July 15, 2014 at 14:18Using the principles of psychology to increase the conversion of sites. Part 1: gestalt psychology, the law of conciseness
- Transfer
Continuing the topic of psychology in e-commerce, we decided to publish a translation of an article that recently appeared on the kissmetrics.com blog . The main value of this material is the demonstration of real ways of using the described principles and the indication of specific data on the degree of influence of changes on the conversion level.
In addition, the text will use inserts that describe the elements of influence of a particular principle, each of these inserts will be marked with the words "a little information."
In order not to overload the reader, it was decided to split the translation into several publications.
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
1. The Law of Conciseness
One of the central principles of Gestalt psychology is the law of Conciseness. This law says that we, as a rule, perceive much simpler things, including from a visual point of view, things, we prefer things that are understandable, we are afraid of complex things, ideas or projects. Instinctively, we know that simple things are safer.
The law of laconicism takes into account not only the amount of information and semantic accents in design. There are several points that must be taken into account when creating a “simple” design:
- Completion . People are inclined to mentally finish the image if it seems to them incomplete. Thanks to this feature of our consciousness, techniques work using empty space in logos and other elements.
- Symmetry and orderliness. People tend to perceive objects as ordered groups symmetrically located around the conditional center. The more clearly these conditions are highlighted, the easier the design is to perceive.
- The figure and background . If the image can be conditionally divided into two components, then one of them will be perceived as a figure (an element that carries the main semantic load), and the second as a background. In this case, an element with a smaller area and a predominant number of convex elements will most likely be considered a figure.
- The principle of connectedness. If two elements are visually connected by a third, they are perceived as a whole.
- Zoning . A group of elements is perceived as a whole if it is limited to a closed area.
- Proximity . Objects that are closer to each other are more likely to be perceived as a whole than objects located at a distance.
- Continuation . Elements located on one line are perceived as a whole, even despite other grouping criteria (color, shape, size).
- Parallel objects are perceived as a group.
Example 1: The Sims 3 (128% increase)
Despite the fact that Sims is one of the best-selling computer game franchises in history, manufacturers knew that there was always the possibility of improving conversions.
The original design contained 4 CTAs:
• Registration (or entry)
• Visit the store
• Read the latest company news
• Receive free materials
To improve conversion rates, they create six design options, each of which focuses the user's attention on only one call to action.
As a result, option D was recognized as the best (in the picture), with a result of 128%. It is worth noting that all the proposed options were better than the original, the minimum result of increasing the conversion was 43%.
So if you have dozens of amazing features and offers, submit them gradually. Just choose what will be more effective.
Example 2: Device Magic (35% increase)
Device Magic’s mobile business was featured on an excellent landing page, which was filled with informative material explaining how it all worked.
Deciding that their design might be too complex, they decided to try the simpler option. The new design made it easier for new visitors to understand the product, and conversions to the registration page increased by 35%.
Example No. 3: Highrise (37.5% growth)
When 37signals wanted to improve the conversion rate for their popular Highrise CRM software, they decided to implement several cardinal changes:
The original design (left) is filled with a large number of images, arrows and headers. The page contains about 12 accents, which scatters the user's attention.
The new design was limited to one heading and one arrow in order to emphasize the main thing.
Example No. 4: Daily Burn (20.45% growth)
Daily Burn (formerly Gyminee) developed a great homepage design. Excellent screenshots, visualization of the work of support and an interesting calorie counter.
They decided to try the simplest conversion and simply deleted part of the page.
In each new test, they removed various elements of the page, reducing the focus to the main element - CTA. On average, conversion growth reached 20.45%.
Example No. 5: DesignBoost (13% increase)
When DesignBoost launched their project, they realized that they had a lot of A / B tests, so they decided to start with what could bring the greatest result.
They heard that short pages usually work better, and that is what they decided to check first. A simplified version increased conversion by 13%.
Pay attention to the word “usually” above. Although general principles such as simple design, page length, or verbal triggers are usually effective, they have different effects on different target groups of sites.
In addition, the text will use inserts that describe the elements of influence of a particular principle, each of these inserts will be marked with the words "a little information."
In order not to overload the reader, it was decided to split the translation into several publications.
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
1. The Law of Conciseness
One of the central principles of Gestalt psychology is the law of Conciseness. This law says that we, as a rule, perceive much simpler things, including from a visual point of view, things, we prefer things that are understandable, we are afraid of complex things, ideas or projects. Instinctively, we know that simple things are safer.
A little information
The law of laconicism takes into account not only the amount of information and semantic accents in design. There are several points that must be taken into account when creating a “simple” design:
- Completion . People are inclined to mentally finish the image if it seems to them incomplete. Thanks to this feature of our consciousness, techniques work using empty space in logos and other elements.
- Symmetry and orderliness. People tend to perceive objects as ordered groups symmetrically located around the conditional center. The more clearly these conditions are highlighted, the easier the design is to perceive.
- The figure and background . If the image can be conditionally divided into two components, then one of them will be perceived as a figure (an element that carries the main semantic load), and the second as a background. In this case, an element with a smaller area and a predominant number of convex elements will most likely be considered a figure.
- The principle of connectedness. If two elements are visually connected by a third, they are perceived as a whole.
- Zoning . A group of elements is perceived as a whole if it is limited to a closed area.
- Proximity . Objects that are closer to each other are more likely to be perceived as a whole than objects located at a distance.
- Continuation . Elements located on one line are perceived as a whole, even despite other grouping criteria (color, shape, size).
- Parallel objects are perceived as a group.
A few examples of the successful use of this law to increase conversion:
Example 1: The Sims 3 (128% increase)
Despite the fact that Sims is one of the best-selling computer game franchises in history, manufacturers knew that there was always the possibility of improving conversions.
The original design contained 4 CTAs:
• Registration (or entry)
• Visit the store
• Read the latest company news
• Receive free materials
To improve conversion rates, they create six design options, each of which focuses the user's attention on only one call to action.
As a result, option D was recognized as the best (in the picture), with a result of 128%. It is worth noting that all the proposed options were better than the original, the minimum result of increasing the conversion was 43%.
So if you have dozens of amazing features and offers, submit them gradually. Just choose what will be more effective.
Example 2: Device Magic (35% increase)
Device Magic’s mobile business was featured on an excellent landing page, which was filled with informative material explaining how it all worked.
Deciding that their design might be too complex, they decided to try the simpler option. The new design made it easier for new visitors to understand the product, and conversions to the registration page increased by 35%.
Example No. 3: Highrise (37.5% growth)
When 37signals wanted to improve the conversion rate for their popular Highrise CRM software, they decided to implement several cardinal changes:
The original design (left) is filled with a large number of images, arrows and headers. The page contains about 12 accents, which scatters the user's attention.
The new design was limited to one heading and one arrow in order to emphasize the main thing.
Example No. 4: Daily Burn (20.45% growth)
Daily Burn (formerly Gyminee) developed a great homepage design. Excellent screenshots, visualization of the work of support and an interesting calorie counter.
They decided to try the simplest conversion and simply deleted part of the page.
In each new test, they removed various elements of the page, reducing the focus to the main element - CTA. On average, conversion growth reached 20.45%.
Example No. 5: DesignBoost (13% increase)
When DesignBoost launched their project, they realized that they had a lot of A / B tests, so they decided to start with what could bring the greatest result.
They heard that short pages usually work better, and that is what they decided to check first. A simplified version increased conversion by 13%.
Pay attention to the word “usually” above. Although general principles such as simple design, page length, or verbal triggers are usually effective, they have different effects on different target groups of sites.