6 tips to increase your website conversions
We’ve built many websites. We’ve read and analysed elaborate case studies. For some of our clients we have performed a/b tests to improve conversions.
There are things that work and things that don’t work. Here are some insights from our team to improve your website conversions.
Never use carrousels
You’ll probably recognize them straight away. They are those big ‘zones’ on homepages where every couple seconds another message/picture is shown. It often is a picture with some texts or a promotion. Carrousels is used a lot so why is it not a good idea?
Easy. The attention span of people nowadays is less than that of a goldfish. When did you checked all the slides of a carrousel? Probably never right?
Then don’t expect visitors of your website to take the time to watch the whole slideshow.
The 1st slide gets at least 80% of the clicks. If the vast majority of visitors click on the first slide, than why spend resources on those other slides. Also, the more messages are shown to a person the harder the choice is going to be. That also counts for carrousels. People click less when there are more options available instead of just one.
So why are carrousels so popular? Because it ads dynamic to the website and dynamic elements are better than static. “Otherwise the homepage is too boring” is what you often hear. But what would you rather have? A homepage that converts or a homepage that you thinks is pretty? You should always go for the option that is best for your visitors and the bottom line of your organisation.
Stop using humongous headers
A lot of websites use the space at the top to display a big logo, navigation bar or some kind of sphere image. What happens is that the real content that matters to your visitors is pushed down. Neglecting on the opportunity to show this immediately to people who land on the homepage. Visitors do not come to your website to check out the navigation bar. The come for the content: your products, services, information and solutions that you offer. The smaller the top bar the better.
One of the arguments we hear often for using such headers is that it’s the place where the branding is. It’s not. Branding is in every element of your website and the other channels your business is active on. Branding goes way beyond the header of the website.
On the website of Apple the navigation bar is taking up barely any room. All the attention goes immediately to the product. That’s where the branding is. Not in the top bar.
Be extremely clear on what users need to do
You can never be clear enough. This is one of the basic principles of usability. The more clearer something is, the more it is going to be used. For example if something is clickable, make it clear that it’s clickable.
Never overestimate your visitors. And we mean this in a good sense. Don’t use yourself as a reference because you know to much already to be a good benchmark. It is good to literally take your visitor by the hand. We never heard someone complain that a website was to simple to navigate.
Show the visitor the way. Tell them what to do so they will reach there goals faster.
Make the process of choosing as easy as possible
This is especially relevant for e-commerce businesses. On a page with products that are quite similar to each other (for example speakers, vacations, mobile phones, …) users want to be able to choose the for them most relevant option. It is user-unfriendly to have to click on every item to see what it is about exactly. Then click on the previous page and click on the next item etc. People do not have the patience to check out the whole inventory one by one. They want to find what they need as fast as possible.
That’s why it is important to give enough information on the overview page. Information that is important for your visitors and helps them choosing the right product. Tools like Google Analytics, Mixpanel and Hotjar help you understand what the most important criteria are for your users. The better you know your potential customers, the better you can adept to what it is they want. And the more you sell. One of the best examples of this is the Dutch e-commerce business: Coolblue.
At every product the most relevant features are shown plus you have the option to add the product to a ‘comparison’. Also note that the criteria are the same with every product so you can compare them in the blink of an eye.
Use a comforting message alongside every button
A call to action literally means doing something on the website (after pressing the button of course). Placing an order, subscribing to a newsletter or navigating to another page. A lot of people therefore hesitate before they press the CTA. A comforting message in the area of the button helps overcoming any hesitation.
These is an example of booking.com With this button they have one simple but effective comforting messages to optimize the decision making process. It is about taking away friction. Make your customer feel confident in choosing your product.
Repeat your call to action at the bottom of the page
On a lot of web-pages the call to action is placed at the top. While this is the best place, it is even better to also place the same CTA at the bottom of the page. The more a visitor scrolls down the page, the more interested he or she becomes. Somebody that scrolls all the way down to the bottom of the page is likely to be convinced of the value of your offering. The only thing left to do is make it easy for that person to place the order. In a case description of Suzuki, people clicked on the CTA at the bottom of the page 3,5 times more that at the top of the page. In a similar case at IBM, 70% of leads come in thru the calls-to-action at the bottom of the landing pages.
To recap these are our 6 tips to increase the conversions on your website.
1. Never use carrousels
2. Stop using humongous headers
3. Be extremely clear on what users need to do
4. Make the process of choosing as easy as possible
5. Use a comforting message alongside every button
6. Repeat your call to action at the bottom of the page
We hope to have given you some value on how to increase conversions on your website. We would highly appreciate if you let us know what you think in the comments and give us a like if you gained some new insights.
And as always, if you like to talk more or brainstorm about a concept you are working on contact us here.
