Website development has become less about complicated coding over the last decade. Now, you don’t have to speak a foreign coding language to create a professional web design. As creating a website is more accessible than ever, web design has become somewhat of its own genre of art.


While having an aesthetically appealing website is important for every business owner, the ultimate goal should be creating website designs that convert. After all, no matter how beautiful a website is, it’s a sitting duck unless you convert visitors into clients. Creating website designs that convert doesn’t require a PhD in psychology. In order to accomplish website designs that convert and are artistically attractive, you just need to understand a few basic principles.

Four Principles for Building Website Designs That Convert

1. All design elements should lead the eye to the call-to-action.
   A call-to-action is the button, link, or form that leads your visitors to the next step in the conversion process. Common call-to-action buttons are: “Join Now,” “Contact Us,” “Request More Information.” Since these buttons are the ultimate goal that you want to lead your visitors to, they should be the most visible part of your webpage.
   
   
   Your call-to-action should always be “above the fold” (the term “above the fold” is web design jargon that means it can be seen without having to scroll down). This ensures the conversion button is accessible to visitors without having to search for it. We like to put the call-to-action in a bold container to make it stand out more, once again, so it is the more distinctive part of the page.




2. Plan your color scheme to promote conversion.
   
   The psychological impact of color schemes is something that has been talked about for decades. Studies show that color is 80% of brand recognition and 85% purchase decisions.
   
   
   The color scheme used in your website could have an impact on the reaction the visitor has while looking at it. Bold colors like red, orange, and black promote impulse purchases, while more subtle tones like pink, sky blue, or lilac are often effective at attracting “research-driven” consumers. Even if you don’t buy into the psychological impact of colors, your color scheme should contribute to an organized website that is easy to navigate. For example, your call-to-action should absolutely be a color that contrasts with the background, making it easily visible.
3. Don’t be afraid of white space.
   Imagine you are at a store and ready to pay for your goods. The problem is, you cannot find the cash register. You might spend about ten seconds searching for a way to buy your products before getting frustrated and leaving without buying anything. This concept crosses over into web design. If it is not obvious and convenient to take the next step in the conversion process, your potential customer will give up and abandon your website.

   From a design perspective, you might feel like white space adds nothing to your website. However, it contributes an extremely valuable element: the white space on your website makes rest of the design stand out more. Be generous with white space to make the things your want your visitors to focus on more obvious. Not to be a broken record, but the thing you want your visitor to focus on the most is your call-to-action. In other words, use a lot of white space around your call-to-action.

4. Create a visual hierarchy.
   The visual hierarchy is the natural pattern that the the eye follows when looking at something for the first time. When a visitor comes to your page for the first time, perhaps you want them to read a quick overview of the features of your product, and then to see an image of it so they can visualize it, and then maybe a little more information before gracefully ending up at the call-to-action. As English speakers, our eyes are trained to follow the direction we read in: left to right and then down. Arrange the elements of your website to follow this pattern in the order you want visitors to look at them to land on a conversion.

Do you have any other tips for creating a web design that converts? Please share with us below!