Everyone discusses the role of SEO, e-mail marketing, and lead magnets to boost conversion rates, among other things.
Yet, they fail to consider website design as a factor that can boost a website’s conversion rate. Adobe conducted a survey and discovered that if people had the choice between reading a beautifully designed document and an otherwise boring one, they would choose the beautifully designed one.
Web design can, therefore, not simply be described as a case of giving ‘window dressing to the site.’ Learn how applying conversion optimization principles to your website significantly impacts your website design’s success.
Here are a few conversion rate optimization (CRO) stats about why web design is essential:
- This average conversion rate currently trending within eCommerce businesses is 2. 86%.
- Visitors’ attention spans can last only 8 seconds if you capture their attention when they are viewing your website.
- 92. Wolcott & Parent (2012) further identified that 6% of potential buyers are likely to buy from websites with good designs.
- According to research by Marijn, 75% of the consumers determine the brand’s authenticity by the website design.
- An unattractive website will turn 38% of people off of the website.
Thus, not considering website design conversion optimization principles as key to developing an online business needs serious reconsideration.
1. Know the Rule of Thirds
One of the best-known principles among photographers is the rule of thirds, which can also be applied to DM.
The rule of thirds is a guideline that states that when it comes to composing an image for the best results or placing a specific element on a webpage, one should imagine that the image or the webpage space has been divided into thirds. It also expounds that the main subjects of your composition should always be in the left or right third of the whole image while the other two-thirds may be enhanced.
Here are a few examples:
On the Apple website, I have located the element most crucial for websites on the right-hand-side grids – the images of the products. This design arrangement gives its copy and CTA buttons adequate prominence.
Entrepreneurs on Fire website’s hero image contains a call to action button right on the bottom left grid:
I have not observed the presence of a navigation bar within any of these websites illustrated in the grids above. This ensures that visitors can be influenced to engage in the intended course of action rather than being taken in all other directions.
Using the rule of thirds does not mean that the whole site’s layout has to be worked around it. Still, it is a good website design conversion optimization rule to apply if you want to attract visitors to the specific value proposition or some possible product use.
Next, you should divide the screenshot into nine equal square sections – there should be three horizontal rows and three vertical columns. Considering what you would like to think, one can manually redesign the webpage to position necessary elements at the left or right intersection.
2. Improve Your Site Loading Speed
Customers can be very impulsive and always get irritated when controlling a website.
It was evident from a study by Akamai that every ‘second’ delay in page loading reduced the chances of conversion by 7 percent.
This means you need to know how fast your page is and try to repair what has slowed it. Here are five free tools that you can use to check your website’s page speed:
In the case of improving your site’s page speed, remember to also work on responsiveness. Ensure your website is easy to access and designed to operate effectively on handheld devices.
3. Learn to Use Negative Space for Your Benefit
What is commonly known as negative space in web design is whitespace. Your information, text, images, and call-to-action buttons reside in positive space on your website or web page. Negative space refers to the space or the area in between any two given objects.
Regarding web design, Firefox has done a great job balancing its content so that its website looks minimal and welcoming.
Contrary to its literal meaning, having negative space in web design is good; in other words, it is effective. A website entirely without negative space can be unbearable to users.
This way, it does not confuse while at the same time ensuring that all the elements remain clear, easily identifiable, and visually unencumbered. The last tip is to make your website scannable because most website visitors read sites this way.
The more a scan-O-graphically designed your website area, the more people will buy your product or service.
Here are five tips to make the most of negative space to improve website design:
- If your font size is small, you need ample space between the letters, especially if the characters are #:10.
- Your line height (defines the space above and below lines of text) should be approximately 150% of the font size for the body copy (in CSS, this would read: More font styles can be found at line height 1. 5
- Paratext requires more line heights because where one uses small fonts, more line heights should be adopted. Notice the difference that a more significant line height makes in the body paragraphs in this image.
