How to increase website conversion rate
Your website’s hero section is the first thing visitors see - and it can make or break their decision to stay. In this post, we cover the best website design practices to grab attention, communicate value instantly, and increase conversions.
In this article we will talk about the things you can do today that will help capture the attention of your website visitors and can also help increase your conversions from your site. We will stick with the things that can be done to the hero section as this is arguably the most important part of the site because it's the first thing users see when visiting your site. Here are 5 things you can implement today:
1. Clear headline
This is the first thing users read when visiting your site. A good practice is to keep it 4-7 words that briefly describes what you do. If you're a local service business you might want to include your location in the headline for SEO purposes. Don't try to be fancy or unique. Make it clear what your business does. Here are some example of good headlines for a local kitchen and bathroom company:
- Transform your house into a home
- Your dream kitchen and bathroom starts here
- Discover your new kitchen and bathroom at...
- Eco-friendly kitchens and bathrooms
2. Strong call-to-action
Usually this will be placed below the headline. Depending on what action you want visitors to take, here are some good ones you can use:
- Book a call
- Get in touch
- Get started
- Contact us
The idea here is that you want to reduce the amount of friction between the action you want users to take and the effort required to take that action. It's a good idea to have a sticky contact button at the top of the page to reinforce them to take action.
3. Trust/Social proof
Including your best testimonials from customers will show that you know what you're doing or that your product works. Think of when you are searching for a local service business and you land on their website and there are no signs of testimonials or reviews anywhere, or even on Google there are limited reviews. You are much less likely to buy from them compared to a business that has 50+ reviews on Google and has them clearly on their site. This is one of the best things you can do to boost your conversions. It's always a good idea to include another CTA after this section.
4. Clear navigation
Having a clear navigation on your website is essential for many reasons. The main ones include:
- Allows website visitors to find information easily
- Increases the overall user experience
- Reduces bounce rate and increases engagement
- Allows search engines to crawl the site more easily
A clear and simple navigation is going to be best most of the time. Users don't want to spend their time on your site trying to figure out how to navigate it. Keep it clear and simple. Make sure it is responsive across all screen sizes. This will build confidence and credibility with your visitors.
5. Good quality images
Some businesses use full-screen sized images in heir hero section which is a nice way to enhance the look and feel of the site. However, if these images are low quality or pixelated, it will reverse the effect and make it look cheap and unprofessional. Make sure images are good quality. You can use free online tools such as www.freeconvert.com to convert images to webp format. This format will significantly reduce the image file size and this will increase your page speed and overall user experience.
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