Going Beyond Usability Standards: Incorporating Persuasion and Emotion into User Experience

When the concept of usability on the web became popular, the focus was on a set of standards and best practices that included color contrast, content grouping and placement, readability, and more. While these standards and best practices are still extremely important in order to create a usable website, users are looking to be persuaded as to why they should visit or stay on a site. As more and more similar websites are being created, how can you tap into a site visitor’s emotions and get them to stay on your site? How can you persuade them that your site is “the one” and get them to trust you.

In this session, we’ll focus on some of the most important persuasive techniques:

• Create clear, compelling content and messaging
• Limit calls to action per page
• Focus your user’s attention
• Create a content hierarchy and make your site’s goals obvious
• Make a strong visual impact

Danielle Sheffler is an Engagement Manager at Acquia and is a certified usability analyst and PMP-certified project manager; she is also an organizer of the DC Drupal Meetup.