10 Website Hacks to Boost Your Conversion Rate & Grow Your Small Business
In the super exciting journey of running a small business, growth isn't just a goal; it's the very heartbeat that keeps your dreams alive. And guess what, babe? Your Squarespace website holds an unparalleled potential to be the driving force behind that growth by turning curious visitors into loyal customers. As you work towards taking your business to the next level, these 10 ingenious conversion hacks will be your your guiding light towards website success!
Imagine your Squarespace website as a dynamic canvas where every element, from captivating visuals to strategic copy, collaborates to create an irresistible experience for your customers. Your products or services deserve more than a bland digital presence; they deserve a platform that invites and welcomes your customers with arms wide open.
These website conversion hacks will transform your small business growth goal into a reality.
Each of these hacks has been tried and tested by us, and is designed to amplify the impact of your Squarespace site and elevate it to a conversion powerhouse. With these 10 growth-focussed conversion hacks by your side, you're bound for nothing short of exponential success - so let’s dig in!
Craft Clear, Click-Worthy Call-to-Actions
Turn passive visitors into engaged customers with irresistible call-to-actions (CTAs). Call-to-Actions need to be clear and explanatory, so that your user knows exactly what will happen if they click that button. Instead of generic buttons saying vague things like ‘click here’ or ‘learn more’, opt for short phrases like ‘download free guide’ or ‘shop website templates’. Another important consideration for high-converting CTAs is colour usage. We want to make sure that all buttons and links have a high enough colour contrast so that they stand out on the page and make your user take notice! Remember - your user is busy. They don’t have time to decipher your complicated website, they want to be shown exactly what to do and how to do it.
Use Colour to Guide Customers to Convert
Color isn't just a visual way of showing off your branding; it's also a powerful tool that can stir up emotions, trigger actions (like conversions), and elevate your user’s experience. In the realm of web design, choosing and implementing colours strategically can be the secret ingredient that propels conversions and grows your small business. Each colour carries a unique psychological impact – from the calming reassurance of blues to the vibrant urgency of reds. By aligning your brand's colour palette with your messaging and target audience, you create an immersive digital environment that resonates on a deeper level. The right choices of colour and contrast can guide visitors' attention, elicit desired emotions, and subtly nudge them towards the actions you want them to take. Learn more about choosing the right colours here.
Make More Sales with Benefits Rather than Features
When it comes to sales, it's not just about showcasing what a product or service can do. It's about illuminating how it can transform the lives of your specific types of customers. While features offer a list of functionalities, benefits delve into the heart of what those functionalities mean for the consumer - how they can improve their lives and help them reach their goals. Benefits translate technicalities into relatable impact – showcasing the convenience, joy, or relief a customer gains from your product or service. In essence, benefits answer the pivotal question: "What's in it for me?" By focusing on the emotional impact and the real-world improvements a product or service brings your user, benefits show your customers that you ‘get them’, an help to forge an authentic connection that resonates deeply and drives conversions.
Build Trust with Testimonials
Leverage the magic of social proof by using testimonials throughout your website. When you showcase real stories from genuinely content customers, you're weaving a narrative of trust that resonates with potential clients. Visualise testimonials as a wall of experiences, where each testimonial serves as a brick that fortifies your brand's credibility. Human connection is the cornerstone of any business, and testimonials bridge the gap between skepticism and belief. As visitors read about others who have experienced your products or services, they envision themselves walking the same path. This emotional connection alongside the credibility and trust that testimonials provide is a recipe for conversion success!
Boost Engagement with Speedy Load Times
Slow websites kill conversions - no one likes waiting around for something to happen. You have about 2 seconds to grab the attention of your users and engage them with your content, so make sure your site performs quickly! Optimise your images by ensuring they’re the right size and file type, minimise your use of bulky plugins and add-on’s, and keep your website lightning-fast. A speedy site not only makes your visitors happy, it also pleases search engines – double win!
Craft a User Journey that Helps Your Customers Buy
Navigating a website should be more than a series of clicks; it should be a purposeful journey that guides visitors seamlessly towards a desired destination - preferably a conversion or a sale. A well-crafted user journey doesn’t happen by accident. It's about understanding your audience's needs, empathising with their motivations, and creating an easy to follow journey that effortlessly leads them through your website. A solid user journey doesn't just enhance navigation; it boosts engagement and builds trust by using user-centric design to ensure each element serves a purpose in the conversion puzzle. By minimising potential friction and maximising value, you're providing visitors with a pathway that feels personalised and intuitive. The result? A seamless, delightful journey that effortlessly guides them towards taking action, whether it's making a purchase, signing up for a newsletter, or engaging with other content.
Boost Purchases with Killer Descriptions
Words sell, and great product or service descriptions are your secret sales agents. Craft compelling descriptions that highlight benefits of your product or service to your ideal customer. Remember, we don’t want to lead with features - these are impersonal and largely uninteresting to most users. Instead, show off the benefits; how will this product or service improve your customers lives? How will it help them reach their goals? How will it solve their problems. This will help your users build an emotional connection with your offers and make them totally irresistible!
Optimise for Mobile & Grow Your Customer Base
In our modern world where the digital world rests at our fingertips, the importance of mobile optimisation in website design cannot be overstated. It's no longer a choice; it's a must! A website's performance on mobile devices directly influences its potential to capture and convert visitors. Mobile optimisation isn't just about ensuring your site looks good on smaller screens; it's about crafting an experience that's seamless, engaging, and helps guide conversions. As users increasingly browse and shop on their smartphones (70% of all website users in 2022), a responsive design that adapts effortlessly to different screen sizes is essential. A website that loads swiftly, features intuitive navigation, and showcases content without compromise on mobile devices boosts user satisfaction. This satisfaction translates into longer engagement, reduced bounce rates, and ultimately, higher conversion rates.
Simplify Checkout & Enquiry Processes
Abandoned carts are a well-known conversion killer. Any amount of friction in the checkout process can irritate your users and lead to them abandoning their baskets and forgetting the purchase. Streamline your checkout process to be as simple and intuitive as possible to make it easy for people to reach the checkout line quickly. Fewer steps, clear instructions, and multiple payment options all play their part in this process.
Test Like a Pro for a Better User Experience
Now you know all the different ways you can set your website up for conversion success, it’s time for the final rule: never stop optimising your website! In order to drive the most conversions and create the best possible experience for your users, you have to keep fine-tuning and optimising your website using the data from your analytics tools. A/B testing different elements (trying two different things to see which has more impact) – from headings to the colour of buttons – helps you understand what resonates best with your audience and drives those conversion rates up.