4 Elements of Web Design That Maximize Conversion — Galaxy Weblinks
“Design is a funny word. Some people think design means how it looks. But of course, if you dig deeper, it’s really how it works.” -Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs was spot on when he said good design means good results. This is particularly true when we’re talking about web design. After all why do businesses have websites? To sell. And if your web design isn’t helping you to sell, then you need to fire your designer and look for a new one.
By the way, we’re not talking just selling and getting by, but maximizing your sales potential.
So what can you do when it comes to maximizing your website conversions? I’ll show you four design elements that will convert more of your web visitors into paying customers.
1) F Pattern: Studies have shown that Internet users read content in an F pattern. That is, when a user opens a website for the first time, their eyes are most apt to scan all the way from the left to the right side of the screen, at the very top of the website. As they make their way down the website, their eyes travel less and less further to the right. In effect, this creates a general F pattern.
What does this mean for your business? Maximize your impact by having your most important content laid out in an F pattern.
2) Focus: Another eye-tracking study at Missouri University of Science found that subjects tended to view certain parts of the website more than others. These were:
- Logo
- Main Navigation menu
- Search Box
- Social Networking Links
- Primary Image
- Written Content
- Website Footer
What this means for your website: To get the most return on your efforts, you should focus on your website’s elements in that order.
3) Website Color
When I ask you to associate a color to the emotion and idea of danger… what do you think of? I am betting you think of red, right? Yep. So every color conveys a certain idea and is best used in a certain industry.
KISSmetrics, an analytics company released a fascinating infographic on colors. It denotes what each of the major colors conveys and what type of businesses they are primarily used in:
If you’ve not been living under a rock, you might have noticed that green is used for a lot of wellness products or to denote something about the environment. With black- I’ve seen it used in websites that cater to upscale clients- for example luxury hotel websites.
You can use these color principles to optimize your brand and business- which will increase conversions.
4) Human Photos:
People buy from people, not from companies or corporations. Several research studies have shown that having photographs of humans on websites increased their trustworthiness. And trust is key if you want people to buy products or services from you online.
One anecdotal study was done by Medalia art, a company which sells Brazilian and Caribbean art online. Originally they were using paintings on their Artist’s profiles. But in a bid to optimize their website, they decided to A/B test this element
They replaced the paintings with artist’s real photos and what do you know-conversions increased from 8.8% to 17.2% — an almost 100% increase! It goes to show that human photos do matter.
Now it’s got to be said this isn’t a surefire technique. In fact, in some research studies, human photos had a negative effect. An A/B testing would be the best way to gauge what will work in your business.
While there are many different ways to increase conversion, these four are some of the best-known difference makers. Through these changes, you can potentially double your conversions (or more). Let us know in the comments of your experience with conversion optimization.
Originally published at https://blog.galaxyweblinks.com on May 31, 2014.
