So it’s time. Your site is designed, the content has been added, you have your pages in place, and now it’s time to release your site to the world. But wait! Did you check everything? Here’s a little 9-point guide to help make sure you tied all the loose ends, and dotted all the I’s.
1. Favicon
Did you know that you can add a favicon to your site? What is a favicon you ask? It’s that little graphic in the URL box. This can be your logo, your picture, or just about anything.
Last week, we introduced Call to Action buttons (CTAs) as a great tool to help increase conversions on your small business website. This week we will give you some techniques to maximize effectiveness and boost sales! Read on for some great tips from our Brand Manager and Creative Director, Joe Deobald.
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Group the Elements
Grouping elements together is a great way to help emphasize the importance of the CTA button. In the example below, the text above the button helps earn the visitor’s trust – giving a sense of “it’s safe to click.” The whitespace to the right helps to separate blocks of elements from each other, allowing for a clear indication that they are different.
Due to popular demand, today we kick off a new series of posts: Advanced Design Tips with Joe Deobald, Brand Manager and Creative Director at CityMax.com.
Call to action buttons: Let your visitors know what’s important
Congratulations! So you’ve finally got your site up and running. You’ve added products and great SEO content, and you’re ready to launch your site. You even have a great offer that you want your site visitors to buy. With Call to Action Buttons (CTAs), you can literally guide your visitors that awesome deal on a hand bag, or to join your special newsletter.
First off: let’s talk about what a CTA actually is. Simply put, it’s a button that tells the user to perform an action like “Buy this now!” or “Learn More…”
Before just throwing any old button up on your site, you need to plan it out. You want it to grab their attention – not just with a bright orange or green, but the text needs to be short, descriptive, and entice them to click. You want to tell them what to expect once they click the button: you need to build trust. Think about the questions and expectations your visitors will ask before making the decision to click. If it’s a free trial, then put that in the CTA.
The old wives’ tale that size matters isn’t a stretch in this context. For website design, the larger the element is, the more important it is. This is a main focus on your website. You need to figure out exactly how important the action is, and design your buttons accordingly.
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