Psychology of E-Commerce: How to Sell Online

Suited For: All Levels
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What You’ll Learn

  • How decisions are made, and which part of the brain is really the web designer’s customer
  • How to create an online environment in which people feel part of a larger group, where they are grateful for your service, and show that through purchasing your products and services
  • How to know where someone's attention will be focused on your site, and how to make use of even the shortest attention span to generate sales
  • What the psychology of choice is, and how you can harness it
  • How to use storytelling for content that focuses on the clients and builds their commitment
  • How to tap into the subconscious drivers that underlie many purchasing decisions
  • How a coherent narrative can make it easier for your customers to engage with you and stay engaged
  • How to keep your customers coming back in an ethical manner, thus generating repeat sales
  • How to design for sharing, the next big thing in online selling
“Customer engagement is the direct route to every important business objective. It’s the pathway to everything good that a business could want.”

— Customer Experience expert Micah Solomon in Forbes

Online competition is fiercer than ever—and if you want to create a website that outperforms industry benchmarks in a big way, it’s vital that you know how to utilize your design skills to keep users engaged. The more engaged users are, the more likely they are to turn into paying customers—people who will buy your products and services time and time again, remain loyal, and ultimately become ambassadors for your brand both on- and offline.

Executing e-commerce successfully isn't easy: 69% of users abandon their shopping carts before checking out, according to Baymard Institute, a UK-based web usability research organization. That’s quite scary; what about the good news? Well, Baymard also found that many of the problems with e-commerce are solvable with changes to design.

There are many factors in designing great e-commerce experiences. You must know how to capture someone’s attention and present your goods and services in the optimal way. If you want customers who are committed, you’ll have to tell engaging stories and know how to build a long-term relationship.

In order to do all that, you will need to acquire and apply knowledge in human psychology. If you understand how your customers think, you can design for their needs. This course is based on tried and tested psychological techniques that bring together content and design so as to deliver hands-on advice for how to improve your web design and increase your customer engagement.

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Our clients: IBM, Harvard University, University of Cambridge, NASA, Adobe, Stanford, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, LinkedIn
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Is This Course Right for You?

  • You want an evidence-based curriculum taught by industry leaders.
  • You want real-world design skills that translate directly into professional practice.
  • You want to earn industry-recognized credentials.
  • Your time is too valuable for scattered free content with no structure.
  • You want learning that leads to better roles and stronger earning potential over time.
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Loved by People Around the World

View full testimonial from Hsin-Jou Lin
Hsin-Jou Lin
Hsin-Jou Lin
UX Designer

My major is Psychology and I'm now working in e-commerce. I've learned about from college, but don't have a chance to apply on real world. T...

IxDF Course Certificate awarded to Hsin-Jou Lin for completing the "Psychology of E-Commerce: How to Sell Online" course
View full testimonial from Natalie Verdon
Natalie Verdon
Natalie Verdon
Facilitator / Consultant

How wonderful.......I am looking forward to all I can learn and share with the community. You have a brilliant site and wonderful offerings.

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How It Works

  1. Build High-Impact AI and Design Skills

    Industry leaders from companies like Adobe, Google, and NASA teach you real-world skills grounded in industry practice and research.

  2. Combine AI and Timeless Design Skills

    Learn both AI and the human-centered design skills that AI can't replace.

  3. Earn Industry-Recognized Certificates

    Add IxDF Course Certificates to your LinkedIn profile and résumé to show you've completed an evidence-based curriculum taught by industry leaders.

  4. Turn Your Skills Into Career Opportunities

    Use your new skills to take on higher-value work, qualify for promotions or find a role that fits you better.

  5. Build a Network That Supports Your Career

    Connect with designers in 496 cities across 107 countries. Learn together, get mentored, and build relationships that open doors.

Course Overview

  • Each week, one lesson becomes available.
  • Study flexibly. Take as much time as you want.

Lesson 0: Welcome and Introduction

To be scheduled. Estimated time to complete: 1 hour, 32 mins.

  • In-depth video lesson with experts, animations and templates. 0.1 Welcome to Courses from IxDF (33 mins)
  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 0.2 Get Help, Career Advice, and Job Opportunities (6 mins)
  • In-depth video lesson with experts, animations and templates. 0.3 How to Earn Your IxDF Course Certificate (20 mins)
  • Community-based learning and networking. 0.4 Grow Your Global Design Network (12 mins)

Lesson 1: The Subconscious Mind – The Customer of Design

To be scheduled. Estimated time to complete: 5 hours, 33 mins.

  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 1.1 Welcome to Psychology of E-Commerce: How to Sell Online (11 mins)
  • In-depth video lesson with experts, animations and templates. 1.2 Making a Decision – The Thought Process (22 mins)
  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 1.3 The Three Parts of Your Brain (22 mins)
  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 1.4 The Old brain (19 mins)

Lesson 2: Introducing Social Validation

To be scheduled. Estimated time to complete: 4 hours, 16 mins.

