High-conversion websites do things differently from other websites. They understand what their target audience is looking for, and they are designed to reflect that.
Unfortunately, most companies get stuck in the status quo. They’re so focused on their day-to-day operations that they usually don’t remember how crucial it is to improve their websites on a steady basis.
As a result, their design loses some of its charm and the customers outgrow the firm. That is when companies lose their target audience.
The problem isn’t unique. Only about 22 percent of businesses are satisfied with their conversion rates, according to research from Econsultancy. The same study shows that for every $92 spent acquiring a customer, only $1 goes into converting them.
So there is a clear disconnect between the role of the average website and its conversions. Often, the conversion factor is driven by your website’s design. You might have great tactics for bringing people to the page and even seeing them make an initial purchase, but if you aren’t able to attract repeat visits because of a poor site design, your revenue will suffer.
Here are some website design tips that are sure to convert visitors.
- Improve Page Content
Start with what is actually on the page. The text and images will encourage people to make purchases and subscribe, but if the design discourages this process, you can kiss the opportunities goodbye.
This recruiting site from the major art dealer Park West Gallery is a solid example of a site design that converts. The beautiful colors, exciting imagery, and informative content all point to an excellent career as a fine arts auctioneer.
The technique can be applied to almost any site pages to achieve a similar, high-quality effect.
- Use Color Psychology
With the help of the right colors, you can use behavioral psychology to guide website visitors. Every color you select tends to be associated with certain emotions.
Pastels evoke a feeling of calm, which might be a great converting color if you’re selling nursing home care, but they won’t work so well if you’re trying to sell gourmet foods. Here, you’ll want to use rich colors like burgundy, which evokes sensations of both hunger and luxury.
- Clearly State a Value Proposition
If customers can’t tell from first glance what the purpose of your site is, that is going to create a major problem with your conversion numbers. It should be immediately clear to potential customers what they are supposed to do when they visit a home or landing page.
MailChimp, the email marketing analytics web tool, is a great example of this clarity. On the company’s homepage, it offers very brief descriptions of what the company is all about and what specific services it offers.
More importantly, MailChimp has two clear places where it asks people to sign up for the service. As you click through the site, there is at least one call-to-action button visible on every page.
- Make Calls to Action More Visible
If you’re planning to take a lesson from MailChimp’s book and include multiple calls to action on each page, you’ll need to make each call to action more visible first. Several variables can improve your CTA and draw more attention to it.
Here are a few:
- Size: Is it big enough for people to see it and click on it, both on mobile and desktop?
- Order: The link should be somewhere at the top of the page for those who have read about your products or services elsewhere, and it should also be at the bottom for those who are reading about your products or services primarily on your site.
- Color: Does the CTA stand out against the rest of the site’s background and use the color psychology techniques discussed above?
- Button Format: According to research, CTA buttons perform far better inside a 3D-style container than they do on their own.
Evaluate these essential attributes of successful calls to action to determine whether your site may be struggling to gain conversions because your CTA buttons aren’t drawing enough attention.
- Test Everything
According to research from MarketingSherpa, only 52 percent of companies that use landing pages test them for effective conversions. Without adequate testing, it’s impossible to know exactly what the problem with your site might be.
You could be losing conversions for any number of reasons. Testing will make it more clear which may be true. Run tests on different parts of your site to see what’s working and what’s hindering the process.
Focus specifically on your call-to-action buttons, which are often the source of poor conversions. But don’t stop there; in addition, test regularly. Big corporations run such tests at least once a month to make sure they’re getting the most out of their design layout.
Though your firm may not be able to test quite this often, you can still get a lot out of a great design that focuses on your customers.