Design Approach
INFLUENCE
DESIGN
Influence
We don’t just design pretty looking websites, we design websites that compel visitors to take action. In his seminal work Influence, Dr. Robert Cialdini lays out 6 weapons of influence used to increase compliance on subjects exposed to these tactics. We use these “weapons of influence” as Cialdini calls them to stack the deck in our client’s favor and give them an unfair advantage in the marketplace.
Authority
Website visitors are more likely to trust you and comply with your requests if they view you as an authority in your industry. Some common indicators of authority are accreditations, client logos, news articles, editorial type design and design matching authority websites.
Social Proof
Website visitors are influenced by what they perceive others do or say. If you can show or tell visitors what ‘other visitors’ have done, it increases compliance. Social Proof indicators can include, testimonials, reviews and even statements about what people typically do when visiting your site.
Reciprocity
The reciprocity bias is such a strong tendency that Sam Walton refused for any of his WalMart buyers to take so much as a stick of gum from a potential vendor. If you can give your website visitor something free, they will feel they ‘owe’ you something and will be more likely to comply with your request.
Liking
People like to do business with people they like. The liking bias can be triggered by positive smiling people, as well as by visitors self-identifying with someone similar to themselves. That is why it is advisable to understand who are your ideal visitor types and then make sure there is imagery on the site which the visitor can self-identify with.
Commitment & Consistency
One of our strongest impulses is our commitment to stay consistent with our past behaviors and actions. Giving website visitors a clear path of action, with clear sequential steps, helps to trigger the commitment and consistency bias which increases the likelihood of compliance.
Scarcity
The use of takeaways or limited time offers or limited quantity offers are all examples of scarcity in action. Numerous studies have shown that people will work twice as hard to avoid losing something than they will to acquire something of a equivalent value.
Design
The website design process is both an art and a science. As a business, to provide consistency and a high overall standard of quality we follow a proven design framework based on the best best practices of modern website design.
Typography
The primarily goal of typography is to convey information to website users in the form of arranged letters and words or text. Considerations like readability, font types and sizes, positioning, and amount of text among others all affect the total impact of a website to a user’s experience when visiting a website.
Colors
Colors have a direct effect on the mood, perception, feelings, and interaction of a website user. We understand that choosing, combining, and using the right colors for a specific website product is crucial to not only add impact but also to assist in achieving a website’s goal, whether it be to acquire potential clients, close a sale or reach marketing goals.
Spacing
Spacing involves the positioning of website elements within a page specifically on how near or how far apart each element is from one another. Elements that are nearer together comprise a block pertaining to a single general idea. The proper spacing between website elements provides a logical means of imparting information.
Consistency
Consistency on one hand requires a web design to provide a user with a familiar feeling as to how the site works and functions based on his previous web browsing experiences. Internal consistency on the other hand requires all pages in a website to have a consistent visual appeal and consistent functional experience thereby promoting ease of use and zero confusion.
Imagery
In the digital world, nothing can communicate better than images; humans are after all visual by nature. With this in mind, it is imperative to utilize not only high quality imagery but also meaningful images in a website for it to be effective. We have a keen eye for finding compelling and engaging imagery.
Mobile Compatibility
The rising trend of mobile internet use on a global scale has already exceeded the number of desktop internet users. Being able to cater to both markets however, gives a website a distinct advantage. Thomas Digital provides websites that are compatible with both desktop and mobile devices without the need for separate mobile versions.
