8 Features of a High Converting Website
Your website is a powerful marketing tool for bringing in new clients and repeat business from previous clients. It is so much more than just a “pretty face” for your business. But how do you know if it is doing that?
Conversion on a website happens when a website visitor takes a desired action. Conversion rate is the percentage of people that visit the website and turn into paying customers. Having a high converting website boosts sales while saving time and energy, and is therefore essential for service providers who have a “lifestyle first” business, busy mums who run their business from home or business owners who don’t want to constantly hunt for clients (isn’t that all of us?).
If your website has a low conversion rate, it suggests that it isn’t fulfilling the needs of your audience in order to convert them. Fortunately, there are things that you can do to improve the conversion rate of your website.
Here are 8 Features of a High Converting Website
Specific Website Goal
You can’t convert your site visitors without a goal for your website. Your website needs a purpose. What does conversion on your website mean? Does it mean that your ideal client has booked a discovery call with you? Purchased a product? Subscribed for your email list? Or something else entirely?
Setting a goal for your website is the only way you will know if you actually have a high converting website or if your conversion rates are low. It’s also the only way you will be able to track conversion metrics and be able to improve things in the future. I go into detail about how to track conversion metrics later in the post.
2. Visual Appeal
The impact of a visually appealing website can not be over emphasised. People are naturally drawn to aesthetics, so adding beautiful images, videos and graphics will have an impact on how successful your website is.
By carefully curating a gallery of images to use on your website and being intentional about the layout and design of your website, you can ensure that your website will engage your target audience.
3. Clear copy
Copy refers to the text on your website. When visitors land on your website, they need information that is clear and concise. People typically look at a website for just 7 seconds before they decide to either look further into it, or click away. In those 7 seconds, they will ask:
Am I on the right website?
Do I need this service?
Is this service right for me?
What’s in it for me?
So, your copy needs to tell them who you are, what you do and whether your service is right for them, in just 7 seconds. The headline on your homepage is the most important piece of copy for your entire website. Make it obvious what you do and who for,
E.g. “Squarespace websites in a week for female solopreneurs and service providers”.
My headline tells anyone who visits my website what I do, how long it takes and who it is for.
A clear and concise headline eliminates confusion, reduces bounce rates (people clicking immediately off your website), and increases the chances of them taking the desired action on your website which will ultimately lead to a high converting website.
Plan your the copy for your homepage with this Homepage Workbook
Address objections
Anticipate and address any objections that your site visitors may have. Including an FAQ section, clear pricing plans, refund policies or details about your process can increase confidence in your audience and improve conversion rates.
Social Proof
Including social proof throughout your website builds trust with your audience. You can include testimonials, case studies, reviews or ratings. You gain credibility by highlighting the positive experiences others have had with you . Building trust and credibility with your audience will lead to more conversions.
Invest time into writing clear and persuasive copy for your website. Avoid using jargon or confusing language, and break down complex information into digestible chunks to build trust and engagement with your site visitors. The words on your website should speak directly to your target audience and guide them through your website to take the action that you have planned for them from the beginning.
4. Clear Calls to Action (CTAs)
Calls to Action (CTAs) are elements of your website that lead your site visitors to take a specific action. They direct your site users towards the action they need to take in order to convert.
CTAs are usually buttons and they can be emphasised by using strategic placement, such as above the fold, at the end of a page or in the centre of the screen. An accent colour from your branding kit can be used here too to highlight the CTA. The design should make the CTAs stand out from the rest of the website.
The language used for your CTAs is important. Use language to encourage your visitors to take action e.g. “book a call today”, “sign-up now” or “get started right away”. All of this is much more enticing than “see plans and pricing” or “read about me here”.
5. Simple User Journey
Making sure that every aspect of the user experience on your website can be done with as easily as possible will increase conversion rates.
Clear and Intuitive Navigation
The pages on your website’s navigation menu should be named clearly and the number of items in the navigation menu should be kept to a minimum. Anyone that visits your website should be able to easily find the information they are looking for and be able to navigate between the pages without confusion. Your site visitors are more likely to convert if they can quickly find your service offerings, the price and how to get in touch.
