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Good calls to action (CTAs) can make all the difference when it comes to getting your potential customers to take action and convert. As Eric Ries, author of “The Lean Startup” noted, “Designing effective call-to-action buttons is one of the most undervalued disciplines in web design…but arguably one of the most important.”
With that in mind, we put together this guide to help you build more effective CTAs through thoughtful design. Let’s get started.
Designing an effective CTA
Design plays a major role in CTA effectiveness. To ensure that your CTA stands out and drives clicks, you should make sure to use bright colors and contrast them against the background. Use an easy-to-read serif font, so users can quickly scan it and understand what action they need to take. Finally, keep the CTA copy concise—try limiting it to only a few words—so users can easily grasp the message and destination of the button.
Coloring your CTA buttons
Coloring CTA buttons is an important part of CTA design. For best results, you should use a single, bright color to draw attention to the CTA button and help it stand out. Avoid using colors that are similar to your brand’s standard palette, as these may blend in with their surroundings on your homepage and fail to attract the desired attention.
Additionally, avoid gradient coloring—using two or more hues of the same basic color—as this can be visually distracting and make CTA buttons hard to read. When in doubt, stick with bold and vibrant colors for CTA buttons so they can be easily identified by users and encourage clicks.
Research suggests that CTA buttons with a bright orange hue are the most effective, resulting in up to 34% more clicks than CTA buttons with blue or green hues. Additionally, CTA buttons should always have a contrasting color from their surroundings so they can be easily identified and clicked by users.
Adding visual cues to CTA buttons
In addition to using bright colors, CTA buttons should also include visual cues that draw attention and help direct users to the desired action. You can accomplish this by adding arrows or other visuals—like a “play” icon for videos, an “info” icon for product pages, and so on—to CTA buttons. This will help users quickly identify exactly what they need to click in order to complete their desired action.
In addition to good CTA design, hover states can also be used to drive click-through rate and conversions. A CTA hover state is when a CTA button changes color or size when the user hovers their mouse over it. This helps draw attention to the CTA button and encourages users to click on it.
Studies have found that CTA hover states can drive up to 50% more clicks than CTA buttons without hover states. For best conversion rates, CTA hover states should use bright colors and contrast against the CTA button’s background color. Additionally, CTA hover states should be used in moderation. Avoid using too many hover states outside of CTA buttons on a single page, as this can be visually distracting and decrease CTA effectiveness, similar to excessive use of pop-ups.
Optimal shape and size Of CTA buttons
CTA buttons should typically be round or rectangular with a width-to-height ratio of 1:1. Additionally, CTA buttons should not be too large and overwhelming—they should occupy no more than one-third of the page’s width to maximize CTA effectiveness. Finally, CTA buttons should have plenty of padding around them to make sure they stand out and are easily clickable.
Making CTA buttons mobile friendly
To ensure that CTA buttons are visible on mobile devices, make sure to keep the CTA copy short and limit the CTA button size. An optimal CTA length for mobile is three words or fewer, as longer CTAs can appear cluttered on smaller screens and be difficult for users to read. Additionally, use larger CTA buttons when possible—optimal button size should be between 44px and 88px—so they’re easy to click on a touchscreen device.
CTA design has a huge impact on conversions. CTA buttons should be colored with bright and vibrant hues, include visual cues to draw attention, have an optimal shape and size, and be mobile-friendly. Following these guidelines will help ensure that CTA buttons are effective in driving conversions to your landing page.
By taking the time to craft CTA buttons that are designed for maximum user engagement, you can ensure that users quickly understand the CTA and are encouraged to click, helping you maximize conversions. With the right CTA design strategy in place, CTA buttons can be a powerful tool for driving conversions and increasing ROI.
What’s the best placement for CTA buttons?
CTAs should be placed in areas of the page where users are most likely to take action—that is, locations that indicate a desire or intent to complete an action. For example, CTA buttons can be placed at the end of a block of text, following headlines and descriptions, or beside images with relevant CTA copy.
Additionally, CTA buttons can be placed at the top of a page so that they are one of the first things visitors see and are constantly in view.
Placing persistent CTAs
CTAs should also be placed strategically throughout a webpage—ideally, CTA buttons should be within a “fold-and-a-half” of each other and spaced evenly across the page. This ensures that CTA buttons are consistently visible to users as they scroll down the page, encouraging them to take action.
Mobile CTAs
Creating CTA buttons for mobile sites can be a bit more challenging than creating CTA buttons for desktop sites, as screen sizes are much smaller and CTA placement is often inconsistent. To ensure CTA buttons are consistently visible on mobile devices, you can place CTA buttons in the header or footer of your page so they’re always in view.
Additionally, CTA buttons should be placed strategically within key pages such as product and services pages—ideally above the fold and with plenty of padding around them to make sure they stand out. Finally, CTA copy should be kept short on mobile devices—it should consist of three words or fewer to avoid cluttering the page.
Analyzing CTA performance
Analyzing CTA performance is one of the best ways to drive conversions. By using analytics tools such as Google Analytics and other third party analytics tools, you can track CTA performance and uncover insights that can inform CTA design and placement decisions.
For example, analyzing CTA data can help determine which CTA buttons are generating the most clicks and conversions, allowing you to make adjustments where necessary. Looking at CTA heatmaps and user recordings will give you an idea of how users are interacting with CTA buttons on your website. This data can provide valuable insights into CTA button placement and whether or not changes need to be made to increase click-throughs.
Finally, tracking A/B testing results will allow you to fine-tune CTA design and placement to ensure CTA buttons are optimized for maximum conversions. By tracking CTA performance data, you can make sure your CTA buttons are driving the right kind of conversions.
In praise of the mighty CTA button
CTA buttons are a key element of any website as they allow users to take action and complete desired tasks. To ensure CTA buttons are effective in driving conversions, they should be placed strategically throughout a webpage and optimized for mobile devices.
Additionally, CTA performance should be consistently monitored to find the best placements and refine CTA design for maximum conversions. Connect with a top-rated UX designer to test, measure, and refine the effectiveness of your most important calls to action across your website.
With the right CTA placement and optimization tactics, you can make sure your CTA buttons are driving the desired results.