Groups like to Consume?

What Marketing Content Do Different Age Groups like to Consume?

Today marketers have a wide choice of different content types to create; from video to blogs, from memes to whitepapers. But which types of content are most suitable for different age groups?

Lisa Curry
Lisa Curry 21 October 2016
Read more