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Clever Call-to-Action Buttons - How Do You Use Yours?

24 Compulsive and Clever Call-to-Action Buttons



In the field of web design and user experience, Call-To-Action (CTA) refers to those elements within a web page which call on the visitor to take action- more specifically CTA usually refers to the clickable buttons we employ on our webpages to ask visitors to sign up, download or add items to their cart. These buttons, obviously, need to draw the visitors’ attention and are typically eye-catching, colourful and surrounded by plenty of space. However, the trick to designing an effective Call-To-Action button which will maximise conversion opportunities from your site is to tailor your CTA to your specific needs. It’s important to guide your visitors through the buying journey with simple and effective calls-to-action. In case you’re not sure, here are some examples of notably effective Call-To-Action buttons which you can’t help but click:

1)      Evernote
Evernote’s straightforward design and page layout mean that the two most important messages users receive on opening the site are “Remember Everything”, Evernote’s slogan, and their call-to-action asking users to sign up. The minimalist colour scheme means that the green button really pops, too.



2)      Netflix
Netflix’s offer of “Join free for a month” on their shiny red CTA button is tempting enough, but with many people having wised up to the fact that these free sign-up options are often difficult to cancel. Netflix deals with this by clarifying that users can “Cancel anytime” right above their sign-up button, which has no doubt boosted sign-ups in itself.



3)      Dropbox
Dropbox has always embraced simple design with a lot of negative space. Even the graphics on their homepage are subtle and simple. Evidently this works, as the blue “Sign up for free” button really jumps off the page. Since the CTA and the Dropbox logo are the same colour, it's easy for the visitor to interpret this CTA as "Sign up for Dropbox."




4)      Huemor
Huemor is another company whose website design incorporates fun into the user experience. Go to their homepage and you’ll be greeted with a rocket hovering over a “LAUNCH” button with the inscription “DO NOT PRESS” beneath it. Anyone want to try guessing why this works?



5)   Madewell
Madewell has always enjoyed a high standard of website design. Its bustling, interactive homepage lends itself to fun CTAs and Madewell has delivered on this. When you arrive at the Madewell homepage you are greeted with a suggestion as to what you are looking for-usually based on their new arrivals or a current sale- and two options: “Yes, take me there” or “Hmm… What’s next?” I like that the Madewell approach acknowledges that the visitor may not be there for their current promotion yet cheekily assumes that he/she will want to stick around. Its’ unusual CTA also creates the impression that the user is being catered to and given more options to choose from than your standard “Enter or leave” homepages supply. Well played, Madewell!



6)      Prezi
Prezi have also adopted a minimalist approach to their website design. The relatively plain screen with infrequent bursts of colour ensures that users’ eyes are drawn immediately to what’s important: The bright blue “Give Prezi a try” CTA.



7)   Focus Ireland
Focus Ireland is one of Ireland’s busiest charities, and this is evident in the fact that its main page is very, well... focused. The two black-on-yellow CTA’s at the bottom of the page are obviously the most important: “I need help”, or “Donate now”.  An obviously secondary “Find out more” CTA is also available if you don’t find either of those options urgently pressing (Okay, I’m finished with puns now!). It’s certainly nice that anyone in trouble is immediately directed towards help on visiting the site, but interestingly, the fact that the “Donate now” button appears alongside “I need help”, as well as being the same size, colour and design, subliminally reminds the visitor about the direct link between donations and helping people. Clever!



8)      OfficeVibe
Slide in CTA’s are particularly effective because unlike pop-up CTA’s, they don’t annoy the user, and this is a crucial part of convincing visitors to stay, thereby converting them into customers. OfficeVibe’s slide in CTA is particularly effective as it slides unobtrusively across the screen while viewing OfficeVibe articles and offers, in highlighted text, to help the user to “become a better manager”.



9)   Pinterest
The team at Pinterest are primarily focused on attracting new members if their homepage is anything to go by. There’s an inconspicuous “Log in” CTA toward the top right hand corner of the window, and other than that the page is overwhelmingly concerned with sign-up options. Pinterest would prefer, naturally, that you log in using Facebook (they can then pull in Facebook’s API data and get more information about you than if you log in using your email address); the primary CTA is a large, Facebook-blue “Continue with Facebook” button.



10)      Dego Interactive
Dego Interactive’s website represents one of the rare instances where a CTA is inconspicuous yet still begs to be clicked. The website’s main page is attractive without making too big a deal of itself, and to draw attention to their “Start Trip” CTA they have cleverly installed a bobbing orange arrow to ensure that you can’t miss it.



