We want our clients to engage with us and our businesses in a positive way. That’s why consideration to how the brain and emotions work is necessary when building a website that often is a client’s first interaction with our businesses.

Simply put, the brain can be divided into 3 major parts: the neocortex, the limbic brain, and the brainstem. These parts are integrative in their functioning and are responsible for processing information and decision making - using reason and logic, emotion, and survival instincts, respectively. These 3 parts are interconnected, however that is contingent upon the limbic brain remaining “online”, which is the emotional part of our brain. If the limbic brain reaches a critical mass of anxiety and arousal, it actually goes offline, which means that the triune brain is unable to function inter-connectedly, where the neocortex is inaccessible, and a person is only able to operate from the subconscious brain - focused on mere survival in fight, flight, or freeze. In this state there is not capability to think rationally or remember things.

Considering this, it becomes utmost important in efforts to effectively reach and engage with clients to consider strategies for managing a client’s anxiety and arousal - to increase the likelihood of positive engagement. Reaching out to a new professional or business can be stressful for some people, but there are intentional ways we can cater to the client’s experience through mitigating unknowns, especially. The first place we can do this is our website. Calm colors, clear navigation menus, up to date staff rosters with professional photos and biographies (including credentials), a FAQ page, clearly displayed office address and directions how to get to your office location, and an explicit contact page so clients feel you are accessible are just some of the ways you can begin to build trust and emotional safety with clients, even before first interaction.

In sum, we like to think a chaotic online presence contributes to limbic overwhelm - and that’s the last thing we want our potential and current clients to experience when interacting with our businesses. We would love to help you build a website catered to a positive experience for your clients.