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Explore what this means for designers, marketers and brands.

Good UX design is all about understanding the way users behave and designing your web interface for a smooth and seamless experience.

Read through for 6 key principles from psychology that govern how users navigate through your website.

1Jakob’s Law – Familiar experiences

Users value familiarity when it comes to navigating websites
Adhere to common page viewing and reading patterns
Follow standard placement of UI elements on screen

2Hick’s Law – Easier choices

More number of options, more difficult to make a decision
Minimize the number of options presented at a time
Grouping and intuitive navigation menus can build simplicity

3Miller’s Law – Reduced cognitive load

Short-term memory can store a maximum of 7 things at a time
Present information in small chunks to users navigating your website
Remove unnecessary elements, improve readability and flow of information

4Gestalt Principles – Better recognition

Users tend to recognize patterns and group similar visual elements
Help them make these associations through proximity and placement
Improve their understanding and ease of locating what they want

5Von Restorff Effect – Sharper focus

An element that stands out in a group will be easily remembered
Use highlights smartly and cautiously, too much and it won’t work
Guide the users’ eyes to where you want them to look

6Mental Models – Quick relatability

Commonly understood practices tend to be popularly accepted
Make intuitive design choices based on the users’ mental models
Help them grasp new interfaces with minimal effort

Our
handpicked quote

We must design for the way people behave, not for how we would wish them to behave.

Donald A. Norman

Co-founder and Principal Emeritus, Nielsen Norman Group.

For strategic web design and development following the fundamental principles of good UI/UX design, click here.

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