Plan your Navigation Menu with this Homepage Workbook
Streamlined Forms
If you use forms in the conversion process, keep them user friendly and minimal. Only ask for essential information. Spending several minutes filling out a complex form just to book a discovery call with you will put people off. Take out any unnecessary fields at this stage and ask any additional questions after your website has done the job of converting them.
Simple checkout process
If conversion for your website includes making a purchase, then streamline the checkout process. Be transparent with your pricing, minimise the steps needed to complete the checkout process and offer guest checkout options.
6. Mobile Responsive
Your website needs to perform just as well on mobile as it does on a laptop or desktop. Almost 60% of website traffic comes from a mobile device. Site visitors should be able to navigate your website and get in touch with you just as easily from their mobile phone as they can from their computer. Having a website that adapts seamlessly to mobile phones and tablets will increase your conversion rate.
7. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
Search engine optimisation (SEO) is the process of improving a website’s visibility on search engines such as Google. Ranking higher on search engines will enable more people to find your website in the first place and will therefore increase conversions.
Some things you can do for SEO are:
Keyword research
Research the key words and phrases that your target audience uses to find the services you offer, and then incorporate these into your website. You can use the keywords in headings, paragraphs, image descriptions, meta descriptions and URL slugs to improve your search engine ranking.
Improve Site Loading Speed
A fast loading website is essential for conversions. Website visitors do not wait longer than a few seconds for a page to load without giving up and looking elsewhere. If your website takes too long to load, people will click off your website before they’ve even had a chance to look at it.
You can improve your website loading speed by optimising images, compressing videos, and reducing code.
Here is my guide on How to Optimise Website Images.
Quality Backlinks
High quality backlinks from reputable websites signals to search engines that your website provides value to readers and can therefore be trusted. This will lead to higher rankings in search engines, meaning that your website will be found by more people. Some ways you can get backlinks are by guest blogging, content marketing and through partnerships.
Kate Scott’s free “Raise Your Rank” challenge will give you daily tips for a week on simple actions you can take to improve your ranking on search engine. You can sign up here.
Here is my guide on How to Boost Your Squarespace Website SEO.
8. Tracking and Analysing Conversion Metrics
Tracking and analysing your website’s conversion metrics is essential for you to know whether your website is doing what you intended it to do (the goal you set for it). Looking at the data will give you valuable insights into your website’s performance and will allow you to make informed decisions rather than just trying different things at random.
Although this may sound daunting, it is worth investing some time looking at and understanding the data from your website. It will save you time in the long run and increase your conversion rates.
Some things you could look at are:
User behaviour
Look at click-through rates, bounce rates, time on page, and conversion rates. For example, a high bounce rate may indicate that your landing page needs optimising. A low bounce rate would mean the opposite - your landing page is engaging your audience. A low conversion rate may mean there is an issue with your CTA. Understanding user behaviour gives you information on what is already working and where you need to improve things.
There is no point in changing your whole landing page if you can see that your audience is engaging with it. But if you’re not getting the conversions despite the low bounce rate, it could be that a simple change to your CTA improves your conversion rate.
A/B Testing
Conducting A/B testing on your homepage or other landing pages is a great way to test what is working and what isn’t. To do this, make two different versions of an aspect of your website that differ on just one variable. This could be the wording on your CTA or the image on the landing page. Then test these two versions to see which one performs better over a period of time. If your website has lots of daily visitors, then testing this for just a day or two may be enough. If not, then you may need a couple of weeks in order to gain enough data.
Using Squarespace analytics to determine results will give you insights on how you can improve your website over time to boost conversion rates, based on actual market research.
A High Converting Website - The Bottom Line
A high converting website is essential for any service provider who wants to be able to take time off from their business or spend their time on other business tasks, rather than hunting for clients. A brilliant website with a high conversion rate is very much like fine wine - it takes time to develop. Unlike wine though, you can’t just leave it alone to mature. It is very much an ongoing project that requires attention and action. Having a deep understanding of your target audience, their needs and their behaviours is the most valuable asset in developing a high converting website.
Get started on writing the copy for your very own high converting website with this Homepage Workbook.
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