"Will the customer understand the call to action?"
"Create a subtle call to action."*
What exactly does a "call to action"' mean, and how do you do it? Well, it's easier than you think. A "call to action" is a critical place on a screen that encourages a person to click on an item to accomplish a task. This task is typically one that's both good for the customer and fulfills a business objective. Video demonstrations with a nearby click-to-buy button are one type of call to action designers use to encourage site visitors to "take the next step."
Five Components to a Call to Action
There are five key components to creating an effective call to action:
- Good writing that tugs on a person. Content should motivate and encourage follow-through.
- Solid contrast to other items on the page. People tend to focus more clearly on the areas of a website that have strong contrast.
- Good use of color. While there is no "tried and true" method to picking the right colors, poor choices can definitely have a negative effect.
- Page placement. An action that gets lost in a sea of text will cause people to miss the desired action.
- A reason to click. It may not actually be visual, but people actually need a reason to click beyond the business reason.
Our "call to action"' for you is to remember these five ingredients the next time you're deciding how to encourage your site visitors to accomplish a given task.