Did you know that the content for your brand message isn’t everything?

Yep. The environment in which the message is presented as well as the tone of it matters. There are subtle aspects like color, shape, font, etc. that matters more than anything else.

Design is an art that is so creative in so many ways that sometimes a non-pretty website can be analyzed to have more conversions than just a pretty website. This is why it is important to understand that all you need is a functional website that is user-friendly and loads fast. Usability matters more than just the design.

Apart from the UX tips and improvements in UI design, there’s something even more influential that can take your web design from good to better. They are the psychology principles that can add up to the usability of a website so powerfully as to increase the engagements by manifold.

So, ahead, there are just a few psychology principles that you can take into account for better conversions – actual actionable strategies that you can implement right away.

The magic of colors and fonts

Color happens to be a key influence that helps in evoking emotions like no other element on website can. Big brands have big and bold color choice for the same reason: People start associating them with the personality of the color as is.

Coca Cola, for instance, is associated with red. The energetic brand image can be felt by red itself which impacts the brand image and the message.

When 85% of the shoppers say that color is primarily the reason why they purchase a product, they can’t be wrong about it. Nonetheless, the preference of colors may vary from one gender to another or from one consumer to another, but the idea is, colors drive everyone in one way or another.

So, if you are to set a brand image of your website and want people to associate a personality of the website with a color’s personality, choose a single color. Doing so throughout the website and in all your marketing campaigns can make a big difference. Same is the case with CTA buttons. Change their colors from, for example, red to a green, and it can multiple the conversions.

If you are to choose a color palette, be sure to go for one that resonates with the brand as well as the personality of the target audience. As you do that, they will help to accentuate the actual brand values.

Evoking that visceral reaction

When we subconsciously react to certain things, we are going through a visceral reaction. The reaction varies across genders, demographics and other aspects. Basically, it is rooted in the brain.

When you evoke a visceral reaction on your website, you are making your audience to experience the powerful influence again, and again, and again…

Now how would you do that?

You can do that by using colorful pictures. A lot many ecommerce websites do that. Even if several clothing has one color in common, they will always be displayed in a variety of colors to please the visitors. A blend of various colors makes the website look beautiful even if there isn’t a fancy layout. The shapes and how they display the pictures may vary from one website to another. An ecommerce store, for instance, may use cards layout, while a real estate website would rather go for a large hero image.

Leverage the reciprocity

Reciprocity has a power that cannot be ignored. It triggers us psychologically and is actually inescapable.

The most basic reciprocity principle is based upon giving back when you receive something.

Brick-and-mortar stores have been relying on this principle for quite some time now and it works quite well for them. When a store gives away free samples of a new product in an effort to promote it, they hit the jackpot when a consumer comes back to them to actually make a purchase. It has been embodied in the basic norms of our human culture.

When we try to repay out of kindness or in return for a gesture, we are becoming puppets of the reciprocity principle – such is its deeply embedded power!

But how can you do it for other businesses online?

Offering digital products and services by way of a powerful CTA is the best way to utilize this psychological factor. Offer first session of an online course for free, webinars for free or perhaps a special report to trigger the sales action for the remaining is how you go about online.

Make it scarce

The harder it is to obtain something, the more we want to have it. Isn’t it?

In other words, the scarcer a resource is, the more urgency it creates.

As humans, we are fearful of losing something than we are actually driven by the desire of gaining it. This is what has created an active FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out). Today, we are addicted with the social media for the sake of same fear – we don’t want to miss out being on that social network where most of our friends already are.

The tricky part with scarcity is that most people wait for the hand of fate to swing their way. Doing that as a marketer would be a silly thing to do because marketers create opportunities if they aren’t given any.

When Chanel introduces seasonal colors of nail polish or lipstick shades, they are creating urgency by way of scarcity. A simple addition of a small number on a product (6 left in stock), or seats available for a show (only 14 seats remaining), can make a difference and invoke the audience into making a purchase decision. Same is the case with giving discounts for a limited period of time. Make the most of the scarcity principle to drive conversions like anything!

Create a personal connection

At the end of the day, we are all in it to grab a loyal audience. This is why we try connecting in their ways, what they like or prefer as a result. It is all about them and we are all in the business for them only, as their solution providers.

Conduct A/B testing for any new offers that you are experimenting to see what works best for your audience.

When designing About Us pages, emotionally connect with them by way of storytelling. Design a power-packed story that will communicate the brand message, its purpose of existence, and how you have come a long way to deliver your audience the value they would want to pay for.

Conclusion

Redesign your website leveraging the psychological principles to reinforce the brand personality and make it a lot more compelling.

Once you have applied the above-mentioned design hacks, don’t forget to share how it turned out to be for your website. Also, pass the information to people in your circle to see a world full of amazingly influential websites – yes sir, we’re talking about a better world here!