Through years of testing, we have spotted some common design patterns in key areas that boost website conversions. They are simple tweaks you can make to your website without having to completely rethink the user experience. You’ll discover ways to improve your forms, build trust with your users, strengthen your actions and copy, and sell more online.

Better forms

#1 Fewer form fields

Keeping the number of form fields to a minimum and trimming away the unnecessary optional fields consistently shows an increase in lead generation. Providing the remaining mandatory fields only, will ensure your sales team have adequate qualification for leads, and you’ll see the difference.

#2 Multi-step forms

Spreading long forms over numerous steps has shown proven success for form completion. It’s daunting for users to see a 10+ field form with multi-selections and drop downs, and makes them think twice about filling it out. Break it down for them – make forms less tiresome.

#3 Canned responses

Who really loves filling in enquiry forms? By using predictive messages based on a user request, you can cut down the amount of time a user spends writing messages. Think property or job sites, where a pre-empted message is written for the user after selecting something, and they can add, amend or do nothing to the message field.

Build trust

#1 Social proof

If you have high traffic, using counters to show the number of people interacting with a piece of content, action or asset can instantly give users more confidence and trust in what you’re offering.

#2 Bulleted reassurances

Whenever you ask something of the user – whether it be providing details, paying online or clicking a call to action – the user can feel more at ease when you support the action with highlights or reassurances.

#3 Customer review timelines

Social proof through reviews – especially powered by a reputable review site – can offer a major boost in user trust, providing you have decent reviews. By adding a chronological timeline of reviews, users can see an open account of the product or service consistency.

More action

#1 Sticky actions

Fixing call-to-actions (CTAs) to the bottom of a browser window will preserve the space at the top of the page for key content, whilst ensuring it’s visible at all times.

#2 Above ‘the fold’

Always place a CTA ‘above the imaginary fold’ or, to put it another way, make it visible when the page loads on any device. Approximately 80% of attention is placed on this area in most cases, so make it count with a key action.

#3 Explain what the button will do

Try to incorporate copy into your buttons, that tells the user what will happen next. Try “Send Your Enquiry” rather than “Submit”; or “Start Your Free Trial” as opposed to ‘Sign Up”. When users aren’t sure of what lurks around the corner, it will deter them from clicking.

Use your words

#1 Empowering headlines

Users tend to dislike it when you talk at them, and use language that dictates their journey. Use empowering language in your headlines to set the user free on your site and inspire them to take action.

#2 More-for-less headlines

Do (something incredible) for only (£value). Open with a statement of incredible value to the user, and follow it with a reasonable numerical value to create the “more-for-less” mentality and increase conversions.

#3 Benefit-led labels

Combine feature information with benefits to add more value to the content. “Do something cheaper with…” or “Do something faster with…” will help users to see the true value of a product or service proposition.

Sell more online

#1 Grid view

Grid views in search results have generally tested better than list views when it comes to user interaction. Grid views offer more results in a given space and more truncated information so the user has less to process.

#2 Cart reminders

Prevent losing sales through cart abandoning. The internet is a huge place and users can get easily distracted when shopping. By using a non-intrusive reminder like a footer pop up bar or cart icon interaction, you can give users a little nudge towards checking out before they’re gone forever.

#3 Expiry countdowns

When there is a sense of urgency (even superficial), impulse sets in, and users can be encouraged to take action against the clock. It could be a deal countdown, a cart or basket refresh or limited access to an asset – when the timer runs down, users jump into action.

More? Okay then, here are three more interesting things you can try to increase online sales conversions

  • Coupon Codes: Remove them from the checkout to deter deal hunters from looking elsewhere for codes
  • More Results: Show more search results per page as a default. A/B tests show that users browse for longer when they don’t need to frequently use pagination and wait for the page to reload.
  • Pricing Tables: Try putting the most expensive option first in your pricing tables. Think ‘mobile-first’ and it may just make that middle option look all the more attractive.

Want to find out more? Find out how we can help you with creative web design.