Have you ever seen buttons on websites that are overemphasized, like one of those buttons with the bright red color stating, “Order Now to Save 50% on Your Next Purchase”? These buttons are called “Call to Actions” or CTAs.
They hold great importance in web design due to their ability to draw people’s attention. That’s basically what CTAs are. They are buttons that grab people’s attention for a particular reason.
Another reason why CTAs are so important is because they enhance user engagement and help achieve goals, such as conversions. CTAs help with user engagement because they speed up the loading process. CTAs are like obvious shortcuts to get to specific locations in websites. The exaggerated buttons provide a more likely chance for people to press on them, which helps in achieving conversion goals.
Key Elements of an Effective CTA
What is needed for an effective CTA?
The basic necessities include clear buttons that express a sense of urgency. Also, they must be located in a visible area of the website. Would you like to see an extremely brightly colored button placed in the middle of the screen? Probably not.
This is why it’s important to make sure that your CTAs are placed at an appropriate location that makes the button remain visible. Also, the colors shouldn’t be too bright to look at or too dark to read the words on the button. The location and the colors have to be balanced in such a way that creates a sense of urgency.
Examples of Successful CTAs
Look at the image above. This is a common CTA that you’ll see in Youtubers’ videos. Now obviously, you can’t click the button on the video to subscribe. Instead, it is a reminder or a request for you to subscribe to their channel.
The red color signifies urgency or action. The letters and the bell icon are clear to see. Typically, YouTubers show these buttons in the middle of their videos, which is when the audience is engaged in watching the videos. Not only is their timing correct, but the location, the colors, and the visibility make the CTA more effective than it already is.
I can’t show an image of an actual website for copyright purposes. However, I can use the image from above to explain what a successful use of CTAs looks like. As you can see in the image, there are 6 buttons on the right that immediately grab your attention. The icons represent the following: product description, “add to cart”, etc.
The colors, the placement, and the clear visibility make the buttons stand out so well. This will not only raise the likeliness for this business to earn lots of money, but also help it earn money faster.
Strategies for A/B Testing and Optimizing CTAs
For the ones who don’t know what A/B testing is, I will give a quick explanation. A/B testing is when two versions of the same webpage are compared. This is done to analyze the loading speed and other aspects related to accessibility and user experience.
Five Quick Steps for Strategic A/B Testing
These steps are strategies taken from hotjar.com.
- Form a hypothesis
- Forming a hypothesis will give clarity about what exactly should be tested, and what the result could possibly be.
- An example taken from Netflix is, “Showing members the Top 10 experience will help them find something to watch, increasing member joy and satisfaction.“
- Select an A/B testing tool
- Set up the experiment
- The things that you want to test about the website should be changed and saved as the second version. The original website will remain the same because it will be the control group. Then, do the test.
- Analyze the A/B test results
- View the session recordings of the experiments
Optimizing CTAs
Again, as mentioned earlier in this blog, there are a few things to consider about CTAs for good optimization. Make sure the color isn’t too extreme, but still gives the “feel” or urgency. Make sure the letters and icons are visible. Make sure the button is located in an appropriate location on the website.
How Different Types of CTAs are Used
If your website contains a lot of information about something, then keep a “Read More” or “More Info” CTA.
Share your social media account through “Social Sharing” CTA.
Create a sense of urgency in consumers by having the “Buy Now” CTA in your website.
Summary
CTAs are overemphasized buttons to grab people’s attention. To have good and effective CTAs in your website, make sure the CTA has a “urgent color”. Also, make sure that the button is visible by placing it at an appropriate location and having clear text. Examine your website through the “A/B Test”, and know what types of buttons are used for specific websites.