While it would be nearly impossible to predict just what any said person may be thinking at any given time, there are some elements to psychology that come into the picture when considering effective web design. That’s because web design is supposed to affect and inspire as well as invoke a reaction in the user. The entire purposes of websites are to drive interest in your offerings and encourage action after the fact, thus driving more business in the direction of the products and or services that you are trying to sell. A major aspect of this process is found in deciphering the human brain. These following facts can help you better understand how the brain interprets websites in order to design more effective ones.
The Three Part Brain & Five Seconds
The brain has three major areas that it can be divided into with the basal ganglia being the most primordial one that makes immediate decisions based upon outside influences. For example, the basal ganglia tells you that you don’t like the color of a package or that the blue package of gum on sale is worth buying at the store. It also helps us procure a five second brain test, which can be used to tell us how a specific web page we have created influences the viewer, and also how that reaction can be utilized to make the website more effective. Follow this rule: you have about five seconds to influence a positive or negative decision with a website, so be sure to use them wisely.
The Limbic System
The brain creates emotions from the limbic system, and can associated positive or negative emotions from this reasoning side of the brain. In 1902, Ivan Pavlov, an esteemed physiologist, conducted an experiment where he taught dogs that ringing a bell meant they were going to be fed. He noted that anytime he rang the bell, the dogs grew hungry and would salivate, even if it was not time for them to eat yet. Effective websites are also developed to encourage an emotional response in the viewer that allows them to more proactively make a decision.
The Noecortex
The brain’s third part is the neocortex, which is basically the analytical side of the brain. It’s the side that craves logistics, information, numbers and the rundown. This is the part of the brain that wants to be fed information about who you are, what you have to offer, why it’s better and why it should be purchased. Good web design also involves, of course, catering to this information seeking side of the brain to nourish it with the necessary information to inspire activity in the limbic system and the basal ganglia simultaneously.
The Rule of Three
In summation: websites need to be designed to cater to all three parts of the brain: the basal ganglia, the limbic system and the neocortex. Doing so enables winning design because you cater to all three aspects of cognitive thinking. While this may not be the easiest feat to pull off, when properly implemented, it results in effective and winning websites that influence and encourage users to a strong call of action.
The Three Part Brain & Five Seconds
The brain has three major areas that it can be divided into with the basal ganglia being the most primordial one that makes immediate decisions based upon outside influences. For example, the basal ganglia tells you that you don’t like the color of a package or that the blue package of gum on sale is worth buying at the store. It also helps us procure a five second brain test, which can be used to tell us how a specific web page we have created influences the viewer, and also how that reaction can be utilized to make the website more effective. Follow this rule: you have about five seconds to influence a positive or negative decision with a website, so be sure to use them wisely.
The Limbic System
The brain creates emotions from the limbic system, and can associated positive or negative emotions from this reasoning side of the brain. In 1902, Ivan Pavlov, an esteemed physiologist, conducted an experiment where he taught dogs that ringing a bell meant they were going to be fed. He noted that anytime he rang the bell, the dogs grew hungry and would salivate, even if it was not time for them to eat yet. Effective websites are also developed to encourage an emotional response in the viewer that allows them to more proactively make a decision.
The Noecortex
The brain’s third part is the neocortex, which is basically the analytical side of the brain. It’s the side that craves logistics, information, numbers and the rundown. This is the part of the brain that wants to be fed information about who you are, what you have to offer, why it’s better and why it should be purchased. Good web design also involves, of course, catering to this information seeking side of the brain to nourish it with the necessary information to inspire activity in the limbic system and the basal ganglia simultaneously.
The Rule of Three
In summation: websites need to be designed to cater to all three parts of the brain: the basal ganglia, the limbic system and the neocortex. Doing so enables winning design because you cater to all three aspects of cognitive thinking. While this may not be the easiest feat to pull off, when properly implemented, it results in effective and winning websites that influence and encourage users to a strong call of action.
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