6 Website Design Elements that Boost Conversions

Here at Evenbound, we’re all about function. We don’t believe in beautiful websites that just don’t work. We do believe in great design. Website design can make or break your website. And let’s not forget that your website is at the center of your digital marketing strategy. If you don’t have a great website, you’re not going to see digital conversions. 

Here are a few key website design elements you need to tune-up if you’re looking to boost conversions:

Your web designer has total power to direct your visitors wherever he or she wants. Navigation is a huge component of driving conversions. Those items that you include in your menu bar can make or break a visitor’s experience on your site. They’re also a great way to make it really clear exactly what you do. Navigation is a key website design element that you can optimize specifically for the purpose of increased conversions.

If you’re building a website and you want to optimize conversions, minimize what’s on your top navigation menu. If you have 5 different dropdowns with 7 different options each all in the top header, you’re not making it easy for your visitors to figure out where they want to go. 

Try to narrow your navigation down to just a few options, and make sure that at least one of those options leads to a contact page or a click to call link. 

I am going to call out our navigation for a second here because it’s got a cool feature that’s all about conversions. If you hover over the “Let’s Talk” button on our top navigation, you’ll see it pulls up a dropdown. 

All of these actions lead to a conversion, but it offers that contact option in the way that best suits the user. If they’re ready to talk now, they can call us immediately. If they’re busy, they have an option to schedule a meeting or a call whenever is right for them. If they’re on the fence, they can just drop us a line. 

This website design element makes it easy for people to contact us however they want. They have the options they need, but in a way that’s well designed and that doesn’t feel cluttered. 

Let’s be real here. I could write all day, but if we didn’t have a killer layout from our lead designer Laura, you wouldn’t read half of this stuff. Chances are you’re already skimming anyway. Thanks to Laura you’ll at least read the headlines, the stuff in bold, and maybe a few bullet points.

Writing for the web is a different ball game. Audiences just don’t read straight through anything anymore. Study after study has shown that headlines, bold headers, and maybe a few paragraphs get serious attention from the average web browser. Beyond that, I’ve got to come up with something really good to keep your attention.

Design helps out with this A TON. Content layout is a website design element you just can’t overlook.

You’ll notice that well-designed websites do what they can to put out strong content, but accept that most readers aren’t going to hang on every single word. The way your web designer lays out your content has a huge impact on how much of that content gets read. 

The better your layout, the more people will read it. And the longer you have people reading content and sticking to your pages, the more likely you are to get a conversion. 

When people know who you are, they’re comfortable converting. If they make it to your site and say, “oh yeah, I know these guys”, they’re not going to worry over submitting an email address or making a conversion — they’re comfortable enough to just do it. That’s a website design element we like to call branding.

If your site looks totally different from your content on social media or your logo elsewhere, then you will run into problems getting those conversions. People don’t recognize your brand, so they won’t feel comfortable making a conversion.

Again, quality web design can help here. Your designer can create an overarching design that reflects your brand, and carry those same design qualities across all of your digital platforms.

From your profile picture on Facebook to your Instagram feed, it’s important that whenever a potential lead runs into your company, they recognize you immediately as the same company they ran into on your website or somewhere else. 

Your color palette is one of those web design elements that doesn’t need to blow anybody’s mind, but is easily noticed if it’s done wrong. 

When done right, a well-designed website that makes use of an intentional color palette does a great job of encouraging conversions. It’s a web design element that tends to get looked over, but it’s actually quite useful. 

Using pops of color on calls-to-action and important information, you’re working to guide the user’s eye exactly where you want it to go.

Not to toot our own horn here, but our new site is a good example of an intentional color palette. Take a look:

The main colors are bold black and white. In this screenshot of our home page, you can see that the CTA is highlighted in a bright pop of blue. This does the work of drawing attention to that CTA, which is where we want people to go to make a conversion. 

Your color palette can work similarly. Choose options that reflect your brand and your logo, but don’t feel like you need to get crazy. Your color palette should highlight key information and make it easy for visitors to navigate to the places on your site where they can make a conversion. 

White space is a huge web design trend in 2020. It doesn’t just make your website look better, it’s also a great tool to boost conversion. 

White space does a great job of drawing your viewer's attention to wherever you need it. Click To Tweet

It’s also a great way to increase your time on page. If you’ve ever taken a look at the sites of content marketing experts like Neil Patel, you’ll notice they use plenty of whitespace throughout their website, but especially on content-heavy pages like blogs. 

This doesn’t just work to make for an aesthetically pleasing blog. It’s also a key way to increase time on page. The more whitespace you have on content pages, the more people will read. 

Today’s consumer can look at about two or three lines of text at a time. Any more than that is overwhelming. Whitespace works to break up lots of text, guiding those readers farther and farther into your website. 

SEOs and digital marketers know that the longer someone is on your website, the more likely they are to convert. 

If your website isn’t responsive, you’re missing out on a key website design element that will lead to conversions. Responsive design is one of the most basic needs of any website. 

More than half of all internet traffic comes from mobile devices. If your website isn’t designed for those viewers, you’re missing out on a huge portion of qualified leads who could be converting.

Those leads will come to your site, notice it looks terrible on their phone or tablet, and move on to another site that offers the same information in a better format. Then your competition gets that conversion, and you miss out.

It's a shame that I've still got to say it, but if your site isn't responsive, you're losing. Click To Tweet When I say a “responsive site”, I don’t just mean a website that has a mobile version and a desktop version. 

Screens come in so many shapes and sizes. It’s important to ensure that your site is designed to adapt beautifully to any screen in any size. That’s truly responsive design, and that’s design that will boost conversions.

Website design elements can and will boost your conversion rate.

Functional, clear design with an intuitive digital marketing strategy and a website that’s optimized for search engines, is an unstoppable combination that always leads to growth. If you’re not sure why your website isn’t converting, or if you’re looking for ways to boost that conversion rate, let us know. We’re here to help.