On every page

Sitewide

What applies on every page.

Some principles aren’t tied to one step of the route, because they concern how the whole site reads, responds and earns trust. These 38 principles cover navigation, speed, layout and consistency.

Cognitive load and fluency Fitts's law The time to hit a target depends on its size and distance. Mainly Sitewide, also Product, Cart, CheckoutMainly here Not tested in shopping Strong 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, CheckoutMainly here Not tested in shopping Framework Attention and perception Gestalt grouping Elements that are close, similar or enclosed together are seen as belonging together. Mainly Sitewide, also Category, Product, CheckoutMainly here 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, CheckoutMainly here Not tested in shopping Strong Emotion and memory Mere exposure effect Repeated exposure to something tends to increase liking for it, up to a point. Mainly Sitewide, also Homepage, Post-purchaseMainly here Tested in shopping-like settings Strong 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, ProductMainly here 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, CheckoutMainly here Tested in shopping-like settings Moderate Motivation and commitment Psychological reactance People push back when they feel their freedom to choose is being taken away. Mainly Sitewide, also Homepage, CheckoutMainly here Tested in shopping-like settings Moderate 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, CheckoutMainly here 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, ProductMainly here Tested in shopping-like settings Strong Cognitive load and fluency Aesthetic-usability effect Attractive designs tend to be judged easier to use before people have used them, and that first impression forms in a fraction of a second. Mainly Homepage, also Sitewide, Product Tested in shopping-like settings Moderate Social influence Authority People defer to credible experts and institutions. Mainly Product, also Homepage, Sitewide, Checkout Tested on real shoppers Moderate Attention and perception Autocomplete position bias Searchers overwhelmingly look at and pick the top few query suggestions, so their order shapes what gets searched. Mainly Search, also Sitewide 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 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, Search Tested on real shoppers Contested Cognitive load and fluency Chunking (Miller's law) People hold only a few chunks of information in mind at once. Mainly Checkout, also Sitewide, Product Tested in shopping-like settings Strong 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 Motivation and commitment Communication frequency ideal point Post-purchase contact helps up to an ideal volume, then triggers pushback and lower repurchase. Mainly Post-purchase, also Sitewide Tested on real shoppers Moderate Emotion and memory Customer delight (surprise) An unexpectedly positive experience produces delight, which is distinct from satisfaction. Mainly Post-purchase, also Sitewide, Checkout Tested in shopping-like settings Moderate Emotion and memory Customer gratitude When customers see a seller investing in them out of goodwill, the gratitude drives reciprocal buying beyond what trust alone explains. Mainly Post-purchase, also Sitewide Tested on real shoppers Moderate Emotion and memory Expectation-disconfirmation Satisfaction depends on performance relative to what was promised, so beating a modest promise satisfies more than missing an ambitious one. Mainly Post-purchase, also Sitewide, Product, Cart, Checkout Tested on real shoppers Strong Motivation and commitment Habit formation Behaviour repeated in a stable context becomes cued by that context and continues with little deliberation. Mainly Post-purchase, also Sitewide, Homepage, Cart Tested on real shoppers Framework Emotion and memory Halo effect One strong positive impression colours judgement of other, unrelated qualities. Mainly Homepage, also Sitewide, Product 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 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, Homepage Tested in shopping-like settings Moderate Trust and risk reduction Online trust formation Willingness to buy online depends on beliefs about the seller's competence and integrity, plus structural assurances. Mainly Checkout, also Homepage, Sitewide, Product Tested on real shoppers Strong Trust and risk reduction Perceived justice in complaint handling Complainants judge a resolution on three things: the outcome, the process, and how they were treated. Mainly Post-purchase, also Sitewide Tested in shopping-like settings Strong Motivation and commitment Points pressure and medium maximisation People increase effort to reach a reward threshold and chase the points themselves, even when the points do not improve the outcome. Mainly Post-purchase, also Sitewide, Cart, Checkout Tested on real shoppers Moderate Social influence Prosocial referral rewards People refer more effectively when the reward goes to their friend, because referring then looks generous and the friend has a reason to act. Mainly Post-purchase, also Sitewide, Homepage Tested on real shoppers Moderate Attention and perception Psychology of waiting Waits that are uncertain, unexplained or empty feel longer and anger people more than known, explained or filled waits. Mainly Post-purchase, also Sitewide, Checkout Tested in shopping-like settings Moderate Motivation and commitment Question-behaviour effect Asking people about their intentions or satisfaction can change what they later do. Mainly Post-purchase, also Sitewide Tested on real shoppers Contested 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 Emotion and memory Service recovery paradox A customer whose problem is fixed very well can end up more satisfied than one who never had a problem. Mainly Post-purchase, also Sitewide Tested in shopping-like settings Contested Trust and risk reduction Signalling theory Costly commitments signal quality that shoppers cannot observe directly. Mainly Product, also Homepage, Sitewide Tested on real shoppers Framework 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 Social influence Word-of-mouth triggers Interesting products get talked about straight away; products that are frequently cued and publicly visible keep getting talked about. Mainly Post-purchase, also Sitewide, Product Tested in shopping-like settings Moderate
Along the route

Or follow the customer’s route.

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