You have probably come across advertisements on web builders. Some words are sure to grab anyone’s attention. Free, zero coding knowledge required, and quick and easy-to-follow steps are some of them.
So, you buy into the hype and sit in front of your computer to develop and design your website. But, it quickly dawns on you that things are not that simple. If you are lucky, you could get some semblance of a website up and running.
But, the traction you get is dismal at best. In fact, the few clicks may be from family and friends. Do you want to know why this is happening? Irwin Hau, Chromatix CEO and founder, has some interesting insights. Insights around what elements you must include to grab user attention.
We will share some of the things he proposed below.
Web Design Is a Play on Psychology
The Chromatix CEO touches on an interesting element of web design. The web designer must have a level of understanding of human psychology. Focus on the factors that will drive engagement and persuasion.
The web design must start with an understanding of your target audience. What are some of the things that will arouse their interest? Take Gen Z as an example. They will gravitate to modern-looking websites.
The youngsters love color, trendy images, animations, and video content. Trends like dark mode have a ‘cool’ factor about them.
The exact opposite applies to the older generation. For them, simple web designs will work best. So trends like minimalism, a lot of white space, and simple professional fonts are a safe bet. Forget about flashing images, loud colors, perfect imperfection, and so on.
Getting the psychology of web design right is critical. Everything the web designer does aims to make users take a particular action. And, the different elements must evoke specific emotions for this to take place. That is why the teams focus on things like color, fonts, images, and so on.
Why do you click on the donate button on a nonprofit website? The image of that starving child transformed into a happy healthy one through donor support is a powerful motivator. It evokes feelings of empathy, sympathy, sadness, and an urge to help.
What about that website selling baby food? Do you see that rosy-cheeked, happy smiling child? Which parent would not want their child to look just like that?
That is what Irwin Hau refers to as engage and persuade. And, it happens without shouting or bold pronouncements of the intention.
Add Value to Users
Oftentimes, clients get the web design process wrong. They come to us with a brief from their perspective. When we ask what their target audience wants, they cannot provide an answersays Chromatix CEO Irwin Hau
He continues, “The rule of thumb is to remember the website is not yours. It is for that online visitor who comes to your page for solutions.” it all goes back to having a good understanding of your audience.
So good in fact, that they become like your best friend, whom you know inside and out. True, this may sound like an exaggeration, but it works if you want to capture attention. a
Let’s take the example that your target audience is parents. In these Covid times, what are some of their concerns? Health and safety for their family would top the list.
So, have some attention-grabbing headlines of Covid related content. You can pass on serious messages in a lighthearted way. Remember, the aim is not to scare them, rather add value to their lives.
Are we saying that it will be easy? The answer is no. You must have an ear on the ground to what is happening around you at all times. Continuous audience and market research will be critical. But, you will get more traction and longer stays on your website.
Play With Visuals
Humans are visual creatures. That is a non-contestable fact, backed by research. Information in the form of images will stay in the long-term memory. Short-term memory processes words, and it can only store so much information. Kind of gives new meaning to the phrase ‘into one ear and out of the other.’
So, the typical human will only remember 10 to 20% of spoken or written words after 3 days. Yet, for visuals, retention rates are as high as 65%. So, what does this mean for website design? The answer is quite simple, visuals are a fantastic way to grab and keep attention.
Web designers play with visual cues in different ways. These include:
- Powerful imagery that helps attract attention. Avoid the use of stock images if you can. Custom photos allow for more creativity. And, you are not likely to bump into the same Photo on other websites.
- Animations or GIFs that provide movement. It introduces a playful/fun element, which is more inviting than static pages
- Illustrations or cartoon characters, which have the same effect as animations
- Bigger fonts and buttons to draw the eyes to specific areas.
- Prominent call to action buttons in strategic positions like the top of the page. Some designers will use a contrasting or bright color to draw the eyes to the button.
- Video content instead of heavy reliance on text. Embedding videos break up text and encourage online visitors to click on them. It is a fantastic way to get longer stay rates on the website.
- Infographics that incorporate text and images. They make content easier to read and more engaging.
- Directional cues like arrows draw the visitor’s eyes to a specific area.
We cannot reiterate this point enough. Think about your target audience before using some of the visual cues. Cartoon characters on a website targeting older demographics may not work.
Final Thoughts
We have looked at some web design ideas to capture attention. As the Chromatix CEO pointed out, great designs start with an understanding of human psychology. What factors will grab attention and persuade online visitors to take a specific action? Engaging designs that evoke specific emotions are sure winners.
Also, remember the website belongs to the users. So, design with them in mind. In Depth understanding of audiences is critical. And, add value through content and incorporate plenty of visual cues.
