Susan M. Weinschenk’s Neuro Web Design offers a new look at web design, based on years of psychological research into website usability–how website visitors actually react and behave.  Neuro Web Design offers a thoughtful alternative to the usual aesthetic, or “Do I like the way it looks?” approach that has long ruled web design.

Background

For 30 years, Susan Weinschenk has been applying the principles of psychology to the design of technological interfaces. She relates user interface design for computers, software, websites, and medical equipment to the newest neuroscientific research into decision-making, persuasion, and emotion.

3 brains are better than 1

Central to Neuro Web Design’s premise is the existence of 3 separate human brains, a result of thousands of years of evolution. Each “brain” has its own characteristics and  reacts differently when visiting a website (or doing anything else, for that matter):

• Old brain. The “old brain” developed first. It is concerned with survival. It’s goal is to decide what’s safe and what’s unsafe.
• Mid brain. The mid brain is where emotions are processed, it responds impulsively.
• New brain. This is where processing, or reasoning, takes place.

The old brain and mid brain operate outside of our conscious awareness. We’re only aware of what’s going on in our new brain.

Although we like to think of ourselves as “rational,” the new brain’s rational or “aware” contributions often come too late, after the old brain or mid brain have already caused us to act.

Implications of psychological research for web design

As you’ll see when you visit the Neuro Web Design website and click on the “Sneak Preview” button, we don’t always respond rationally–even though we think we do. We’re influenced by appearance, by what others are doing, by our previous commitments, and by obligation–by what we think we should do.

It all sounds very complicated, but Neuro Web Design’s concisely-stated research and implications, and the way they are related to our everyday tasks, make sense. The result is a book that can have tremendous impact on any author or business owner’s website. Neuro Web Design is a book that will force you to take a fresh look at your website, looking beyond the obvious.

What kind of website has Susan created for herself and her book?

As Susan Weinschenk describes, “fleeing,” or refusing to commit, is  one of the ways individuals react when faced with too many choices. Give a shopper 3 choices, and they’re likely to make a decision and buy one. Give them 27 choices, however, and they’re likely to not make a choice. The desire of their “older” brains for safety and security might override their new brain’s desire to acquire a product or service.

As you can see when you visit the home page, shown at left, Susan has taken pains to create an open, non-threatening, website.

The home page focuses visitor attention on a few key options, including immediate engagement with the book’s contents.

It’s a friendly, non-intimidating, home page that doesn’t overwhelm. In addition, the restrained use of color projects an upscale, professional image.

Susan Weinschenk’s Neuro Web Design: What Makes Them Click?, like many New Riders Press books, offers a thoughtful, illustrated, and readable experience that goes a step beyond the conventional. It lives up to New Riders’ mission of “Voices that Matter.”

If you want a better website, buy two copies: one for yourself, one for your webmaster!