What’s the most important part of a website? Many people would argue that it’s the web design, while others would say that it’s the content. Both of these are important but, if you own a business and have a website for it, you have to realize that the design and content of your site are useless if you don’t know how to use calls to action.

Basically, calls to action are web elements that tell people what to do. They encourage people to go to a certain webpage, input their email address to receive a newsletter, place their order for products, and do other things. Without these elements, potential customers will end up wandering around your site and will eventually abandon it due to confusion and frustration, and you’ll lose the chance to generate leads or even close a sale.

Fortunately, creating or highlighting calls to action in your website isn’t as difficult as it seems. If you need help getting started, here are a few tips you can use:

Avoid vague calls to action

At first glance, calls to action are incredibly easy to write; after all, you only have to tell people what to do! But don’t just stop at saying “Download a Free E-Book” or “Click Here to Sign Up for Newsletter”. If you want to convince people to take action, you have to explain why they should take action. Why should they want to download that e-book? Why should they sign up for your newsletter? Why should they do anything you say? People don’t want to waste their time on unnecessary things (yes, even if they’re free), so you must have a good explanation as to why they should follow your call to action.

Follow the “Above the Fold” rule

Most people who browse through the web are in a hurry, and they won’t waste time scrolling down to the very bottom of your page just to find what they need. Because of this, you have to place your calls to action above the fold to ensure your customers can easily find them.

Put calls to action after blog posts

Aside from putting calls to action on the top fold, you should also place them at the bottom of your blog posts (particularly lengthy ones). People who read your blog posts to the end can’t be counted on to scroll up to above the fold, so your calls to action should be right where they can see them. In fact, it’s more advantageous for you; since there’s typically a lot of white space at the end of a blog post, you’ll have more space to create an eye-catching call to action.

Experiment with colors

Words matter in creating attention-grabbing calls to action, but colors play a huge role, too. So, see to it your “call to action” buttons will stand out and can be easily noticed by your readers. Avoid using colors that fade into the background and will render these buttons essentially unnoticeable and useless.

Pay attention to context

Context is important in designing your website. If your blog post talks about pet insurance, you’ll want to add pictures of cute dogs and cats, not of huge bulldozers and other earthmoving equipment. The same principle holds true for your calls to action: you need to ensure that they match the content of your page. If your content is about “fitness tips for busy moms”, it wouldn’t make sense if your call to action urges people to download your e-book about “budgeting strategies for pregnant women”.

Use these strategies now to make the most of your calls to action! Need help creating a great call to action? Contact us today!