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
