About Author
Hello I am Mallory Peek and I write a lot. It's pretty much the main thing I do. My Bachelor's and Master's degrees are in strategic communication. I have a background in journalism & creative writing, more than 5 years of professional writing experience, & a passion for words.
- 30 August 2019
- |Website Development
5 Tips for a Superior Website Call to Action
What’s the point of your website? Whether you are selling a product or service, providing blog content, or offering a platform for visitors to connect, your website has a purpose. You want visitors to do something or buy something when they visit your site.
How do you get website visitors to do what you want them to do? There’s a marketing principle called the call to action. This little tool is your answer to achieving your goals for your website. Crafting the perfect call to action on a website can seem challenging, but if you follow a few guidelines, you will create a call to action that converts.
What is a call to action on a website?
A call to action is content that encourages your website visitor to act. You want them to do something, and this is how you ask them to do it. On a website, a call to action can be a button that leads to a form, an option to add something to a shopping cart or complete checkout, or a link to another page. You get your visitors to fulfill the purpose of your website by providing a call to action.
What is the importance of a call to action on a website?
The importance of a call to action on a website should be obvious. People cannot complete an action if there is not a clear way to do so. How will they know to buy your product or read your blog if you don’t ask them?
Ultimately, your call to action creates conversions. It turns visitors into customers or followers. A call to action on a website moves people from point A to point B in a clear direction. Without a call to action, your site won’t bring in new customers or new followers for your business.
What is the best website call to action?
The best website call to action is clear and concise. Visitors can easily carry out the action you are asking them to do, and it doesn’t take up too much of their time. Calls to action on your website should be visually enticing to attract attention and offer a natural next step, depending on where they are within your website.
As the name implies, a call to action must include some type of action. The best website call to action is one that encourages visitors to fulfill the purpose of your site. They also have to be persuasive and offer some value to your visitors. The payoff for following the call to action has to be worth someone’s time or money.
When it comes to websites, buttons are the most natural form for a call to action. Buttons are easily recognizable across the web, and most people expect something to happen when they click a button. They can be formatted in colors that stand out on your site and carry out a variety of functions. Whether you want visitors to fill out a form or make a purchase, a button is the easiest way to display your call to action.
Links are another option for calls to action on your website. Most people are familiar with links or hyperlinked text that is a different color and underlined on the page. This is a great option is you want to send someone to another page from within your content.
Are there website call to action best practices?
Optimizing your call to action is essential to increase conversions on your website. Follow these website call to action best practices for the most efficient messages.
- Use an action word: Offering a button with the text “Contact Form” is not likely to get much traction. However, adding an action word can spice up the message and tell your visitors exactly what you want them to do. Try adding “submit” to let people know what they are doing on your site.
- Make it stand out: A call to action has to be visible, or it will be overlooked. Try different colors, different fonts, and larger sizing to make it pop on the page.
- Keep it short and sweet: The call to action should be simple. Just a few words are usually enough to convey your message. This is especially true for text within a button.
- Make it urgent: People are more likely to carry out an action if it feels urgent or important. Adding words like “now” or “today” to your call of action encourage visitors to act quickly instead of leaving your site.
- Make it the only option: You just need one primary call to action on a page. There are probably additional things you can direct visitors to, but make sure your main call to action is the most apparent thing on the page. If people have too many choices, they may abandon your site instead of making a decision.
Now that you know the basics of creating a superior website call to action, it’s time to put that knowledge into practice. Decide what you want visitors to do when they are on a page of your website. Use that goal as the core of your call to action and provide an easy way for customers to fulfill this goal.
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