11)      Full Bundle
Full Bundle are a company whose website embodies great marketing techniques, and their CTA is no different. Being a web-design company, it’s important that they showcase their work from the moment a potential customer arrives at their site, and with their fun interactive homepage they have risen to the challenge remarkably well. Whenever you’re done blasting colourful shapes around your screen (I spent more time doing this than I’m willing to admit), the next obvious place to go is to the CTA- the “Our Work” button which, apart from the menu tucked away in the corner, is the only button on the screen.



12)      Panthera
Panthera, a non-profit conservation organisation, knows their market: How better to recruit big cat lovers than with an offer to “Join the pride today”? This CTA appears on the main page on a background which consists merely of a photograph of lionesses and cubs lolling under a blue African sky. It couldn’t be more simple, or more effective.



13)   Treehouse
A lot of company websites out there offer users the opportunity to start a free trial. But the CTA on Treehouse's website doesn't just say "Start a Free Trial"; it says "Claim Your Free Trial." The difference in wording may seem subtle, but think about how much more personal "Claim Your Free Trial" is. Plus, the word "claim" suggests it may not be available for long, giving users a sense of urgency to get that free trial while they can.



14)   Visit Humboldt
Whoever designed the Humboldt County website knew exactly what its strong marketing points were. Log onto visithumboldt.com and you’ll be greeted with a full-screen montage of Humboldt’s startlingly beautiful landscapes. Centre-screen and a constant above Humboldt’s lush woodland and stunning coastline is the greeting- Welcome to Humboldt County- and their Alice-in-Wonderland themed CTA which invites the visitor to “Follow the Magic”. What’s not to like? What's more, once you click into that CTA, the website turns into a sort of choose-your-own-adventure game, which is a fun call-to-action path for users and encourages them to spend more time on the site. Now, anyone for a holiday?



15)   Spotify
Spotify, the music streaming service, makes no bones about the fact that it wants you to go premium. The “Play free” button, which is the option that most Spotify users continue to avail of, is almost an afterthought on the homepage. The rest of Spotify’s efforts as far as their main page is concerned have gone into endorsing their premium package.



16)   OKCupid
The brilliance of the OKCupid interface is in the fact that it keeps it simple. Its Spartan home screen asks its visitors to enter only their gender and orientation before clicking on the green CTA button. This is important as the implication is that you needn’t enter too much personal information before you “Continue”, which surely helps to draw in shyer visitors to the site before guiding them through the sign-up process.



17)   Blogging.org
Seconds after arriving at blogging.org’s homepage, new visitors are greeted with a pop up. While this is not a new feature on websites (nor is it one that users tend to like to see), blogging.org has cleverly added something new to the formula to help ensnare new visitors: a timer set at two minutes begins counting down on the pop up, which announces a limited time offer for users to avail of free WordPress installation as well as some other perks. All you have to do is enter your name and email and click the blue CTA which says “Click here to get started”. It may be an obvious ploy, but it still plants the idea of scarcity in visitors’ minds and has probably caused many to sign up on the spot.



18)   Mint
Mint’s CTA is effective because, similarly to Netflix and OKCupid, the text on the CTA is somewhat non-committal: “Check it out” sounds less like pledging your custom than it does dipping your toes to see how you feel before making a decision. Users are far more likely to click on a CTA which doesn’t seem likely to hold them to it!



19)   APPSTEMPLATES.com
This website’s call-to-action is unusual in that it showcases the value you'll get for clicking. Not only does this button contain a “sale” sticker which promotes a sense of urgency but it shows how much money you’ll be saving ($60). The supporting "join the club now" copy makes you feel like you're missing out on something and this site, like Dego Interactive, gets bonus points for having the arrow pointing to the CTA.



20)   Ugmonk
If you’ve never heard of an exit CTA by name, you’ve certainly come across them. Exit CTA’s are those irritating little pop-ups that appear just when you’re about to click out of a website to ask you if you’re sure you want to leave. Annoying as these usually are, Ugmonk at least seems to have found a more agreeable way of implementing them. When Ugmonk predicts that you’re about to leave (I had only begun to hover near the “Back” button) a pop-up appears offering a 15% discount off your first order, which is apparently only valid for 48 hours. Your options are two CTA’s- one a bright, bubbly green which says “Yes please, send me the coupon”, the other a dull grey affirming that you are neither interested nor interesting. So, which will it be?