- In addition, ensure that you use subheadings that ease the understanding of the content presented and have more negative space between the texts by practicing lists, underlined texts, and boxing every other text, among others. This makes the website’s content very manageable and easy to work through, which is excellent if you want to get a general idea of the site and the information available to you.
- To create a natural contrast, strategically use additional margins and padding in the site to provide more whitespaces between the significant objects of the design, such as the sidebar, header, and body or footer texts.
4. Follow Hick’s Law
Hick’s Law is more complicated as it states that when decision-makers are presented with more options, then they will take more time to make a decision.
Extending the design features that need to be chosen for the new website only leads to the paradox of choice or analysis paralysis. Reflect on everything a user can decide on your Internet site, starting from the color of the fonts.
- Navigate the bar or scroll down more. As seen when conducting a website analysis, the options for adding to the website are available in two options: either in the navigation bar or scroll down more.
- Read the titles only to decide the most appropriate blog post to open and read.
- Deciding which options to download the lead magnet or watch a demo video.
- Four clickable options are available regarding the next step: create an account, read reviews, or look for more products.
This suggests that when facing such a phenomenon, potential customers are overburdened by the extra task of deciding what to do.
A perfect example of a poor usability interface that is not in compliance with Hick’s Law includes the following image. It is very confusing to have too many calls to action on a single page, and having the attention of at least one of them is what these buttons are intended to do.
An unorganized or messy web page causes an elevated bounce rate or time a visitor spends completing a specific task.
Consequently, it is recommended that you limit the options you put on the website to increase the conversion rate. For example, reduce the density of the website’s call-to-action (CTA) buttons to concern itself with only a few.
Or remove the other elements on the sampled pages surrounding the CTA buttons to introduce more white space. This can assist in enhancing the conversion rates by 232% or more.
When a website is cluttered, the bounce rate will go up, or people will take longer to complete a desired action, for instance, filling out a form.
Decision-makers can increase their conversions through minimized options on their websites. This behavior is consistent across all types of websites, mainly social media; for example, reduce call-to-action (CTA) buttons.
Or, remove the objects closer to the CTA buttons to create more of such a white space. This can help to increase the conversion rates and potentially increase the likelihood of converting visitors into customers by as much as 232%.
It helps you operate in a way that will exclude shocking and unnecessary distractions but simultaneously use the chance to convert your visitors meaningfully.
If put into practice with your website, according to Hick’s Law, you should already know what actions to take that will lead to your targeted goal.
Is the choice<|reserved_special_token_265|> to have your target audience opt for your lead magnet? Or do you want them to choose and place a particular product in the shopping cart? Each web page or web content must be willing to serve one specific goal on your site.
The fewer choices you provide in front of them, the more efficiently they can navigate on your website. But that can increase your conversion rate by ten times.
5. Should the F-Layout Be Considered for Web Design?
Current studies show that users read in an ‘F’ mode, meaning they look at the top and side of the screen.
Here is an example of an F-layout in a website:
It becomes apparent that the population first scans images horizontally from left to right across the top of the screen. Christie and Orton conjectured that they make small foraying movements in the content when reading the fine spread downwards. The zone that receives considerably low exposure is the lower right-hand corner of the page.
This brings rise to a question concerning the issue of conversion. While designing an article, you should put the significant constituents and the buttons across the F-shape lines and put objects of minor concern beneath them.
For instance, if the product you are marketing requires its user to download it, where you place the download button will be essential; ideally, it can be placed at the top of the page towards the left-hand side of the page since people typically glance at that area first.
If you wish to make your user stay and read your latest articles or blogs, just put the headlines down the left side of the webpage. Other details can be placed on the sidebar on the right side of the page itself. For example, sponsored ads are not as critical as the main content.
Some vital information that is less important than the above tips, such as ‘our cookie policy,’ can be bloated to the bottom right corner of your site.
6. Use Colors Meaningfully
“Colour, as a rule, is not given its due credit as being a major aspect of web design, but in fact, it has a key role to play in usability, brand imagery and in fact the mood of the entire website, and that is are they using the right colour combinations to get the right response or emotion out of you. ” opines a designer Tom Kenny.
