Does your website have the halo effect? And is it converting customers?
The customer converter
The halo effect is a well-known theory whereby positive traits in a person or item means that we are positive about other traits, regardless of whether it’s true. Take celebrities, for example. If we are a great fan of a celebrity and believe that they are a great actor and nice person then we will apply the halo effect and become convinced that they are also smart and wise or funny - even if we haven’t had a chance to fully understand how smart, wise or funny they really are.
And what does that have to do with your website?
Branding alignment - what's the point?
We have always told our customers to make sure that their website, brand and services are aligned.
If you sell top of the range quality jewellery, then it's best not to design a website (or ask us to design one) that looks cheap and brash, has branding that’s in 1980's yellow and sends a message that what you offer is cheap (and when we say yellow, we don’t mean gold coloured).
The image that you convey to your target audience reflects how they see your brand. A beautifully designed website that your target audience loves to use can have the halo effect - and give the impression that the product or service you offer will also be great. The design of a website can impact the overall experience a customer has with you. It might be one of the first experiences they have and you need to leave a good impression from the start.
The importance of great website design should not be underestimated when it comes to generating revenues for your business. Speak to our website designers to see if your website has the halo effect.
Put away the horns!?
This proven theory of The Halo Effect has also been labelled the ‘halo and horns’ effect. As much as people will see good traits and apply them to other aspects of a person or product, they will also associate the negative traits (or horns). If you want to send a message that you are erratic and messy then fill your website with links and lots of wording that make it hard to read. If you want to give the impression you won’t do a great job or finish the project then make sure your website is full of Error 404 codes that say ‘page not found’ and with buttons you can’t click on!
We’re sure you don’t want any of that - and we don’t want you to either, so here are some things to look out for in a great website design:
- Easy to find call to actions that are easy to click on
- A clutter-free design with great visual images
- Pages that load quickly
- Content that’s easy to view on a mobile device, such as a smart phone or iPad
- Consistent colours and fonts, in line with your branding
- Simple navigation without too many pages to visit to get to a single page
- A secure site that shows you take security and privacy seriously
- Blog posts or articles that show you care, want to add value and are personal
The above considerations aren’t exhaustive and in fact just touch the tip of the ice-burg. If you would like help understanding how you can give your website the halo effect then give us a call for a free website review.
You may also be interested in our previous blog posts:
Are you making these bad mistakes with your website?
