Are higher conversion rates on your to-do list for 2018? We have the website trends to boost your conversion that you need to know. Aesthetics, functionality, and strategy all matter when it comes to website conversion and each plays a part in the trends you’ll see being implemented. Don’t worry, you don’t need to completely redesign your website, just incorporating custom landing pages, a touch of animation, and the impression that a site is loading faster can make a world of difference.
Targeted Landing Pages
While we aren’t going to suggest completely nixing your homepage, it is getting a major devaluation. Instead, there will be a rise of behavioral and audience-specific targeted landing pages. Create variants of your homepage targeting different demographics with what is important specifically to them.
Creating crafted messages to different audience segments will get you away from using a one-size-fits-all homepage as a landing page for your off-site marketing. These unique landing pages are a chance to see higher conversion rates.
One way to segment your landing pages might be by age. Different age groups are known to react differently to different content, layout, and aesthetic choices. With a multitude of metadata becoming available, you now have the chance to vary a users website experience based on your users’ perceived age.
Website Graphics
The CTA button should be the hero of any webpage. If you want to call attention to your CTA button, one effective way is to add simple animation. This is a case where less is more. A subtle movement every few seconds has been shown to get attention without becoming annoying to visitors.
Large, immersive photos and videos are an almost sure way to make users stop and take notice. But you can up the ante even more by incorporating cinemagraphs as hero images on your website. Cinemagraphs are part photo and part video and they work by tricking the eye enough to hook a user in. At this point, they are still underused enough to spark instant interest.
For even more impact think about combing an animated CTA button with a cinemagraph. Layer a carefully crafted CTA button on top of a cinemagraph to see maximum impact and conversion results. And cinemagraphs aren’t just for websites. Social media ads using cinemagraphs are clicked up to 60 percent more than static ads.
Don’t forget about the power of video. A few years ago animated explainer videos were the hot trend, now users want to see real people. Persuader videos using real people help you create authenticity. Your persuader video can use a variety of tactics all in the same video, from customer testimonials to product demos. Imagine your best customer talking about how much they love your product and service and then use your persuader video to overcome objections and close sales.
Website Engagement
Chatbots themselves aren’t new for 2018, but there are some clever new ways to use them to engage with customers. Any website can use bots to provide better customer service, generate sales leads, and to help create a more streamlined sales process. And chatbots can be working on website engagement 24/7.
Chatbots aren’t the only engagement you should be implementing for better conversions. Don’t let a visitor leave your website without asking them to stay. How do you do that? With value-based exit overlays. While not everyone loves them, exit intent overlays increase conversions. The trick is to try not to make them annoying. Unfortunately, users have been conditioned to hate them, so the key for 2018 will be to use an exit overlay that actually offers something of value to the customer while asking nothing in return. That might be free shipping, a free trial, or a coupon code. But remember, don’t ask for anything in return, and that includes an email address.
If you sell directly through your website, another point where customers can be reached for additional engagement is within the shopping cart. It is about 10 times harder to see to a new customer than it is to upsell a current customer. Upsells and cross-sells are responsible for an average of 10 to 30 percent of eCommerce revenues so make sure you don’t leave money on the table. During the checkout process offer bundled offers, cross-sales, and upsells and you can generate more revenue within the shopping cart.
Website Navigation
“Above the fold” is a phrase that is on its way out the door. Telling a compelling story, overcoming objections, and enticing a conversion in a single page is why in 2018 scrolling will trump navigation. Keeping everything on a single page allows you to take your customers on a well-planned and journey that you control, rather than letting them wander through the navigation on your website on their own. With mobile users outnumbering desktop users scrolling will become the default for webpages.
Of course within the page scrolling it’s vital to keep load time in mind. A good user experience is largely defined by how quickly website pages load. Even more important than how fast a page loads might be how fast it feels to your users. That’s why in 2018 you’ll see an increase in use of skeleton screens. Loading the pages in stages, from simple to complex, lets users anticipate what content is coming and can keep bounce rates low.
Go into 2018 thinking of your website as an investment that is there to generate business. These website trends to boost your conversion are here to make your website work better for you. But you don’t have to wait until 2018, pick a trend or two as a goal to start implementing today.
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