How to Choose a Website Design That Converts: 5-Step Guide

94% of first impressions come from design, and they’re made in just 50 milliseconds. A strong, user-friendly website design can boost conversions by up to 400%. But how do you create a design that turns visitors into customers? Follow these 5 steps:

1. Understand Your Visitors: Know your audience’s demographics, behavior, pain points, and goals. Use tools like analytics, surveys, and session recordings to gather insights.

2. Simplify Your Structure: Create clear navigation and organize content logically. Ensure users can find what they need in three clicks or less.

3. Add Conversion Elements: Use strong CTAs with strategic placement and high-contrast colors. Align design with user actions.

4. Go Mobile & SEO-Friendly: Optimize for mobile users with responsive design and fast load times. Use proper headings, alt text, and logical URLs for search engines.

5. Test & Improve: Use A/B testing and analytics tools to measure performance, identify issues, and refine your design.

Quick Tip: A one-second delay in load time can cut conversions by 7%. Prioritize speed and usability.

Your website should guide users effortlessly toward your goals. Start with these steps to create a design that works for both your audience and your business.

How to Increase Conversion Rate - 5 Secret UX Design Tricks

Step 1: Know Your Website Visitors

Understanding your audience is the first step to choosing design elements that drive more conversions.

Creating Clear User Profiles

Build detailed profiles of your visitors by collecting important information:

• Demographics: Age, location, and job details

• Behavior patterns: Browsing habits, visit times, and devices used

• Pain points: Challenges they face and need solutions for

• Goals: What they aim to achieve on your website

"Great design begins with an understanding of who it's for." - WP Engine [2]

Take this example: Every.org found that users were clicking the donate button but failing to complete transactions. By redesigning their donation process, they increased donations by 29.5% [1].

Methods for Gathering User Insights

Use these tools to collect actionable data about your visitors:

Here’s how to get started:

1. Use analytics and session recordings to find popular pages and pinpoint usability problems.

2. Collect additional feedback through surveys or live chat to uncover what analytics might miss.

3. Analyze form performance to locate where users abandon the process.

For example, if session recordings reveal users struggling with your mobile navigation menu, it’s a clear sign to make improvements.

Use this information to shape your site’s structure in the next step.

Step 2: Build a Clear Website Structure

Once you understand your visitors, it’s time to create a website structure that naturally leads them toward taking action. A poorly organized site can frustrate users, driving away 34% of visitors [4].

Make Navigation Simple

Your navigation acts as a map for visitors. Here’s how to keep it user-friendly:

"Good website navigation is crucial for providing a positive user experience because it helps visitors find the information they are looking for without spending too much time clicking around." - Nick Babich [3]

To design effective navigation:

• Keep top-level menu items to no more than 7 options [3].

• Place a clickable logo and menu at the top of the page, where users expect them.

• Include a search box in the header for websites with extensive content.

Take the Webflow Merch Store as an example. It uses just five main buttons - Shop all, Categories, Collections, About, and Cart - making navigation straightforward and guiding users through well-defined subcategories [4].

Organize Content Effectively

How you organize content can significantly impact conversions. Different models work best for different types of websites:

For instance, Daniel Gamble’s portfolio uses a webbed structure effectively. The site includes five clear sections - About, Process, Work, Services, Contact - arranged logically as users scroll. A persistent menu ensures easy navigation [4].

To improve your content structure:

• Create a sitemap to map out your page hierarchy.

• Ensure users can reach any page within three clicks.

• Use breadcrumbs for websites with deeper navigation (4+ levels).

• Add descriptive, keyword-focused labels to navigation items.

• Keep clickable elements styled consistently to avoid confusion.

Finally, test your structure with real users to identify problem areas and make adjustments. Once your structure is solid, you’ll be ready to move on to adding elements that encourage user action in the next step.

Step 3: Add Elements That Drive Action

With your site structure in place, it's time to incorporate design elements that encourage users to take action. Smart placement and design can significantly boost conversions.

Where to Put Call-to-Action Buttons

The placement of call-to-action (CTA) buttons plays a major role in driving user engagement. Use this table as a guide:

After deciding on placement, focus on color to make CTAs even more effective.

Using Colors to Guide Users

Thoughtful use of color can make your CTAs stand out and influence user decisions. Studies show color plays a role in snap judgments [5].

How Colors Affect Conversions

• Blue conveys trust and professionalism

• Orange and yellow evoke warmth and encourage action

• High-contrast combinations ensure buttons are easy to see

• Green suggests growth and positivity

Here’s an example: In 2023, Neil Patel switched the color of his homepage CTA button from blue to yellow. This simple change resulted in a 38% increase in conversions [5].

Keep these tips in mind when selecting colors:

• Button Contrast: Make sure the button stands out against its background.

• Brand Alignment: Choose colors that fit your brand but still highlight key actions.

