Step 02 of 07

Category pages

Where shoppers browse and narrow down.

Listing pages turn a whole range into a shortlist, and the way products are ordered, grouped and compared here shapes what ends up being considered at all. These 43 principles cover ranking, layout, filters and how prices read side by side.

Social influence Bandwagon effect Demand for something rises when people see others choosing it. Mainly Category, also Homepage, Product, SearchMainly here Tested on real shoppers Strong Choice architecture Centre-stage effect In a small row of similar items shown side by side, the one in the centre gets more attention and is chosen more often. Mainly Category, also Product, HomepageMainly here Tested on real shoppers Moderate Choice architecture Choice overload Too many options can reduce the likelihood of buying and satisfaction afterwards, but only under certain conditions. Mainly Category, also Homepage, Product, Sitewide, SearchMainly here Tested on real shoppers Contested Choice architecture Mere categorisation effect Splitting a range into more categories makes it feel more varied and leaves shoppers more satisfied, especially unfamiliar ones. Mainly Category, also Sitewide, Search, HomepageMainly here Tested in shopping-like settings Moderate Attention and perception Scanning patterns (F-pattern) People scan web pages rather than read them, and on text with little formatting their attention concentrates at the top and left. Mainly Category, also Homepage, Product, SearchMainly here Tested in shopping-like settings Moderate Pricing and value perception Anchoring The first number people see biases their judgement of later numbers. Mainly Product, also Homepage, Category, Cart Tested on real shoppers Strong Cognitive load and fluency Attribute alignability Differences on a shared dimension (4kW vs 6kW) are easy to compare and drive choice; unique features on each product are hard to trade off and get ignored. Mainly Search, also Category, Product Tested in shopping-like settings Moderate Attention and perception Banner blindness People tend to overlook content that looks like an advert or sits where adverts usually appear. Mainly Homepage, also Sitewide, Category Tested in shopping-like settings Moderate Cognitive load and fluency Berrypicking Real searches evolve: people gather useful bits across a series of reworded queries, not one query and one answer. Mainly Search, also Sitewide, Category Tested on real shoppers Framework Social influence Blemishing effect A small negative alongside strong positives can make the overall message more persuasive. Mainly Product, also Category Tested on real shoppers Moderate Cognitive load and fluency Cognitive load Working memory is limited, so unnecessary demands on it make tasks slower and more error-prone. Mainly Checkout, also Sitewide, Category, Product Tested in shopping-like settings Moderate Choice architecture Compromise effect Given a range, people tend to avoid the extremes and pick a middle option. Mainly Product, also Category Tested on real shoppers Strong Choice architecture Consideration set formation Shoppers first narrow to a small set they will seriously evaluate, adding an option only if it seems worth the effort of evaluating. Mainly Search, also Homepage, Category, Product Tested in shopping-like settings Framework Choice architecture Decoy effect Adding a clearly worse option makes a similar, better option more attractive. Mainly Product, also Category Tested on real shoppers Contested Pricing and value perception Discount framing (% vs £) The same discount feels bigger as a percentage on cheap items and as a cash amount on expensive ones. Mainly Product, also Homepage, Category, Cart Tested on real shoppers Moderate Attention and perception Display orientation (list vs grid) Vertical lists are read top-down with strong position effects; grids and horizontal rows are scanned more broadly. Mainly Search, also Homepage, Category Tested in shopping-like settings Moderate Choice architecture Elimination by aspects Faced with many options, people take one attribute at a time and discard everything that fails it. Mainly Search, also Category Tested on real shoppers Framework Pricing and value perception Evaluability (joint vs separate evaluation) Attributes that are hard to judge in isolation only influence choice when options are seen side by side. Mainly Search, also Category, Product Tested in shopping-like settings Moderate Motivation and commitment Fogg behaviour model A behaviour happens when motivation, ability and a prompt come together at the same moment. Mainly Sitewide, also Homepage, Category, Product, Cart, Checkout Not tested in shopping Framework Choice architecture Framing effect The same information leads to different choices depending on how it is presented. Mainly Product, also Homepage, Category, Cart Tested in shopping-like settings Strong Attention and perception Gestalt grouping Elements that are close, similar or enclosed together are seen as belonging together. Mainly Sitewide, also Category, Product, Checkout Not tested in shopping Strong Choice architecture Hick's law