Top 5 Surprising Ways Web Design Affects Your Conversion Rates (And How to Boost Them!)

First impressions are crucial and for most companies today, their websites make the first impression for them. Whether you have a blog and a free eBook or an eCommerce web design, the way your website looks and performs is everything. Here’s a look at why conversion rates matter, what web design elements can affect your conversions and just what you can do about it.

Why Are Conversion Rates So Important?

There’s a saying in the web development industry that you can’t “eat likes.” What this means is that while social media shares and web traffic are important, at the end of the day, they’re not going to feed you. Conversions, on the other hand, are your website’s bread and butter. These are the people who are interested in your product or service and have taken whatever action you want them to take on your website, be it making a purchase, downloading an eBook, or signing up for your monthly newsletter.

When it comes to what data you want to pay attention to when making changes to your website, conversion rates top the list.

Does Web Design Affect Conversion Rates?

Factors like what your website looks like and how it functions play a significant role in how well your website is able to convert. Here are some common web design elements that can affect your conversion rates, and what you can do about them:

1. A Lack of Visually Engaging Content

Today’s web users are visually oriented and respond exceptionally well to content that visually engages them. Vivid imagery and video can illustrate your products and services, which help users learn more about what you offer.

How It Affects Your Conversion Rates

If users aren’t visually engaged immediately upon arriving at your website, they’re more likely to bounce. High bounce rates can affect your Google rankings, which in return makes it more difficult for users to find your website. Decreased traffic equals fewer conversions.

Action Tip

Inventory your website’s pages and determine where you could incorporate more visually engaging elements into your web design. Could you add a banner or a featured video to the home page or stock images to blog posts? Make changes where it makes sense to do so.

2. Distracting Elements

The cleaner the website design, the better. Users should know where to click as soon as they get to your website, but ads, unorganised content, large blocks of text, popups, and other distracting elements can cause users to become sidetracked.

How It Affects Your Conversion Rates

If users aren’t sure where to click and are distracted by ads or popups, they may completely miss where you want them to go. This could buy you a lower bounce rate and more time spent on site if users can explore rich content, but if they’re not funnelled appropriately to a lead gen form, you’re not getting sales.

Action Tip

Eliminate unnecessary distractions from your website. Look at your website through the eyes of a visitor and if you don’t immediately see where to go, think about what is in your way. What distracted you or took you away from the sales funnel? Consider asking a few friends to do the same, or use a service that hires anonymous users to evaluate your website.

3. Too-Long Lead Generation Forms

Lead gen forms are a big deal for your website — they’re what users typically fill out when they want to take the next step, such as contacting your company for a quote, downloading an eBook, or signing up for an email list. Your lead generation forms should be as appealing as possible to users who visit your site.

How It Affects Your Conversion Rates

Users don’t want to spend a lot of time inputting information into a form, especially if they’re at the top of the sales funnel and only somewhat interested in the product or service you have to offer. If your lead gen forms are too long, users simply won’t fill them out.

Action Tip

Make your lead generation forms as short as possible. You can reach out to contact the user for more information if you need it to provide an accurate quote or product/service recommendation.

4. An Incomplete Footer

Often, users interested in reaching out to a company will directly bypass forms and scroll straight down to the footer. This is because credible companies usually list their contact information here, including their address, telephone number, and email addresses. They may want to use this information to contact the company directly or to simply verify that the company is legitimate before filling out the form. 

How It Affects Your Conversion Rates

If your footer lacks your contact information, a basic website nav, a sitemap, and copyright information, this can make your website appear poorly put together and worst-case-scenario, make your company appear unofficial. This may discourage users from contacting you or filling out your lead gen form. 

Action Tip

Work with your web dev team to make sure your footer lists all necessary information. If your company’s presence is strictly online, consider purchasing a virtual mailing address. Make sure your company can be contacted by phone, mail, email, or through your form.

5. Poor Quality Content

Today’s users are looking for more than just products and services — they’re looking for information. They have a desire to be educated about their choices and to make an informed decision, and when done well, a website’s content can do just that.

How It Affects Your Conversion Rates

If your content doesn’t answer the basic questions of your primary audience or provide them with value, it’s much more difficult to convert readers into paying customers. 

Action Tip

Include high-quality, robust content in your digital marketing strategy. Publish actionable blog content on a consistent basis and provide users with a “resource centre” where they can learn about your products, services, and other useful information relevant to your target audience.

Does Your Business Need Custom Web Design and Development?

Your website design is more than just a pretty face — it can directly impact your company’s bottom line. When it’s time to redesign your website, you need web design services that take conversion rate optimisation seriously. We’ll help you develop a website design that capture’s your company’s core values and creates the optimal environment to transform users into customers.

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