Did you know that your web design can have a big impact on your conversions? With more and more people viewing websites from their mobile devices, design has become more important than ever. In this post, we’ll help you to see how great web design can boost conversions on your business website.
You know from your past digital marketing efforts that SEO, lead generation, email marketing, and social media can all influence your conversion rate. But studies are showing that a website’s design is the top influencer on whether or not consumers consider your company to be credible. With so much riding on the looks of your website, design surely deserves your attention.
The following tips can help you to fine-tune your website’s design and increase your conversions.
Keep the Choices Simple
British psychologist William Edmund Hick found that the time it takes for a person to make a decision is directly proportional to the number of choices she has. In other words, if you give a person lots and lots of choices, it will take her a long time to come to a decision.
This is illustrated by a study by Mark Lepper and Sheena Iyengar. They set up two display tables in a market: one with 24 different kinds of jam and another with just 6 kinds of jam. Then they sat back and watched consumers approach the tables. The larger display table sold 1/10 the amount of jam as the table with a smaller selection. Why did this happen? It’s because of Hick’s Law. When you present too many choices, people are paralyzed and less likely to make a decision.
What does this mean for your website? You can boost your conversions simply by limiting the number of choices your visitors have. Examine your current design. Do visitors have lots of choices on your navigation bar? Is your front page full of links? If there is one specific thing you’d like your visitors to do (make an appointment, get a free quote, purchase a water heater), then make that the only option available.
Use the Rule of Thirds
If you’ve ever taken a photography class, you’re probably familiar with the rule of thirds. With this rule, you’re supposed to visually divide an image into thirds, both vertically and horizontally. This gives you a grid of nine squares. Human eyes gravitate toward the four middle intersections, so you should place items of interest in these four spots.
If conversion is your goal, put your most important elements in these spots. For instance, you could put a short, compelling testimonial in one spots, a “Start Here” button in another spot, and an interesting image covering the other two. In this way, you don’t confuse your visitors; you lead them along toward conversion.
Iron Out the Wrinkles
Nothing tries the patience of web surfers more than slow page loading speeds, broken links, confusing navigation bars, and other design flaws. One study found that a one-second delay in page loading times was enough to cause a 7% reduction in conversions! Don’t lose customers over something as simple as loading times. Do what it takes to make your website as smooth and pleasurable to navigate as possible.
Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights, Sucuri, or GTmetrix to get actionable recommendations about how to optimize your website and smooth out any wrinkles that are preventing your visitors from converting.
By designing your website for conversions, you can help to make decision-making easier for your customers and improve your conversion rate. For more information about improving your content marketing–or to discuss any other marketing issue for your business–get in touch with us at Park Slope Softworks, your Brooklyn digital marketing company. Be sure to check out our free SEO analysis.