21)   Kooba.ie
Kooba is an Irish web design and online marketing company and they know very well how to make their own website a shining example of their work- in fact, viewing their work is one of the CTA options. Their homepage opens by claiming Kooba to be “experts in digital craft” and in “crafting memorable online experiences for (their) clients”. This is where their clever CTA’s come in. After their bold assertion of expertise, the visitor is guided through two options: “See the proof” is bright orange and the obvious choice of action, and then “Start your project”- surely the only conceivable choice of action after you’ve been both told and shown that Kooba is the best?



22)   Hosting Ireland
Hosting Ireland provides web hosting solutions and doesn’t forget for a second to keep its eye on the task at hand. In fact, the very first CTA you meet upon logging on to their website is a simple search bar. All you do is key in your preferred choice of domain name and Hosting Ireland will tell you right away if it’s available. This CTA is effective because it seems innocuous- why wouldn’t you type in your domain name, just to see if it’s available? But once you have engaged with the site you are much more likely to make a purchase, and your buying options are presented in CTA form as soon as you click “Search”.



23)   T.C. Pharma
Red Bull’s parent company manufactures a myriad of energy drinks and electrolyte beverages as well as functional drinks and snacks. However, the T.C. Pharma marketing team know that many people who are familiar with Red Bull are unaware of the corporate giant behind it, and so they have used the image of their best-known product to great effect on their homepage. Your CTA choices, after being made aware that this is the website of “the company behind the world’s leading energy drink”, are “Find out more” or “View products”, as though the website designers acknowledge that you may be visiting T.C. Pharma for the first time.



24)   Hipmunk
Hipmunk is a travel website which finds the user deals on flights and accommodation. Its animation-based design is fairly simple- it’s Hipmunk’s calls-to-action which are really worth a mention. Its clever form design allows the user to quickly search for what they need based on the four tabs at the top: flights, hotels, cars and packages. The form itself alters depending on which tab you choose, and the icon on the “Search” button changes from an airplane to a hotel, car or package depending on which tab you choose for extra clarity during your visit to the site. It’s the little details that make or break a great CTA!



Which websites do you think have the best CTA’s? Let us know in the comments section!


This article has been adapted from http://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/great-call-to-action-examples?utm_campaign=blog-rss-emails&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=27089140

Retailers Get Social in Association with LEO and Dungarvan Chamber.

‘Retailers Get Social’ this March at DEC!

As you’re likely already aware, next week 7th-13th March is National Enterprise Week, which is a fantastic opportunity to inform, advise and motivate businesses and potential entrepreneurs as to the latest news in enterprise as well as the range of supports and opportunities available to them. With this in mind, we at Dungarvan Enterprise have entered into the spirit of things and are delighted to announce this exciting, free event which we have arranged in conjunction with the Local Enterprise Office and Dungarvan Chamber:

What: Retailers Get Social

When: Thursday 10th March 9.30am-1.00pm

Cost: FREE

Where: Dungarvan Enterprise Centre


Aidan Geraghty, founder of VideoTree.



This half-day seminar will comprise talks and demonstrations from a number of trail-blazers of the retail industry. It will begin with a talk from video guru Aidan Geraghty, founder of VideoTree, a video-marketing expert whose company works with SME’s and other businesses who wish to incorporate a video strategy into their marketing. Aidan has an impressive range of experience with digital marketing and he also organised the Startup of You (SoY) event in 2013 for JCI Dublin, an international network of young business owners, professionals and those looking to explore new paths, of which he is an active member. You can find out more about VideoTree by viewing their website.


Justin Kearns, creator of Tucr
There will be an exclusive demonstration from Justin Kearns of his newly-launched mobile e-commerce app, Tucr, which is set to revolutionise shopping by merging the online and in-store experience, converting window-shoppers into customers. Last year Tucr took part in the Brave Business Conference 2015 and was recommended by websummit.net as one of the Top Ten Tech Start-Ups to Watch Out For. Find out more here!

Also speaking on the day will be Samantha Kelly, aka Tweeting Goddess. Winner of the Bank of Ireland Start-Up Hero 2014 award, Samantha teaches Twitter-for-Business workshops and runs Twitter campaigns for companies, in addition to co-founding the Social Media Summit and winning numerous Twitter awards, including the illustrious 'Tweetie' award. She also recently spoke at TedX Omagh. You can find out more about Samantha and her work with Twitter here.


A light lunch will be provided on the day and all are welcome to attend.
Affordable Office Space in an Enterprising Environment - Dungarvan Enterprise Centre
Website By: Déise Design