5 web design tricks that will improve your conversion rate

December 9, 2021 Jones CMS, CTA, search engine optimisation, SEO, Web design

Your website is essentially your virtual storefront, so you need to ensure that it makes a good impression.

If people find your website difficult to read or navigate, they might leave without making a purchase. This means that you need to do everything you can to improve your web design and improve your conversion rate.

In this article, we’re going to outline some web design tricks that will improve your conversion rate. Let’s get started.

Use calls to action to tell customers what to do next

A call to action, or CTA, is a word or phrase — often placed on a button — that tells the website visitor what to do next. Sometimes, people just need a bit of a push to get them to take the action you want. A well-designed CTA can help encourage people to click, thus improving your conversion rate.

Here are a few tips for creating a solid CTA:

Start your CTA with a strong command verb
Use words that provoke emotion in the reader
Use bold, contrasting colors when designing your CTA button
Create a sense of urgency
Keep your character count low — tell your reader in just a few words what you want them to do next

Let’s take a look at a few examples of solid CTAs that businesses are already using to give you some inspiration.

American International University, a higher education institution based in Kuwait, has multiple CTAs on their homepage. As you can see in the image above, they have three CTAs: “Find a program,” “Apply,” and “Request info.” These help American International University target different website visitors depending on their needs — some visitors might be ready to apply, but others might still be doing their research. By using multiple CTAs, American International University can encourage more clicks, improving their conversion rate.

On your website, consider using CTAs that target multiple types of visitors. This will give more people a place to click, and they’ll know their needs will be met. This will help you improve your conversion rate!

Pherrus Financial, a tax attorney group in Austrailia, has a very solid CTA on their homepage, too. As you can see above, they have a very bright and bold CTA that stands out from the rest of the page — you can’t miss it! The CTA here says, “Sign up for your FREE accounting health check”. People love getting value without making a financial commitment so, by highlighting that the accounting health check is free, Pherrus Financial can encourage clicks. Additionally, it’s very clear to the user where they need to click next, and it’s very easy to spot. This can help increase the number of people that click on their CTA, helping improve their conversion rate.

On your website, consider designing your CTAs with a bold color that stands out against the background. This will draw more eyes to the button, helping encourage more people to click through and convert.

Choose imagery your customers will relate to

If your customers can imagine themselves using your products or services, they’ll be much more likely to convert. And the imagery you choose to use on your website can help with this! Pick photos that your customers will relate to, like images of people who reflect your ideal audience. This will help website visitors see that your products or services have been designed for people like them, making them more likely to convert.

Let’s take a look at an example of a business that uses this tactic well for inspiration.

Blue Cross Blue Shield, a health insurance company, uses relatable imagery on their homepage. The image above shows two women — presumably a mother and a daughter — smiling together. The copy on the side mentions caregiving for loved ones, indicating that these two people in the image are family. This image encourages website visitors to think about their own parents or loved ones, particularly if they are caregivers. Seeing the happy image will reassure the visitor that Blue Cross Blue Shield cares about their family. This will help them trust the company more, encouraging them to spend money with them in the future.

Think about how important relatable imagery is for a healthcare company. Taking care of loved ones in their old age can be a sensitive topic for many but, by using relatable imagery, Blue Cross Blue Shield builds trust with website visitors, puts them at ease, and can encourage conversions.

On your website, display images that your customers can relate to. This will help people trust your business, making it more likely that they’ll convert.

Always dedicate some space to positive reviews

Social proof is very important for boosting your conversions! People tend to trust others like them — this means that, if you show positive reviews or testimonials from past customers on your website, visitors will be more likely to trust you, and therefore make a purchase.

So, reach out to your past clients or customers and ask if they would be willing to leave you a review. You could even offer them a small discount as an incentive to do so.

Next, you need to work out how you want to display your reviews. If you sell a lot of similar products, you might consider displaying star ratings next to each of them. This will help your website visitors quickly make comparisons. Or, if you offer services, consider using longer written testimonials or videos to give a website visitor more context as to what you can provide. It’s a good idea to include a name and job title with your testimonials if applicable, too, to give them more credibility.