The bottom line: If you decide to achieve color harmony in your web design, ensure that your chosen colors correspond to the primary emotion you want your brand to convey.
One of the ways of achieving this is to utilize the work of Pinterest to select various color combinations that depict the whole picture of the brand. Once you’ve chosen your color scheme, one more thing to remember: reverse.
Maintain an even higher contrast so the text, headlines, and call-to-action buttons stay distinct and easy to read. For example, when designing the fonts and buttons in the layout of your program, make them highly contrasting, e.g., black or navy blue against a white or light yellow background.
The type of color that should not be repeated within the page features should be a color that contrasts with the rest of the design of the website’s features that you want to emphasize (such as the subscribe button).
Now let us present a typical example. What do you find yourself focusing on the most when visiting this site?
Of course, the placement of the image on the left with the woman with a stunned look on her face is more striking. Look at this orange CTA button, which does not resemble the other numerous elements on the site. This is because it violates all the norms related to other items on the page and provides a visible contrast.
7. Note the following message: K . I. S. S.
KISS is an acronym for “Keep it Simple, Stupid,” a design principle used by anti-complexity advocates of web design.
This is because when one has to wade through quite some steps before arriving at a particular decision, you will most likely find that the leads generated were not so keen on coming into your website or business in the first place. Even if you are designing a website, you must ask yourself this question: could this be made more accessible? That is why if you can simplify a design, the result is that it will look more beautiful while ensuring higher conversions.
Hick’s Law is not directly comparable to K. I. S. S., but there is undoubtedly room for cross-over. But simplicity goes far beyond the decision-making aspect of the elimination of choices. You also require that your interface design is neat with no numerous complications that may limit the visibility of the main work.
The human mind is designed to absorb and evaluate limited information at a given time. For anything in web design, if too much happens at once and we truly see everything, our senses will get overloaded. Suppose you want to design your website to be highly effective in offering a user experience, referred to as UX. In that case, it is time to eliminate all those useless elements you can see.
Nike is another example; this brand follows an Apple-like web design that is quite simple and catchy. Its design (and copy) are so great that thousands of brands produce similar ones all over the continent.
8. Apply the 8-Second Rule
You might have heard of this before: To be precise, you get, on average, only about 8 seconds of a visitor’s attention because that is the current length of attention span in a human being. That is even less than the duration span of a goldfish, known to stay focused for only 9 seconds.
You can only attract and interact with users as they visit your website. As a result, time management becomes crucial, and you have precisely sixty minutes to achieve a lot!
Here are some tips for grabbing attention and boosting conversions within the first 8 seconds:
- Promote extensive, brief, headline-style statements that spell out the product’s advantages.
- Following the copywriter’s guidelines to capture people’s imaginations.
- Front your call to action with images that pass a message, making your target audience stop and consider the information.
- Signup buttons should be more extensive and have descriptive text without being decorated.
- Power up your copy with power links. Power words are compelling means of making your copy more seductive.
- Diarize multimedia content for visual examples, such as using video or GIFs in the middle of the content.
- Another strategy is animated exit intent popups whenever the visitor seems ready to depart.
9. Remember the Gestalt Similarity Principle
Gestalt psychology is a theory of mind concerning the conception of human gestalt and its topology. The Gestalt principle has 6 individual laws that revolve around:
- Similarity
- Continuation
- Closure
- Proximity
- Figure
- Symmetry and order
The first law is Gestalt similarity; this law suggests that people tend to categorize similar things based on certain parameters. It is a tool that helps one apply order and meaning to what could be chaos and filter out noise.
As per this law, you can apply this in website design by clustering the items you wish to be related to testimonials, sign-up buttons, or images.
For example, suppose you have a wonderful testimonial to integrate into your brochure as a form of social proof. It can be put below the opt-in form, enhancing the conversion rate.
These are the customer testimonials you place near your CTAs, also called doubt removers. And they can boost your merchants’ conversion rate by up to 124%.
