Web specialist are on the look out for good solutions that can effectively communicate ideas and information to their audience. Good visual communication is to explain larger ideas into short sample designs, by way of effective graphical solutions, to help users scan information effortlessly - without heavy instruction.

The pyramid (triangle) is a classic symbol for explaining progressive steps from one point to another, volume or weight and hierarchy.

For example, the below statement is an exempt from Andrew Chak's book, Submit Now: Designing Persuasive Web Site, and in the same page is a pyramid graph, the graph demonstrates a series of steps from bottom to top. The illustration below is different then the original in color and line weight.

A Web hierarchy of user needs

Abraham Maslow was a psychologist who proposed that human motivation could be explained by a desire to meet a hierarchy of needs. He suggested that people would be motivated to take care of their basic physiological needs such as food and shelter before they world concern themselves with " higher-level" needs such as being loved or having self esteem.

The same can be said of Web users. They have basic fundamental needs that must be addressed before they can be ready for the higher-level activity of bring willing to transact with a site.

The Web version of the hierarchy of user needs can be described in four levels:

Availability. The foundation for this Web hierarchy is making your site available to your users. If your site isn't reliably up, or it requires the latest browsers and plug-ins, or it feels slower than watching paint day, then your site really isn't available for your users to use. I won't talk much about accessibility because it should be a given. Usability. If your users can't navigate and find items, they can't purchase them. If they can't figure out how to fill out your sign-up form or check out your shopping cart, they can't transact. Usability is about users being able to use your site - especially those who are already motivated to transact. Confidence. Web users will hesitate to transact online unless their confidence is built up in two areas: The first is the confidence that they have selected the right product or service to meet their needs, and the second is the confidence that you are the right business or organization to provide that product or service. Desire. After you've created a site that instills confidence in your users, you need to further motivate them with the desire to transact. You have to influence your users to the point where they want to take action.

Your site must be available, be usable, instill confidence and create desire for your users to transact.

Pause for a moment and think of your own site: Is it readily available? Can people figure out how to navigate through it? Do you provide information, photos, or demos that make people want your product or services? Do you help your users feel confident that they can trust you enough to do business with you online? Do you create a desire within users that prompts them to transact?