Let’s take a look at a few examples of businesses that have positive reviews on their websites for inspiration.

Victoria University, a higher education institution in Australia, displays positive reviews on their program pages. For instance, on their page for their Master of Teaching online program, they have a carousel of reviews from several Victoria University graduates, all of whom have high praise for their quality of education. Using multiple reviews like this is very important for universities and businesses in education — people take their education seriously and will want to know that their money will be well-spent on their studies. By showcasing reviews like this, Victoria University builds trust with their prospective students, making it more likely that they’ll apply.

On your website, consider using a carousel of reviews as social proof. Ensuring you have multiple reviews from past customers or clients will show your website visitors that you have a lot of happy past customers, making it more likely that they’ll convert on your website.

ShopDisney, the online store for Disney products, uses reviews in a different way. Take a look at the product selection from the image above and notice how each action figure has star reviews to give the website visitor an idea of what the quality of the product is like. Visitors can see the average rating and how many people left reviews for every product, helping them quickly compare their options. Having this information not only reassures customers that they’re getting the best product, but it can help them make a decision, improving Disney’s conversion rate.

If you sell a lot of products, consider showing off their average star reviews on your category pages. This will not only prove to your website visitors that you have quality products, but it will help them compare and make the purchase that’s right for them. This will improve your conversion rate!

Make sure it’s very easy to convert

You need to ensure that people can quickly take the next step with your business — this will make them more likely to convert!

Not sure how to make it easier for your website visitors to convert? Here are a few suggestions to get you started:

Create a sophisticated search feature that takes website visitors directly to the products or services they need
Make your customer service contact options clear, so visitors can quickly get in touch with questions
Have a simple and straightforward checkout process that a user can quickly get through
Design a simple and intuitive navigation system that can help a customer get to where they need to go

Let’s take a look at a few examples of businesses that make it easy for people to convert for inspiration.

Davis, Saperstein & Salomon, P.C., a personal injury attorney firm in New Jersey and New York, makes it very easy to convert on their New York service page. As you can see above, there is a short form on the right side of the page that asks for a small amount of information from visitors to get them started with a free case review. Not only is it helpful for the website visitor to have a clear place to get in touch but, since filling this form out only requires a small amount of effort, it can encourage conversions.

When designing your website, make it easy for your website visitors to convert. Use a strategy similar to Davis, Saperstein & Salomon, P.C. and only ask for a small amount of information to get them started with a free case review — this will make things easier for them and improve your conversion rate.

Instant Checkmate, a public records search service, makes it very easy for their website visitors to convert, too. One of the first things a website visitor sees on their homepage is a search tool where they can plug in information about the person they’re looking for. It’s very straightforward, and any website visitor will know within seconds what they need to do to find the information they want. This makes it easy for them to get started, helping to improve Instant Checkmate’s conversion rate!

On your website, consider providing a tool that will help make it easy for your customers to convert, as Instant Checkmate has. If it’s very clear to the user what they need to do to get started, they’ll be more likely to convert!

Ensure customers can get in touch from any web page

If prospective customers have a question or concern, they’re going to want to get in touch with your customer service team. And, if they have trouble doing this, they’ll likely leave without making a purchase.

So, you need to provide several contact options and ensure that they are accessible through every webpage! You could, for instance, offer a live chat service that follows the user throughout your website. Or, you could provide a phone number at the top of every web page so a user knows where to go if they have a question. Doing this will help a website visitor get in touch with your customer service team and ensure their questions are answered. This will make them more likely to make a purchase, improving your conversion rate.

Summary

In this article, we outlined different web design tricks you can use to improve your conversion rate, ultimately increasing your bottom line. We discussed using strong CTAs, making it easy for your website visitors to take the next step, and more. Now, get to work!

Author bio & headshot:

Alex Ratynski is a Content Strategist at Loganix, an SEO fulfillment partner that works with agencies and marketers. The company focuses on helping businesses to improve their online visibility, so they can grow and reach their goals. If you enjoyed this article, visit the Loganix blog for more expert advice.