• Accessibility: Use tools like WebAIM's Color Contrast Checker to confirm your design meets accessibility standards.

Step 4: Make Your Site Mobile and Search-Ready

With more than 60% of internet traffic coming from mobile devices [6][7], your website needs to work well on any screen while staying search-engine friendly. Here's how to tackle both.

Mobile Design Requirements

Mobile users expect fast and smooth experiences. A one-second load time can triple conversion rates compared to a five-second load [7]. Here’s what to focus on:

Jereshia Hawk's December 2024 redesign is a great example of mobile optimization. Changes included portrait-oriented hero images, reorganized content for better mobile viewing, an accessible chat button, and optimized images for faster loading. These tweaks improve user experience and support SEO efforts.

Speed Optimization Tips:

• Compress images using tools like kraken.io

• Enable browser caching

• Minimize HTTP requests

• Use a fast web host

• Test performance on both Android and iOS devices

Once your mobile performance is solid, focus on meeting search engine requirements.

Design for Search Engines

Google ranks websites using a mobile-first approach [8]. To stay competitive, optimize your site for search engines.

Key SEO Design Elements:

• A clear site structure with logical content grouping

• Proper use of HTML heading tags (H1, H2) for content hierarchy

• High-contrast colors for better accessibility

• Descriptive alt text for images

• Schema markup to enable rich search results

Your URL structure should reflect your content hierarchy. For example, if your site is about dog breeds, organize URLs like this:

• dogbreeds.com/terrier

• dogbreeds.com/terrier/yorkshire-terrier

• dogbreeds.com/terrier/yorkshire-terrier/temperament

• dogbreeds.com/terrier/yorkshire-terrier/care-guide [8]

Testing Tools:

• Google's Mobile-Friendly Test

• PageSpeed Insights for Core Web Vitals

• Semrush's Site Audit for performance metrics

Since half of users judge a brand by its website design [8], optimizing for mobile and search engines is a critical step toward boosting conversions.

Step 5: Measure and Improve Results

Once your site is optimized for mobile and search, the next step is keeping track of its performance. By monitoring how well your site is doing, you can identify design elements that drive conversions. Research shows that companies with strong design practices see 32% higher revenue growth compared to their competitors [9].

How to Run Design Tests

A/B testing is a reliable way to figure out which design changes boost conversions. Here's how to approach it:

Test various elements like CTAs, headlines, layouts, colors, and form designs. For context, a good conversion rate typically falls between 2%-5%, while rates below 1% often indicate issues. For example, an A/B test on Optimizely's homepage found that adding a dog image tripled content consumption [11][13].

Use the insights from these tests to shape your overall analytics strategy.

Website Analytics Tools

In addition to A/B testing, analytics tools offer a deeper understanding of user behavior. The Google HEART framework is a helpful method for measuring user experience:

• Happiness: Tracks customer satisfaction

• Engagement: Measures interaction rates

• Adoption: Monitors use of new features

• Retention: Tracks repeat visits

• Task Success: Evaluates completion rates [9]

Key metrics to monitor include page views, unique visitors, bounce rates, device usage, traffic sources, landing/exit pages, and average time spent on each page [10].

"Traditional metrics tell you what happens on your website, but not why it happens or how you can improve. That's where behavior analytics tools come in, giving you qualitative data that adds context to traditional metrics." – contentsquare.com [14]

For example, Spotify used analytics to improve their email marketing. Over 60 days, they reduced bounce rates from 12.3% to 2.1%, which boosted deliverability by 34% and generated $2.3M in additional revenue [14].

Here are some tools you can use for different types of analysis:

• Heatmaps: Show where users click and scroll

• Session Recordings: Let you watch real user interactions

• Conversion Funnels: Highlight where users drop off

• User Feedback Surveys: Provide qualitative insights

Conclusion: Start Improving Your Website

Create a website that drives results by using strategies backed by data. For example, research shows that personalized CTAs can boost conversions by an impressive 202% [17].

Here’s where to focus your efforts:

Speed and Performance
Aim for a load time under 3 seconds - 57% of visitors will leave if it takes longer, and even a 1-second delay can reduce conversions by 7% [15][16].

Mobile-First Design
With 60% of searches happening on mobile [15], ensure your site is optimized for smaller screens. Buttons and navigation should be easy to use on touch devices.

Trust and Engagement
Incorporate social proof and interactive elements like product videos to build trust and keep users engaged. Studies show that product videos can increase purchases by 144%, while personalized CTAs significantly improve conversion rates [16][17].

"When it comes to optimizing your website for greater conversions, these six strategies establish a foundation that will allow you to continue building and growing for years to come. When in doubt, keep it simple." – Dan Scalco, Founder of Digitalux [15]

Use tools like Google Analytics 4 or VWO [12] to track performance and make adjustments as needed. Your website should guide visitors effortlessly toward conversion. Revisit the steps outlined above to ensure every element of your design works together effectively.