What is a call to action?
All websites should have a purpose and a call to action helps a
website realise that purpose by guiding a user in a certain
direction.
Calls to action help:
- focus your website on your business goals
- guide website users through your website
- give you a way to measure website goals
What makes a good call to action?
Context
In the MailChimp example above the designer has given
information about the service before prompting the user to "Sign Up
Free". If the button wasn't preceded by text that explained the
service people wouldn't know what they were signing up for. People
should know what to expect when following a call to action.
Language
Calls to action should include the action you want the user to
take such as:
- register
- sign up
- take
- request
- buy
It is also a good idea to make a call to action button have
persuasive language such as:
Design
You want people to notice your call to action buttons so they
should stand out on the page. They should be obvious so making them
look like buttons make it clear that you want people to click on
them. On Basecamp's homepage the primary call to action is right
there when the user loads the page, no need to scroll to see where
to go next, the call to action button hits you in the face and
jumps off the page.
Conclusion
A call to action can be a great way to guide a user through your
website to help them achieve their goals and ultimately help the
website achieve its goals.
Thanks to Lee
Munroe and
Paul Boag for the inspiration for this post.
Call to action button gallery