The time taken to choose rises with the number of options, but only with its logarithm, so each extra option adds less time than the last. Mainly Sitewide, also Homepage, Category, Checkout Not tested in shopping Strong Attention and perception Information scent (information foraging) People follow cues that predict whether a path is worth the effort, and abandon it when the 'scent' weakens. Mainly Search, also Sitewide, Homepage, Category, Product Not tested in shopping Framework Choice architecture Interactive decision aids Tools that screen options and lay finalists side by side cut effort and improve decisions, and also steer which attributes matter. Mainly Search, also Homepage, Category, Product Tested on real shoppers Moderate Pricing and value perception Left-digit effect £19.99 feels meaningfully cheaper than £20 because the left-most digit dominates. Mainly Product, also Category Tested on real shoppers Moderate Choice architecture Over-search in ranked lists When results are already sorted best-first, looking further down exposes people to worse options and can lower the quality of what they choose. Mainly Search, also Category Tested in shopping-like settings Moderate Pricing and value perception Partitioned pricing Splitting a price into a base price plus surcharges changes how the total is perceived, usually making it seem lower because the surcharges get less attention. Mainly Cart, also Category, Product, Checkout Tested on real shoppers Strong Attention and perception Picture superiority effect Images are remembered better than words. Mainly Product, also Homepage, Category, Search Tested on real shoppers Strong Choice architecture Position (rank) bias Items higher in a ranked list get disproportionately more attention and clicks, whatever their true relevance. Mainly Search, also Category, Homepage Tested on real shoppers Strong Pricing and value perception Price-quality heuristic When quality is hard to judge, people read a higher price as higher quality. Mainly Product, also Category Tested on real shoppers Moderate Cognitive load and fluency Processing fluency Things that are easy to read and take in tend to be liked more, and choices between them feel easier to make. Mainly Sitewide, also Homepage, Category, Product Tested in shopping-like settings Moderate Cognitive load and fluency Prototypicality (Jakob's law) People prefer sites that look and work like the ones they already know. Mainly Sitewide, also Homepage, Category, Checkout Tested in shopping-like settings Moderate Cognitive load and fluency Recognition over recall Recognising something is easier than recalling it from memory. Mainly Search, also Sitewide, Category, Cart, Checkout Tested in shopping-like settings Strong Cognitive load and fluency Response-time thresholds (Doherty) Delays beyond roughly 0.1s, 1s and 10s break the feeling of directness, flow and attention in turn. Mainly Sitewide, also Homepage, Category, Search, Product, Cart, Checkout Tested on real shoppers Moderate Choice architecture Satisficing Most people stop at the first option that is good enough rather than hunting for the best. Mainly Search, also Homepage, Category, Product Not tested in shopping Framework Loss and scarcity Scarcity Limited availability raises perceived value and desire. Mainly Product, also Category, Cart Tested on real shoppers Strong Pricing and value perception Search costs and price sensitivity What is easy to search on becomes what people choose on: easy quality information lowers price sensitivity, easy price comparison raises it. Mainly Search, also Category, Product Tested on real shoppers Moderate Emotion and memory Serial position effect The first and last items in a sequence are remembered best. Mainly Sitewide, also Category, Product Tested in shopping-like settings Strong Social influence Social proof When unsure, people look to what others have done and follow it. Mainly Product, also Homepage, Category, Cart, Checkout Tested on real shoppers Strong Pricing and value perception Sort-order effect The direction a list is sorted in changes what people choose: descending price or quality order pushes choice towards higher-priced options. Mainly Search, also Category Tested in shopping-like settings Moderate Attention and perception Visual preference heuristic Shoppers prefer image-led assortments and see more variety in them, but large image-led sets are scanned less carefully and feel more overwhelming than text. Mainly Search, also Homepage, Category Tested in shopping-like settings Moderate Cognitive load and fluency Vocabulary problem People use many different words for the same thing, so any single label will miss most people's wording. Mainly Search, also Sitewide, Category Tested in shopping-like settings Moderate Attention and perception Von Restorff (isolation) effect The item that differs from its surroundings is the one noticed and remembered. Mainly Product, also Sitewide, Category, Cart Tested in shopping-like settings Strong
Along the route

Before and after category pages.

See all seven pages

Some principles apply on every page. See the 38 sitewide principles