If your firm has a website, you most likely want your users to perform some kind of action that is in line with your business goals. That action could be to contact you, to fill out a registration form, to come to your premises, to purchase a product or to download a free report in exchange for their email address. Whatever the action, having clear calls to that action or CTA’s are vital in accomplishing your goals. They also give your user more control over their experience, generating some always welcome good will.
Do your users know what to do on every page of your site?
How often have you been reading something on a firm’s website or blog and come to the end only to find that you have no options. Granted, you could always scroll up to the main navigation and click around, but, let’s face it, we’re lazy, and so is everyone else! Many times your website visitors leave your site, not because they don’t like your firm or don’t think that you would be a good fit, they simply don’t know the next step. There is no clear call to action.
Calls to action are the solution.
As I have stated before, having a clear list of goals for your site is the first step. If you don’t have clear objectives for your site (i.e. increase inquiries through the website) you really are shooting in the dark. With a clear set of goals you can then craft calls to action that point your users to the very thing that you would like them to do. Prioritize your goals and have multiple calls to action if nessesary. Design your site so that higher priority CTA’s are more prominent allowing easy discovery by users. Also, having multiple calls to action can help you pair appropriate content with an appropriate CTA. For example, on your about page you may not want to have a CTA asking the user to leave a comment, however asking them to get in touch might be a perfect fit.
One last thing. Always think win-win with calls to action. Have a benefit for the user and your firm. This has the potential to increase conversions greatly. Give and you shall receive.
Now a real world example:
Want to know what’s in an effective website? Click here to find out.
Subscribe
Like this article? Why not get the latest articles from the Malleck Design Blog sent directly to your RSS reader or Email! It's easy. Just subscribe below:
