WWW… Wednesday! Conversion Conscious Web Design

Conversion rates are the metrics used to measure the success of a web design or landing page. The term “conversions” can refer to any number of different goals depending on the purpose of the site. If your goal is to build a large newsletter list, your landing page will be focused on convincing visitors to sign up. In this case, a new subscription would be considered a conversion. If you have an e-commerce site, your goal will be to make sales and your layout will reflect that. In this case, a purchase would be considered a conversion. Think about what it is you want visitors to your site to do. When they do it, that’s considered a conversion.

Naturally, it’s possible to have multiple goals, and visitors may come to the site for different reasons. As such, sites can track multiple different types of conversions of varying degrees of importance. Some services may offer free trials or downloadable resources as a way of ingratiating themselves to the customer. While this may not be quite as significant as a sale, it’s a step in the right direction and can lead to future opportunities. Tracking these sorts of conversions can provide valuable insight into the differences between those who decide to purchase and those still with reservations.

When optimizing a web design for conversions there are some key things to keep in mind. The first of which is your value proposition. What is it that you offer to your visitors? In what way are you different from your competitors? Make sure that your customers have the answer to these two questions within the first moments of visiting your site.

The next thing to check your design for is its alignment with your target demographic. Your value proposition is stated in clear terms but does your messaging register with your customer? Are you speaking to them in a voice they can identify with? Is your page engaging? Is your use of color, shape, and typography working for or against you? The proper voice to utilize in your copy can be difficult to find. Targeting too specific a group of people can alienate those outside of it and trying to speak to too large of a group can come across as boring or void of personality. Having a target demographic, or psychographic is necessary to measure the success of your copy against.

Finally, you need a call to action, perhaps the most harped upon aspect of marketing and for good reason. Without explicit directions, you can’t expect visitors to complete your desired actions. Is it clear what you want your visitors to do? Is the process concise and easy to understand? If you want visitors to sign up for your newsletter, the value proposition should inform them as to why they should, and the form should be primed and ready to go.

Ease of use is of the utmost importance. With all of the other boxes checked, difficulty navigating will prevent even the most gung-ho of your visitors from turning into conversions. Make the process as easy as possible.

If your site is failing to produce conversions, you may have a misalignment in one of the above areas. As you make changes and test their success, use a service like Google Analytics so you can better understand the impact of your various design decisions. It can help you to narrow in on nuances in voice for your copy or help pick the winning color combination. Ultimately, when it comes to conversions, there is no right and wrong, only better. Optimizing for conversions is a never-ending process of trial and error.