From Fortune 500 companies to amateur bloggers, conversion seems to be the ultimate goal. Unfortunately, conversion is enigmatic due to its dynamic nature. However, there remains a factor that will always help in increasing conversion rate and that is the choice of colors and design.
Learn from the best
We all have been to Amazon.com. Some of us are frequent buyers while others are seasonal. Amazon.com’s layout is simple and the site makes great use of black, and a light and a dark orange. The call-to-action buttons are comprised of black and orange. They may not be the most intriguing in the market but they convert heavily. Their design is sleek and simple. Some interesting features can be learned from Amazon.com:
- Simple and clean design
- The right combination of colors
- Great call-to-action buttons
- Branding
Simple and Clean Design
Most marketers today underestimate the power of a simple appearance. The site sometimes have loads of adverts popping up from every corner of the page. People love images but that doesn’t mean you should fill the whole site with them. They can turn annoying especially Flash images or animated GIFs.
eBay: All necessary information with navigation is placed above the fold
A clean site, which conveys its objective simply, converts wonderfully. In reality, this is actually the hardest thing to achieve. One excellent tip is to provide the most important information above the fold. Call-to-actions should be placed above the fold.
Furthermore, placement of information should not clutter the site. The design and layout should be done with utmost care. Look at eBay and Huffington Post. All necessary information and navigation are placed above the fold. A user upon landing can easily find products or information with few clicks. Moreover, the design is the simplest.
The right combination of colors
Most of the best-converting pages are the ones that have only two color tones – a primary color and a secondary color (apart from black, gray and white). The higher the number of colors indicates more choices available. The greater the number of choices: the less the chances of conversion. Subconsciously too many colors confuse the visitor.
Blue and orange are a good combination
Most widely, the two colors that create the perfect combination are blue and orange. The second combination is orange or red. Then blue and red. These are some of the pairs, which create the most alluring pages over the internet. Let us look at their psychological effect on humans.
Green, White & Brown
White symbolizes purity and neutrality while brown symbolizes all things organic. The color brown brings warmth to the viewer. In fact, Brown is universally enticing color. Since white symbolizes purity, peace, and neutrality, it makes the perfect combination with brown. Green is the color of nature, fertility, life. These colors are perfect for websites covering the environment and green issues.
Black and Orange
Black commands authority whereas orange grabs your attention instantly. Both attract therefore their combination lures the viewer almost instantly. This is the reason why most call-to-actions are made up of black and orange. Amazon and Orange, for instance, are good examples of websites using black and orange.
Blue and Green
Blue is one of the most desirable colors of all. It has been found that people are more productive around the color blue. Green, on the other hand, represents life, nature, fertility, and wellbeing. Their combination creates a soothing environment with a strong message.
Call-to-Action buttons
It’s too easy for designers to over-complicate call-to-action buttons. Some are adorned with overelaborate colors and designs. Some others step a little further and create animated call-to-action buttons. Such buttons will gain clicks only through users who are utterly new to the world of the internet.
Those who are regular buyers know the importance of a professional look. Call-to-action buttons should illustrate authority as well as attracting the buyer. For instance, look at Amazon.com. Isn’t their call-to-action button both appealing and authoritative?
Branding
When branding websites, it isn’t only about logos. It’s about a look-and-feel as well as about color. Consider Problogger, instantly our mind depicts a site with grey and maroon. Take a look at 3Leaps, the color of light pink pops up. Consider Facebook and the color blue comes to our mind. All the above sites and companies use a particular shade, which instantly helps the user to associate the company with that color. This action happens subconsciously.
Interestingly, the branding factor helps in high conversion rate. Generally, the shades that were used for branding are the same for calls-to-action. Instantly, the user relates the call-to-action with the brand. Trust and loyalty to the brand increase.
You can do it!
You can brand, theme and design a high converting website by being very systematic with your design. Start by using wireframes to put the most important information and calls-to-action above the fold. Create a logo and decide on the website’s primary and secondary colors. Decide on a look-and-feel. And, most importantly, stick to these design decisions religiously and carry through your simple, clean and branded look in every piece of design collateral the company puts out.