Erica Joy Decker

Psychology and Web Design: A General Overview

“The job of designing a website is an exercise in promoting a brand or idea in an appealing manner while also eliciting specific human emotions and behaviors.”
-Andy Rutledge

Index pages:

A website’s index page has a specific purpose, but it is not necessarily the same as the site’s purpose. In general, an index page should convince visitors that they want to explore the site further. In order to do this, the page must “engage in advisable psychology (through design and copy) while avoiding distracting and irrelevant purposes that run counter to the primary function of the page”, making a concise and clean first impression. An index page that tries to do the site’s overall job is usually distracting and completely ineffective.

Interior pages:

Interior pages typically have a different look and feel from the index page while still maintaining the overall message and branding of the site. Viewers want to know that they haven’t left the site they were at, and a consistent design accomplishes this. One of the main differences between an index page and an interior page is that an interior page should emphasize content. Additionally, it is good practices to include some suggestions for “where to go from here” on each interior page. “A designer must not assume that good navigation provides suggestion enough for site visitors to continue further into the site.”

Whitespace:

“Whitespace works to set off and lend gravity to those areas that are occupied with content. So, using whitespace appropriately helps us to keep the page concise, simple, comfortable and focused.”

A website with little whitespace and lots of content would likely be far less effective and probably rob the site of its intended purpose. Psychologically speaking, humans don’t respond well to clutter, and may feel overwhelmed or put off, and discontinue reading the site. This aversion to clutter is evident in many parts of life, such as a desk at work, a bedroom, or a cramped and cluttered store, and the same holds true for web design.

“In a very general sense, a contextually inconsistent environment, clutter and cramped quarters tends to encourage a lack of interest while open space and a consistent context in the environment tends to encourage interest and openness to suggestion.”

Humans typically associate open space with emotional or physical comfort. Basic survival instincts tell us that when we feel spatially cramped and crowded, that our primary concern is for finding an exit.

Source: Andy Rutledge’s article from Stylegala

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This entry was posted on Thursday, January 22nd, 2009 at 1:59 am
Categories: Design Psychology, Usability.