If you spend enough time designing digital experiences, you eventually realise something uncomfortable: every platform on the internet is, in some way, trying to influence you. Some do it badly. Some do it beautifully. And some, well, cross a line.
I’ve spent 15 years engineering user journeys and for most of that time I’ve had a fascination with dark patterns: the pixel-equivalent of gaslighting. Think unsubscribe buttons that guilt-trip you, comparison blocks that hide the real deal or checkout flows that cheekily reveal hidden costs at the last second.
These tactics work until users realise what’s happening. And in parts of the world, like the EU, many dark patterns are now outright illegal.
Manipulation is everywhere
So the question becomes, if manipulation is everywhere, where is the ethical line and can influence ever be used for good? Surprisingly, the answer comes from a place few would expect: hypnosis.
Now, bear with me. I’m not suggesting we swing a pocket watch over your customers. Hypnosis – real hypnosis – isn’t about control. It’s about focus. It’s about helping someone voluntarily tune out the noise so they can concentrate deeply on the thing right in front of them.
And when you strip away the theatre that’s exactly what great digital platforms do: guide attention, lower resistance, build trust, and make meaningful action feel natural.
Not forced. Not tricked. But opted in.
Six stages
Every powerful user journey follows six psychological stages:
- Prime them
- Grab attention
- Immerse them
- Guide conversion
- Reinforce it
- Inspire their future with you
Think tunnel: quiet, narrowing, pulling focus with every step. Each stage draws users deeper. They keep going because they choose to.
Prime them
People only go deeper into experiences they feel safe entering. If they don’t trust the door, they won’t walk through it. And 75% of consumers judge a company purely by how its website looks. That means your first impression – your tone, your visual simplicity, your security cues – has more influence than any rational argument that follows.
This is respect. Set expectations. Lower friction. Mirror the message that brought them there. Borrow credibility from trusted signals. Let them ease in.
Grab attention
A user forms their first impression in 0.05 seconds and decides whether to stay within three to 10 seconds. Meanwhile, three new websites launch every second, meaning at least nine ‘attention vampires’ arrive during your tiny window to impress. You don’t need fireworks.
You need clarity: One idea. One story. One hook.
Immerse them
If grabbing attention is the spark, immersion is the warm glow that keeps users close. And here’s the kicker: immersive experiences can lift conversion by 35 – 40%. That’s because once users build something (an avatar, a playlist, a profile), they’re invested.
People value what feels like theirs. Personalise early and often.
Guide conversion
Conversion is about removing everything that pulls attention away. If users can’t find the action, they won’t take it. Keep the value proposition and benefits in one glance and use micro-copy to reassure. And remember: nearly half of South African internet users shop online weekly.
They don’t need to be convinced to transact, they just need the path cleared.
Reinforce it
Loyalty starts with psychology. 83% of South Africans use loyalty programmes. This is where sound cues, colour signatures, streaks, badges and micro-rewards turn occasional users into everyday users.
Inspire their future
True loyalty happens when users return unprompted. This is why Spotify Wrapped works so well: it gives you a story about yourself as a member, creator, collector and performer, not as a customer.
When users can see themselves inside your platform, they stay.
In conclusion, users repeat actions because those actions fit naturally into their everyday lives. The future of platform design is about building experiences so intuitive, so respectful and so personally meaningful that people choose to stay.
Consent is the new conversion. And the brands that understand this and follow the six steps above won’t need to hypnotise their users. Their users will hypnotise themselves.
Tristan Vogt is creative technology director at Digitas.
