Having an effective call to action is an essential part of any effective website. A call to action is not just limited to e-commerce sites. Every website should have an objective it wants users to complete whether it is filling in a contact form, signup for a newsletter or volunteering their time.
A call to action provides…
- Focus to your site
- A way to measure your sites success
- Direction to your users
Here are a few techniques which help achieve just that.
1. Lay the groundwork
Before a user is willing to complete a call to action they have to recognise the need. Infomercials do this very well. Before they ask people to respond, they first identify a problem and present a product that solves that problem.
You also need to communicate the benefits of responding. What will the user get out of completing the call to action?
Take for example the VoIP service Skype. Immediately above their call to action (a download button) they have the following text:
2. Offer a little extra
Sometimes you may have to sweeten the deal to encourage users to complete a call to action.
Incentives could include discounts, entry into a competition or a free gift.
3. Have a small number of distinct actions
It is also important to be focused in your calls to action. Too many and the user becomes overwhelmed. Studies in supermarkets have shown that if the shopper is presented with too many varieties they are less likely to make a purchase.
By limiting the number of choices a user has to make we reduce the amount of mental effort. Effectively you guide the user around the site step by step.
The number of appropriate actions will vary from site to site. However, it is not so much the number of actions as the distinctiveness of each.
4. Use active urgent language
A call to action should clearly tell users what you want them to do. They should include active words such as:
- Call
- Buy
- Register
- Subscribe
- Donate
All of these encourage users to take an action.
To create a sense of urgency and a need to act now, these words can be used alongside phrases such as:
- Offer expires March 31st
- For a short time only
- Order now and receive a free gift
5. Use an alternative colour
Color is an effective way of drawing attention to elements, especially if the rest of the site has a fairly limited palette. Of course never rely solely on colour because many users are colour blind and will not see the contrast.
7. Make it big
As web designers we often get annoyed with clients who ask us to make things bigger. It is certainly true that size isn’t everything. We have already established that position, colour and white space are equally important.
However it cannot be denied that size does play a large part. The bigger your call to action, the more chance it will be noticed.
8. Carry the call through
Finally, consider what happens when a user does respond to your call to action. The rest of the process needs to be as carefully thought through as the call to action itself.
One particular word of warning – if you require users to provide personal data about themselves, resist the temptation to collect unnecessary information.
Marketing people in particular like to build up demographic information. Although I can appreciate the value of this, it brings a danger users will drop out of the process.
Conclusions
An effective call to action is the linchpin of a successful site and involves drawing together best practice in usability, creative visual design and powerful copy writing.
However, if it is done right it can generate real measurable return on investment and in the current economic climate that is what we all want. As always, if you need help. Drop us a line.
