What is the purpose of websites, in general?
What’s the purpose of your website? In most cases, sites are built with a specific goal in mind. They want a visitor to do something, whether it’s reading specific information or buying a product. If visitors end up doing what you want them to do, they’re said to have “converted.”
That’s why your Webflow journey only starts with launching a website. It takes time and iterations to make it more impactful and convert more users.
In fact, there’s an entire science behind this and various ways to increase conversion for Webflow pages.
Luckily, they’re not that difficult to learn. Having an experienced Webflow team working on your site is also a big plus.
Without further ado, let’s see what you can do to maximize the conversion rate.
Know Where the Page Sits in the Conversion Funnel
Imagine this: your website has just one big red BUY button and sells precisely one product. A visitor who lands on it, clicks the button, makes the payment, and gets the product. They already know everything about your company and just opened the site to make the purchase.
Perfect, right? Your conversion rate is 100%, and you start earning billions.
Well, that’s not possible. In reality, a visitor would just close your site, thinking it’s some kind of a joke. The point is that visitors need to be guided to execute the actions you want, and that’s only possible by creating a conversion funnel.
In other words, a conversion funnel is a path a visitor takes to complete a desired action on a website, such as making a purchase or filling out a form.
Each page in the conversion funnel has a specific role in moving the visitor closer to completing the desired action.
Here’s an example.
A product page may be the first page in the conversion funnel and is designed to provide information about a product and entice the visitor to make a purchase. A checkout page may be the last page in the conversion funnel and is designed to collect the user's payment information and complete the purchase.
To optimize a page for conversions, it's essential to understand where the page sits in the funnel and its role in the overall user journey.
But how to do that?
This can involve analyzing website data to understand how visitors interact with the page and identifying any barriers preventing them from completing the desired action.
For example, suppose a landing page is the first page in the funnel. In that case, it's important to ensure that it is engaging and clearly communicates the value proposition of the product or service being offered.
On the other hand, if a checkout page is the last page in the conversion funnel, ensure it is streamlined and optimized for ease of use, with clear calls-to-action and minimal distractions.
Pay Attention to Your CTAs
CTA stands for call-to-action, which is a part of your website that, well, calls visitors to take action. But what action?
That mainly depends on what you want to achieve.
For example, if you’re a B2B company and you want visitors to schedule a call with your sales representative, you should devote a section on your website (and all relevant pages on it) to a CTA that clearly communicates this. In this case, “Schedule a call” with an accompanying text should do the trick.
Some of the common CTAs (for various purposes) include:
- Get started today
- Book a demo
- Hire us
- Sign up today
- Free trial
You should be extremely careful with placing your CTAs and the text surrounding them. Remember the example of a big red BUY button with no context?
Well, don’t do that.
Always make sure that the surrounding text clearly states what the visitor will get by taking action. Clear, to-the-point, concise, and crisp copy devoid of any possible ambiguity is what matters here more than anywhere else.
Sometimes, it’s necessary to place more than one CTA on a page, especially if a page is long, as many visitors won’t scroll to the very end to find the CTA. The best practice is to have two CTA sections strategically placed. Ideally, one should be close to the footer. Finally, CTA may sometimes be different for some pages.
For example, if a visitor is informing themselves about your product on a specific page, and you want to take them to the next page where they can find more info, you should place an adequate CTA.
Misplaced CTAs could increase the bounce rate.
Let the Headlines Tell Your Story
The majority of visitors only skim through the headlines. Some people only read the first paragraph. Very few made it past the first paragraph. If you do it, you’ll be one of those who actually read blogs.
Whoa! You made it to the second paragraph. Congratulations! Does that mean I have your attention now?
The point is: you need to master your headline game. This is true for blogs. This is especially true for pages that are part of your funnel. The more information you can convey via headlines, the better. Yet, you must keep them short, sweet, and spicy. Make them sell.
I know. How does one do that? That’s where professional copywriters come into play. They are creative individuals who also understand the business world and are knowledgeable in marketing and sales. Then, there’s AI. I swear I didn’t use ChatGPT for this blog. For the most part.
If you’ve been using AI writing software, you know it can be repetitive. People argue between writing themselves or having something written by AI. I say: why not both? AI will never be able to fully comprehend the ever-changing human-created context, but it can spark your creativity and provide raw ideas that you can work with.
Finally, here’s an overview of the useful tips that can help you improve your headline game.
- Your headlines must be clear and concise — Long ones can increase the bounce rate.
- Keep your headlines unique and different from your competitors — Rely on creative copywriters and AI to find the sweet spot that sells.
- Test different headline versions and ask your team for feedback — If you have the time and the means to test which versions work better, feel free to paint the town red.
- Make sure you use relevant keywords in your headlines — Even though humans should be your primary focus, you shouldn’t neglect the search engines if you want your pages to rank well. Do keyword research and insert keywords strategically in your headlines.
Test and Optimize Continuously
I already said it once, but it’s worth repeating: your website journey doesn’t end with building and launching a site.
If you really want a site that converts, you’ll need to optimize and test it. It all starts by optimizing some of the standard elements:
- Headlines and subheadings — As discussed, make headings impactful, and don’t hesitate to change them and test them from time to time to see how they work.
- Meta descriptions — These are food for search engines, but humans will read them too. Keep them within the suggested character count and make them impactful. Test several versions if possible.
- CTAs — Try different versions of your CTAs to find the best option.
- Images and videos — Make sure that images and videos are fast and easy to load. Webflow has you covered here. However, you should also pay attention to alt tags to make these elements more SEO-friendly.
- Content — The content on the page should be clear, concise, and easy to read. It should also be optimized for search engines to improve visibility and attract more traffic.
