Have you been wondering how to increase website conversions without redesigning your site? Well, you’re in the right place. It is my hope that by the time you’ve read this article you will feel clearer about how to move forward towards a better converting website without the need to start over again. Let’s dive in, shall we?
1. Find quick wins with an Audit
A website audit is going to give you an outside perspective on where the problems with your site lie, as well as providing suggestions on how to fix these issues. Although a word of caution, these suggestions will not have been tested for your site, so you should ideally apply them in a testing environment.
Likely, you will know better than the auditor on what it is possible to do quickly and cheaply, and what is going to take a serious investment of your resources. Although the auditor may make a prediction, I recommend you read through their points and compile a list of quick and easy suggestions that you feel will have a big impact. One way I like to do this is by attaching an ICE score to each point.
Once you have this list, you can start making changes. Because these are quick wins, they shouldn’t involve an overhaul of any major sections of your site, and won’t involve a redesign. Quick wins are great because they can have almost instant pay offs for very little effort and an audit is the perfect way to take the blinkers of internal knowledge off and find them.
Download an example of our CRO Mini-Audits and Full CRO Audits here.
2. Hire a good copywriter
The right copy can make a world of difference. Copywriting is a skill most of us don’t have, which is partly why AI written copy is so popular. But rely on AI exclusively and you run the risk of your copy sounding fake or overly wordy.
The right copywriter will get to know your target market, and the target audiences within that target market. They will put in the time to look through your website and/or talk to you to better understand what it is you sell. (If what you sell is technical, this could take a little while).
They are also going to understand what type of copy will resonate. Will it be long format, conversational style like an article? Or short punchy sales copy that cuts out the fluff? Both can be right, it all depends on who they are writing for, and a good copywriter should be able to adapt to both.
3. Upgrade your media
I’ve seen it all, from tiny photos on e-commerce stores that you can’t zoom into, stock images on agency sites that have nothing to do with the content they are associated with, and greyed out photos of someone miserable on a contact page.
Here are some ways you can upgrade your media relatively easily (apologies for the long list):
1. Make sure any media you use above the fold (the bit people see when the page first loads) on a landing page tells users what your site is about and gives them a reason to pay attention.
The media you show above the fold on landing pages should make it possible to instantly know what your site is about and if possible, for it to tackle users’ motivation for being on your website.
2. If you sell software, add screenshots and GIFs of your actual product rather than using graphics.
Users want to see what they will actually be getting, not just some designer’s interpretation. GIFs are great as they tell the user a bit about how the software works quickly. Videos are great for explainer pages, but not everyone will want to watch them.
3. If you sell furniture or anything where size will be important, put measurements on a photo in your media carousel.
Measurements are so much easier to comprehend if they are on a photo of the product itself. After all, it’s easy to get width and depth confused sometimes, I know I do.
4. If you sell almost anything online, make sure your images are zoomable.
This one may sound basic, but I see a lot of sites where photos can’t be zoomed in, and the user is left looking at a tiny image. The one exception I would make would be for disposable items that people buy every day. I doubt that many people are wanting to zoom in to look at toilet rolls!
5. If your products are aspirational or are used within a specific context, then add in situ products to your media carousel.
People are emotional creatures, and we respond to the way a product is likely to make us feel. We find this difficult to imagine if the product is shown solely on a white background. So, if you sell clothes, show them on a confident looking model, if you sell hiking gear, show someone surrounded by beautiful scenery, and if you sell home décor, show this in a desirable living space.
6. If you sell high-end products, make sure there is video.
Video is increasingly popular and expected for higher end items. If you are not investing in video, you could be invertedly telling users that it isn’t worth the price tag.
7. If you sell high-end accommodations, make sure there is a floor plan and/or a 360˚tour.
People may want more than just pictures to really imaging living or staying in the space you’re selling. 360˚tours cost a little bit more to produce, which tells users that you believe it is worth it the cost.
8. If you want people to contact you, use photos of people that make you seem approachable.
It doesn’t really matter what you are selling or whether its B2C or B2B, if you want people to get in touch then you want to give them the impression that speaking to you will be a pleasant experience. Use colour photos to bring life to people’s faces, have people smile, and consider if body language is welcoming if you are showing more than head and shoulders.
9. Ensure your imagery matches your content.
I appreciate this is difficult if you are trying to convey something a little abstract (like how to increase website conversions), but the closer you can match your imagery to the content the better.
You get bonus points if you can use real rather than stock imagery and/or models. For example, if you are talking about supporting your local community, photos of a real community project could be impactful. Or if you are talking about your team, showing a group photo of your actual team is better than people you don’t know.
10. If your product or service improves peoples lives, show a before and after shot to demonstrate its value.
People pay attention to contrast because evolutionary speaking, it was vital for our survival. Before and after or ‘this versus that’ shots can be hugely influential.
11. If you have long sections of text, break them up with photos, graphics, and video.
Lots of sites have what I call ‘walls of text’. These are incredibly long passages with no bullet points or contrast to provide a break. Generally speaking, you should only write three paragraphs before there is a subheading. But if you do need to write more then adding media every 3 paragraphs can help keep users’ attention.
4. A/B test
A/B testing works best when you test small changes one at a time (or a few small changes if just changing one means the test won’t work). Because you are only making small changes, you will have a good understanding of what works and what doesn’t.
A/B testing can be as small as testing a free delivery threshold, a promotional banner, or even some of the copy and media changes you have made from my suggestions above.
If you eventually do decide to redesign your site, you should take the learnings from your A/B tests and implement these rather than creating something from scratch that is unproven. We have some great A/B testing partners, so drop us a message if you’d like a recommendation!
Summary
So, there you go, you now know 4 ways you can make improvements, without having to hire a designer to overhaul your site. All these things fall under the banner of conversion rate optimisation (CRO), whether you just get an audit and then decide to go it alone, or you embrace a CRO mindset within your company and hire a CRO or agency.
If you would like to speak to us about conversion rate optimisation, you can get in touch with us by clicking the button below.
Hi, I’m Charlotte. I love writing about user psychology and tips I’ve picked up from leading user research and CRO projects. Get in touch if you’d like to work with me to improve the user experience on your site or click here to learn more about your future CRO team.