5 Actionable Steps For Improving Conversion Rates With Better Web Design

Did you know that 94% of first impressions are design-related?

What’s more, it only takes around 50 milliseconds for users to decide whether they like your website or not.

In other words, no matter how much you focus on driving traffic to your website, users likely won’t spend a lot of time on it if your website’s design is not up to standards.

Consequently, your conversion rates will take a hit.

So, what are some web design tricks that lead users to form a positive opinion about your website and increase the chances of getting them to convert?

Let’s take a look.

1. Use White Space

White space is probably one of the first things users will notice once they land on your web page, as it represents the space between design elements.

Without it, users will feel that your website is too cluttered and won’t tell your content apart.

In other words, you wouldn’t want to have paragraphs, images, and buttons look like they’re glued together. Otherwise, users will click away within a split second.

That said, make sure to give your web pages some breathing room. Put some space between design elements, and break up blocks of texts into multiple paragraphs.

This will not only make your website look better, but it will also make your content easier to follow.

Furthermore, you can use white space to make essential design elements stand out from the rest of your web page.

2. Create Effective Call-To-Action Buttons

Once users land on your website, you probably want them to perform a specific action, like adding a product to the cart, or downloading your e-book, for example.

But, here’s the thing:

Users will likely not know what you want them to do. Thus, they’ll leave the website without converting.

The fix?

Create effective Call-To-Action buttons (CTAs). After all, these buttons are what transforms your visitors into customers.

That said, they need to be clear, bold, and stand out from the rest of the web page.

In terms of their copy, CTAs need to be persuasive and straight to the point. You want to let users know exactly what will happen once they click on the button and motivate them to do it.

“Get Your Free E-book,” “Sign Up For Free,” or “Buy Now” are good examples of a compelling CTA copy.

In terms of their design, CTAs need to catch the eye right off the bat.

For starters, use contrasting colors. You don’t want CTA buttons to blend in with the background, as that will make them harder to notice.

Secondly, make them larger than other buttons. We’ve talked with a few experts from a custom web design company, and they said that CTAs should be around 20% larger than your logo.

Lastly, you have to consider their placement. Users shouldn’t have to scroll down to see the button, as they need to notice it right after they land on your web page.

Placing them right next to the product photos might be a good idea.

3. Follow the F Pattern

Users will typically scan your website in an F pattern: they’ll start checking the upper part of the web page in its entirety from left to right, then they’ll scan over the content less and less as they move further down the page.

Consequently, the upper part of the web page will experience the most visibility, whereas the button right will be the least noticeable.

To improve conversion rates, your website’s design should follow this pattern.

For example, you could highlight the most critical elements, like CTA buttons or headlines on the upper-left side of the screen. This is a very common pattern and many top digital marketing agencies implement it on the websites they are optimizing.

You can place other essential elements, like images, slightly lower on the left. You can put unnecessary components down the button-right part of the screen.

4. Apply the Rule of Thirds

The Rule of Thirds is generally considered as a photography principle, but you can also apply it in web design.

In short, this is a compositional guideline that divides an image into thirds, vertically and horizontally. Thus, you’ll be left with nine equal squares split by two vertical grid lines and two horizontal ones.

The visitors’ eyes will naturally be drawn to the points where these grid lines intersect with each other.

Thus, placing crucial design elements, like CTAs or images, as close to the intersections as possible will attract more attention and potentially increase conversions.

5. Use Quality Images

Lastly, images play a crucial role in improving a website’s aesthetics. Without them, your website would look boring, and users will probably click away as a result.

Furthermore, people only retain 20% of the information they read but absorb 80% of the information they see.

This makes images a critical element of web design.

That said, you should avoid using stock photos, as they’re often monotonous and irrelevant to your content. You should instead display images that evoke positive emotions, are eye-catching, and complement your content.

Consider adding images that contain human faces. That’s because a picture of a human face that depicts a specific emotion will likely evoke the same feeling within the visitors, allowing you to establish a stronger connection with them.

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