- Navigation — The navigation should be easy to use and intuitive, allowing users to quickly find the information they need and move through the website. Ultimately, it should point towards your conversion goals. I’ll discuss navigation in detail below.
- Social proof — Social proof, such as customer reviews or testimonials, can be a powerful tool for building trust and credibility with users. Some testimonials will work better than others. That’s why it’s important to carefully analyze what your clients say about you. I’ll get to that later.
How does one test what works?
I suggest using tools such as Optimizely and Intellimize, which specializes in A/B testing. In other words, you can test several different versions of your page and its individual elements to see which one works the best.
Ultimately, you will have to set up analytics for your website.
This is where things get tricky, but I suggest hiring a professional to help you with this and teach you how to use and track analytics like a pro. Google Analytics should do the trick.
Make Your Website Responsive
No rocket science here: make your website, along with all pages, responsive. Test them on different devices and browsers to see if they work well and re-arrange elements in the most effective way for the device at hand.
If you’re thinking: easier said than done, I get you. Still, Webflow made responsive design and development easy.
With the right professional by your side, your conversion should be effective regardless of how visitors access your website.
Improve Your Page Speed
If you want a high-converting page (or entire website), you shouldn’t forget about the basics: the speed it takes to load.
Nobody likes slow sites.
Search engines will mark down your site, making it lose authority.
Visitors will bounce off like crazy. In the Internet realm, where information travels faster than light, nobody has the time to wait for your website to load. Every millisecond count.
Once again, nothing beats Webflow in this regard. It’s made with speed in mind. It automatically optimizes your content, such as images and videos, to make them faster to load.
Then again, if you’re building a complex site with many elements, it’s worth relying on tools such as Google Lighthouse and GTmetrix. They measure the overall quality of your pages and will let you know what needs to be changed to make the site fast and healthy.
Know Your Landing Pages
A landing page is a standalone web page designed specifically for a marketing or advertising campaign. Visitors will “land” on it after clicking a link you intended them to click.
In other words, landing pages are great if you have a specific target audience in mind. Its goal is to convert visitors into leads or customers by encouraging them to take a specific action, such as filling out a form or making a purchase.
For example, imagine you run an online store that sells pet products, and you want to promote a new line of dog toys.
Instead of sending visitors to your homepage, which might have a lot of distractions and multiple products, you could create a landing page that specifically targets dog owners interested in buying toys for their furry friends.
But how do you get them to “land” on this page?
They could land via, say, a carefully-targeted Facebook ad or even via Google, provided your landing page is well-optimized for the relevant keywords (i.e. dog toys).
The landing page could feature high-quality images of the new dog toys, a list of their unique features and benefits, and a clear call-to-action (such as "Buy now" or "Add to cart").
Look, the purpose of a landing page is relatively simple and effective:
By creating a landing page that is tailored to the interests and needs of dog owners who are looking for high-quality toys, you are more likely to capture their attention and encourage them to make a purchase.
Are you ready for the best part? Webflow and landing pages are IN LOVE. ❤️
Even though Webflow is a versatile set of tools, if there’s one thing we enjoy the most, it’s building landing pages with it.
That’s because Webflow was created with marketers in mind, and landing pages are the backbone for many marketing strategies. In the hands of our talented designers and developers, Webflow-powered landing pages are highly converting.
Make It Easy for Visitors to Get in Touch
People love people, not websites.
Web designers are an exception, as they would marry some websites if legal.
The point is: make yourself available for questions. Make it easy for visitors to contact you and ask questions. This may or may not be a step in your conversion flow, but it’s definitely a great method to gain trust and build relationships with your customers.
One of the options is to add a live chat feature (ideally with a real person on the other side of the chat). Emails and phone calls are also good options.
Alternatively, you can add an option for visitors to schedule a call with you or one of your team members and have a face-to-face chat with them. This could be very useful, especially if you work B2B. Tools such as Calendly can help you with that. Sometimes, this could be your primary CTA, but it doesn’t have to be.
Make a website with people and for people.
Publish Customer Testimonials
People trust people.
Word-of-mouth has always been the most effective marketing strategy.
Let people know how other people like your service or product. You can do this by adding a testimonials section.
In marketing, this is called social proof. If people see what others are saying about you, they’ll trust you more and will likely move down your conversion funnel.
Of course, you probably stumbled upon testimonials that seem entirely made up, and that’s probably because they are. That’s why it’s important to use a credible source, such as Clutch.com or Trustpilot. If your business is ranked on those sites and the testimonials are genuine, you should showcase that.
If you don’t have any testimonials yet, ask your past or current customers to give you one. If it isn’t too much trouble, ask them to do it via Clutch, Trustpilot, or other reputable sites for reviews.
Don’t Complicate the Navigation
Navigating through websites, especially complex ones with many pages, could be a pain in the neck for most visitors.
That’s why it’s important to carefully lay out your navigation and make sure they reach the desired page or piece of information as soon as possible.
Keep things simple.
As soon as you start thinking navigation is getting cluttered, that’s probably because it is.
Fortunately, there are some tricks that you should stick to in order to make navigation easier.
- Keep the important pieces of info close to the top of the page.
- Follow the heading structure on all pages.
- Keep the structure of pages similar, especially if pages are related.
- Use clear language throughout the website.
- Rely on visual cues, such as icons, images, and dropdown menus to make navigation easier.
Start Converting Your Visitors
Hopefully, I provided a good basis for further research on increasing conversion. Webflow is equipped with everything one needs to put their ideas into action and boost their conversion rates.
Of course, you’ll need a team of Webflow experts to assist you with optimizing and testing your site — or even building it from scratch. Feel free to get in touch with Flow Ninja to learn more.