Website Design Principles That Increase Conversion Rates

Having an attractive and modern website design is not enough to increase your online conversion rates. You also need website design that adopts tried and tested principles.

Below are some of the things a website designer will consider when their focus is on increasing your conversions.

Present the Value Proposition Well

Your business must first have a value proposition that will be appealing to customers. If it doesn’t, conversion-focused website design will make no difference.

For businesses that have a good value proposition, the website must present this succinctly and in a way that appeals to visitors.

Distraction-Free Pages

Pages should be free from distractions and you should present as few choices as possible to visitors. This is because the more choice that people have, the less likely they are to make a decision.

Crucially, white space on a website is okay. Simply filling up sections with content for the sake of removing white space is likely to reduce conversions.

Easy to Use

Your website should be intuitive to the point a visitor should be able to use it without having to think about how or what they should do. This applies to mobile users as much as desktop users.

In addition, your website should conform to common internet design principles. Examples include putting your logo either in the top left corner or top middle part of the website. Login/logout buttons are most commonly found in the top right, and menus are most commonly found horizontally close to the top of the page. These are just some examples of design principles that will make your website easy to use.

Appeals to the Audience

It’s also important your website appeals to your audience. After all, what works for one type of audience may not work for another. This applies to various design elements and aspects including colours, images used, tone of voice, fonts, and more.

Information Is Easy to Find

Visitors to your website should be able to find what they are looking for easily. This primarily means having clear and easy to follow navigation and menus. A good search function can also help, particularly if you sell multiple products on your website.

The Most Important Content Is the Most Visible

The most important content of a page should be close to the top of the page. The most important section of this part of the page is the first two-thirds reading left to right.

Content that should be in this section include (depending on what you offer):

• Key selling points
• Benefits to the customer
• Value proposition (low-cost, excellent service, high-quality etc)
• Price
• Options (size, colour, etc)
• Call to action
• Conversion button

The above information can be expanded further down the page. In fact, it’s probably a good idea from an SEO perspective to have plenty of content on the page. The most important things need to be at the top, though.

Number of Clicks Kept to a Minimum

When a visitor is converting (making a purchase, filling in a form, etc), they should be able to do this with as few clicks as possible. The more clicks you have, and the more complicated the process, the more likely they are to leave before completing it.

Think About the Visitor

With all the above, the focus should always be on the visitor to your website. If you want to increase conversions, they are all that matters.