Here is an example of how you can Group a CTA and customer testimonial:
Another Gestalt that has implications from the perspective of UX design is the similarity principle.
Segmenting the major signup components (for instance, the title, the tagline, and the subscription button) into one group simplifies the layout. It has a positive effect on the audience’s comprehension of the information.
It is perfect for click-through rates, which is certainly good given that the attention span is only 8 seconds.
10. Faces Must Be Utilised for the Purpose of Familiarization Markup File
A common statement plainly states that people love to buy from people.
Use case studies, blogs, anonymous people’s faces, and names on your blogs, case studies, landing pages, checkout pages, and pricing sections to warm the brand up.
According to designer Sabina Idler:
“When we discover a face, we are instantly expected to read something, sense or sympathize with that individual; the same happens for content on a website; we see those elements and we feel close to them, we feel that we grasp what they signify. ”
Applying this rule to the owner/proprietor or someone in the company associated with the brand is easy. What can Neil Patel do to grow his business? How does Chris Lema do it? Or John Lee Dumas, for that matter?
If you want to leverage your personal brand on your website, keep these 2 important tips in mind:
- Camouflage must be captured in proper photos obtained from a professional photoshoot.
- Ensure that the videos have several still pictures shot horizontally and incorporate the rule of thirds.
Here’s an example from Melanie Duncan:
If you are not the brand you wish to present, one can always hire models or use some images from the internet.
Just ensure that the faces you pick depict your brand well enough for users to relate to easily.
11. Use High-Quality Images
Website quality plays a great role in making a first impression on customers, and using high-quality images is a feature of website quality.
Cross-sectional studies reveal that 60% of people buying products are willing to interact with the brands that contain images. Interestingly, 23% of the respondents stated that they would be more likely to contact a business with an image as part of the listing information.
On the other end, if the images used are low quality, the overall reliability of any website is compromised. Such images may appear to have an unclear blurring of the subject or appear less proportional in size depending on the size of the image displayed. While hi-topics are perceived as negative and unreal, high-quality photos are individualistic and associated with positive emotions.
Here are some of our favorite places for finding free stock photography that is high-quality and personal:
- Adobe
- Shutterstock
- Pexels
- Death to Stock
- StockSnap
- Unsplash
- Negative Space
- Gratisography
- Little Visuals
- Picjumbo
- Kaboompics
A word of caution: do not squander on terrible and plain stock photos for the sake of quality. They all support the idea that people go for brands they can identify with. I must warn you that if your images look too business-like or too common, your visitors will be inadvertently repelled.
Importance of Conversion Rate in Web Design
Conveyance rate is perhaps one of the most integral aspects of web design that one cannot overemphasize enough. It works as a benchmark that defines the success and profitability of the website at the end of the day.
Here are some key points highlighting its significance:
- User Experience: User experience and Interface design are directly tied to conversions since a well-constructed website makes it easy for users to complete their tasks without any hindrances, increasing conversion rates. Making it easy to navigate the site, speed, and a smooth buying experience can all be considered factors influencing UX.
- ROI (Return on Investment): A high conversion percentage ensures minimal resources are used in marketing; hence, more resources and funds can be used in marketing. It has been shown that the success of the web presence in turning Web visitors into customers is achievable through enhanced web design for better profitability without necessarily having to drive more visitors to the site.
- Data-Driven Decisions: Real-time tracking of conversion rates effectively analyzes consumer trends and patterns. It can help modify the design and content to improve the process and reach higher precision regarding targeting.
- Competitive Edge: In a busy business world, a well-designed website that effectively pulls in the targeted audience gives a business an advantage over its rivals. Thus, design, as well as the functionality of a website, can captivate potential buyers and influence them to choose one site over the other.
- Revenue Growth: The impact of the conversion rate optimization strategy on direct revenues can be dramatic. This is because small changes to the design of a website can bring about significant shifts in such things as call-to-action buttons, forms, or any other space on the website that identifies with tangible sales.