The Top 4 Most Effective Web Design Elements for Converting Traffic

Web design is constantly evolving, thanks to innovative technology and changing approaches to marketing. But what stays the same is the ultimate goal of a good website: conversions. An effective website doesn’t need a ridiculous amount of bells and whistles to secure conversions; in fact, less is often more. 

We’re not here with just any old list of emerging trends. No, we’ve got something better lined up for this post: actionable tips for conversion focused web design. Here are some of the most effective website design elements for attracting your target audience and converting traffic. 

Mobile Functionality

It’s important to look at your existing metrics and understand the audience within your industry. What do your ideal customers want, and how do they go about searching for it? 

For the most part, a significant amount of traffic comes from mobile. People want to start and end their journey on their phones, particularly when they’re on the go and find themselves dealing with crisis medical or legal situations. To prepare for all of that traffic, be sure to design with mobile in mind. That means optimizing your site so that mobile users visit a responsive, interactive page that loads quickly and correctly. Ultimately, increasing usability in this way will increase conversions and help you capture that audience that was once slipping through your fingers.

Chat Features

Optimizing for forms, once absolutely necessary, is now a dated concept. Consider this: a potential client may visit your site and fill out your contact form. But while they’re waiting for you to get back to them, they may get in touch with another business, one where someone is available to chat online immediately. In 2016, 42 percent of law firms took three or more days to respond to a form fill or a voicemail. Imagine the leads you could take advantage of if you enable a live chat feature and connect with your potential customers instantly! 

We’re not talking about chatbots here—in a lot of cases, those AIs only function as a bandage covering up deeper site navigation issues. No, when we say “chat feature,” we really mean a live chat function built into a website. This feature immediately connects prospective clients with a human being who can answer their questions and get their information down. 

Simplicity

At the end of the day, the key to web design, an increased conversion rate, and a completed customer journey is simple: it’s simplicity! Don’t make visitors to your site jump through hoops to get where they want to go or to satisfy your requirements—because they won’t stick around to do either. Instead, utilize your website design to point them in the right direction.

So, what do you want them to do? Download a white paper? Fill out a contact form? Watch a video? Once you identify your desired action or actions, go about making the prompts on your site as clear and easy to understand as possible. That might mean making buttons larger, changing the location of certain pages, or removing extraneous information.

If you want a potential client to call you, make that the driving purpose behind your site’s design. Put your phone number right at the top of every page. Work in the ability to click to call. Create a picture of a phone to put right by your contact info, or consider having your phone number scroll along with users as they navigate down a page. By simplifying your site design, you’ll also streamline the conversion process, increasing the chances of converting visitors. 

White Space

White space is another design element that works in concert with the idea of simplicity. Also called negative space, the term refers to the empty space that surrounds all of the other elements on your site. That means the blank spots between lines of text, empty room in your header, and space between clickable elements. When utilized correctly, white space provides a breath of fresh air, giving the visitor room to breathe and directing him or her to the most important elements on a page—most likely your contact information. 

Take a minute and let your eyes roam over your existing website. What elements draw the eye? Are there too many clamoring for attention, or do you have enough white space to give users a break while guiding them to the desired destination? If your page is too crowded, it’s time to reach out to a web designer who can help.    

Optimize Your Website with Ten Golden Rules

We can’t all be website designers and developers. But we just so happen to have some top-notch ones here at Ten Golden Rules. If you’re looking for help with information design, website usability, or visual design, contact us today. We’ll get your website up to speed and optimized to create the ideal user experience.