  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 2.1 Welcome and Introduction (7 mins)
  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 2.2 The Bystander Effect (20 mins)
  • In-depth video lesson with experts, animations and templates. 2.3 Bringing the Bystander Effect Online for Help (24 mins)
  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 2.4 The Power of Strangers (14 mins)

Lesson 3: Design to Grab Attention

To be scheduled. Estimated time to complete: 2 hours, 41 mins.

  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 3.1 Welcome and Introduction (6 mins)
  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 3.2 The Basics of Successful Online Marketing (16 mins)
  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 3.3 Key Components of a Website (48 mins)
  • In-depth video lesson with experts, animations and templates. 3.4 Images in Web Design (27 mins)

Lesson 4: Choice is Not All That it Appears

To be scheduled. Estimated time to complete: 4 hours, 43 mins.

  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 4.1 Welcome and Introduction (7 mins)
  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 4.2 Options and Selling Online (15 mins)
  • In-depth video lesson with experts, animations and templates. 4.3 Social Validation of Choice (24 mins)
  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 4.4 Taking a Choice Away – Introducing Scarcity (21 mins)

Lesson 5: It's all About Them, Gaining Commitment

To be scheduled. Estimated time to complete: 3 hours, 35 mins.

  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 5.1 Welcome and Introduction (7 mins)
  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 5.2 The Internal Dialogue and Why it Matters to Designers (16 mins)
  • In-depth video lesson with experts, animations and templates. 5.3 You and Your – The Most Powerful Words in Communication (26 mins)
  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 5.4 Keep the Audience Entertained and Boost Your Engagement (16 mins)

Lesson 6: Build Similarity and Then Make them Afraid to Lose

To be scheduled. Estimated time to complete: 3 hours, 26 mins.

  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 6.1 Introduction – Build Similarity, and Then Make them Afraid to Lose (7 mins)
  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 6.2 We Buy From People Like Us (22 mins)
  • In-depth video lesson with experts, animations and templates. 6.3 Rapport – How to Create It and the Science of Attraction in Design (23 mins)
  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 6.4 The Power of Endorsements for Brands and Products (21 mins)

Lesson 7: Learn to Tell a Story

To be scheduled. Estimated time to complete: 3 hours, 9 mins.

  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 7.1 Welcome and Introduction (7 mins)
  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 7.2 Everyone Loves a Story, and We are All Natural Storytellers (17 mins)
  • In-depth video lesson with experts, animations and templates. 7.3 Chunking Information – How do you eat an elephant? (26 mins)
  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 7.4 Sympathetic Bonding and Why It’s Useful in Design (17 mins)

Lesson 8: Integrity Matters, Long-term Relationship Building

To be scheduled. Estimated time to complete: 3 hours, 13 mins.

  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 8.1 Welcome and Introduction (7 mins)
  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 8.2 The Sales Ladder – The Start of Something Bigger for Your Business (20 mins)
  • In-depth video lesson with experts, animations and templates. 8.3 Acquisition vs. Retention and What It Means for Your Online Business (29 mins)
  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 8.4 Reputational Capital - Why it Matters (48 mins)

Lesson 9: Sociability and Going Viral

To be scheduled. Estimated time to complete: 3 hours, 21 mins.

  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 9.1 Welcome and Introduction (7 mins)
  • In-depth video lesson with experts, animations and templates. 9.2 Assumption: A Recipe for Disaster (31 mins)
  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 9.3 Social Evolution and Why We Need to Communicate (20 mins)
  • In-depth video lesson with experts, animations and templates. 9.4 Why the Internet Exists (28 mins)

Lesson 10: IxDF Course Certificate and Course Wrap-up

To be scheduled. Estimated time to complete: 13 mins.

  • In-depth video lesson with experts, animations and templates. 10.1 How to Add Your IxDF Certificate to LinkedIn (7 mins)
  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 10.2 Help Us Help You: Course Evaluation (4 mins)
  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 10.3 Six Steps That Help Your Career (3 mins)
  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 10.4 Get Your IxDF Course Certificate (2 mins)

What's Inside IxDF Membership?

  • High-impact design and AI skills

  • Learn from 209 industry leaders

  • 42 evidence-based courses

  • 161 one-hour Master Classes

  • Industry-recognized certificates

  • $2,189 worth of toolkits

  • 11,053 active design jobs

  • 10 structured career programs

  • Global community in 496 cities

  • $6,649 worth of premium tools

  • 276 ready-made templates

  • and much more

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Hsin-Jou Lin
Hsin-Jou Lin
UX Designer

My major is Psychology and I'm now working in e-commerce. I've learned about from college, but don't have a chance to apply on real world. This course provides a step-by-step lesson for me to apply Psychology to my work.

Fernando Martinez Carreon
Fernando Martinez Carreon
Interaction & UX Designer / IA

Well, I've started with one of the courses and felt it was fair to write once again just to say you that you are a great team of human, cognitive and pedagogy centered professionals. I'm really glad that I've become a member and have all of these tons of information for self-paced learning, the content I read it's great so far!

Natalie Verdon
Natalie Verdon
Facilitator / Consultant

How wonderful.......I am looking forward to all I can learn and share with the community. You have a brilliant site and wonderful offerings.