Call to action

Ok this time I have take a break from continuous post about topics of digital marketing & try to discuss something over "Call to Action". Now Call to action for consumers/ viewers behavior could be different in different setting, On a promotional SMS it could be reply message or call back, on a Email it could be a clickable link so on.

But no matter where you are viewing the message the fundamental aspect remains two fold

• It should grab attention
• It should persuade/entice for desired action

Lets discuss here the elements of Call to action from a web designs preservative: 

Call to action in web design — and in user experience (UX) in particular — is a term used for elements in a web page that solicit an action from the user. The most popular manifestation of call to action in web interfaces comes in the form of clickable buttons that when clicked, perform an action (e.g. "Buy this now!") or lead to a web page with additional information (e.g. "Learn more…") that asks the user to take action.

How can we create effective call to action buttons that grab the user’s attention and entice them to click? We’ll try to answer this question in this post by sharing some effective design techniques and exploring some examples.

Best Practices for Effective Call to Action Buttons

1. DRAW USER ATTENTION WITH SIZE

In web pages, the size of an element relative to its surrounding elements indicates its importance: the larger the element is, the more important it is. Decide how vital certain site actions are, and size your call to action buttons accordingly.

a. Size of call to action button versus surrounding elements

Lifetree Creative exhibits this idea of size to indicate importance with their call to action button. Compare the size of their button with the company logo. To grab the user’s attention, the call to action button is roughly 20% larger (in width) than the logo. Even though the logo is placed higher on the web page, your eyes are drawn to the call to action button because of its larger size in relation to surrounding elements.

b. Size of call to action button versus less important call to actions

A web page may have multiple calls for action. To indicate the relative importance of a call to action with respect to other actions, you can vary their sizes. Here is an example of this concept on the paramore|redd website where the call to action button that asks the user to sign up for their newsletter is significantly larger than the continue reading call to action, indicating that on this web page, they would rather you take the action of subscribing versus reading the blog posts.

c. Draw user attention with prominent positioning

The placement of call to action buttons on a web page is critical to drawing the eyes of visitors. Placement in prominent locations such as the top section of a web page can lead to higher landing page conversions because users will likely notice the call to action button and take action.

Placement in a distinguished area

Putting a call to action button on a distinguished area is one way of making it stand out in a web layout. You can see this idea in action on the dailymile website where the call to action button looks to be on a higher plane (on top of) other site elements such as the bar graph graphic.

d. Use highly contrasting colors

Deciding what colors to use for call to action buttons is very important. Use colors in your call to action buttons that have a high contrast relative to surrounding elements and the background because it is critical to ensure that the user notices your call to action.

Color contrast versus surrounding elements

Notepod exemplifies how color contrast between a call to action and its surrounding elements can be effective in drawing user attention directly to it. The surrounding elements are all black, while the call to action button is a bright blue color.

e. Background/foreground color contrast

Valley Creek Church sets its bright yellow "Learn More" call to action button above a grayscale image. Even with a simple call to action button design on top of a complex element (a photo in this case), it still stands out because of the color choice

f. Offer secondary alternative actions

A web page can have multiple calls for actions. Sometimes it’s necessary to offer a secondary action in order to convince the user to later take your desired primary call for action. For example, before the user signs up for a web service, some users may need further information to be prompted to take the action of signing up; secondary actions may be calling them to take a product tour or to visit a web page with more information about the product.

g. Displaying secondary actions beside the primary action

OfficeVP displays two call to action buttons beside each other — centered and located at the top of the web layout. By differentiating the color, users can see that they have two distinct routes: they can either sign up directly (primary action), or if they wish to learn more before committing, they can take the secondary action of taking a tour first.

Transmissions also shows this notion of having a secondary action next to the desired primary action. In this case, the primary action is for the user to purchase the application. If they want to try it before purchasing, then the secondary desired action is to download the application first. Notice that the primary action is indicated by making it more prominent than the secondary action, having a higher color contrast to its background than the secondary call to action button. Thus, you effectively draw the eyes from left to right.

Also, note the use of reduced whitespace between the two call to action buttons relative to other elements in the area, effectively grouping the buttons together.Transmissions also shows this notion of having a secondary action next to the desired primary action. In this case, the primary action is for the user to purchase the application. If they want to try it before purchasing, then the secondary desired action is to download the application first. Notice that the primary action is indicated by making it more prominent than the secondary action, having a higher color contrast to its background than the secondary call to action button. Thus, you effectively draw the eyes from left to right. Also, note the use of reduced whitespace between the two call to action buttons relative to other elements in the area, effectively grouping the buttons together.

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h. Displaying secondary actions below the primary action

Alternatively, you may wish to display the secondary action below the primary action. This may be necessary if you need to have greater visual separation of your calls for action. Virb shows this situation where the "Join Now" call to action is placed above the secondary action of taking the product tour. Notice that the secondary action is further separated from the primary action by using a more muted color for its default state.

2. CONVEY A SENSE OF URGENCY

Phrasing of the action by using bold, confident, and commanding words can alter the user’s perception in such a way as to convince them that they shouldn’t wait any longer to take action and that waiting to take action would result in a penalty or a missed opportunity.

tap tap tap demonstrates this idea of adding urgency to a call for action. The "Buy Now" call to action button has the text "Intro price", subtly suggesting that the longer the user waits to take action, the higher is the risk of having to pay more later on when the introductory price will have passed.

Oftentimes, suggestions to perform an action can be effective in creating a sense of urgency. Using words such as "now", "immediately" and "right now" can convey such urgency. Take the Organizing for America (BarackObama.com) example of appealing to website visitors to "DONATE NOW". If instead it simply said "Donate", the sense of urgency would disappear and users may be less likely to take action.

3. TELL USERS THAT TAKING ACTION IS EASY

Often, a user’s hesitation to take action stems from thinking that an action will be difficult, costly, or time consuming. By taking care of these concerns, your call to action buttons can lead to more conversions.

For example, on Basecamp, the call to action button explicitly defines the time it would take the user to sign up and tells users that signing up is costless (free). This approach weakens two primary users’ concerns when it comes to taking action online: paying (which also requires them to take additional actions such as getting their credit card) and time constraint.

In the example of Tea Round App, they tell that user that they won’t be getting spam emails by taking the action of signing up for their email service, which is a cause for concern whenever giving your email to a third-party service.

4. TELL USERS WHAT TO EXPECT

Most web users are hesitant to take things they’re presented on the web at face value. By experience, their trust has been burnt before by links that promise free service only to find out that they’d have to put in their credit card numbers to get what they want. To increase click conversion and to build trust, anticipate users’ scepticism and tell them what they will gain by taking the action you’ve presented to them. When designing a call to action button, think of all the potential questions users will have, and make sure that you answer them in time.

Mozilla Firefox tells users what exactly to expect by clicking on their call to action button. The call to action button tells you that you’ll be getting Firefox 3.5, that it’s free, and (for those needing greater specificity) that the exact version is 3.5.3 for theWindows operating system, that the language is English, and that you should expect a7.7MB download.

Onehub anticipates the question of whether the user (upon taking action) needs to pay up front or whether they can take the product for a test drive by telling the user that if they take the action of signing up, they’ll have a 30-day trial free of charge.