If you have ever bought anything online, you might be under the impression that the decision to buy was all down to you, however, it is almost certain that web designers played a part in your decision too. Now, you might be thinking “Nonsense” because you do not know any web designers or are certain that it was purely your desire for a product that led you to purchase it, but we are here to tell you that your decision was influenced, to some extent, by outside forces.
By “outside forces” we are not suggesting that you were brainwashed by some evil force, nor that you did not choose whatever you bought of your own free will. However, it is also the case that whenever websites are designed, especially those that want those visiting to make a decision to buy or at least take some form of action, some of the design elements of that website were chosen for how they play a role in human psychology.
Sparking Emotions
To many outsiders, website designs are the way they are due to choices made about appearance, colours, and layout. To some extent they are, but deeper than that, many elements that appear on websites follow well-established design psychology principles. As such, they are present in a website’s design to elicit psychological responses from those who visit that website.