How to Optimize Design Elements

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In this lesson, we’ll introduce how to optimize various design elements. This guide will elaborate on how you can utilize key design elements to increase your pages’ conversion rates.

Why should you optimize design elements?

When designing pages, there is a tendency to put a great deal of effort into making them look beautiful or eye-catching to entice visitors to stay on the page and generate interest in the business. However, when we approach design in this way, we cannot maximize the use of each element to its full potential.

Why is this important?

When it comes to conversion rate optimization (CRO), designing a beautiful page that does not function well or help guide users to perform desired actions does not lead to increases in conversion rate. Optimizing design elements is a crucial part of conversion rate optimization (CRO). It ensures every item on the page logically connects to the next element without any unnecessary distractions.

What you’ll need:

Here is a list of design techniques and tools you can utilize to increase the conversion rates on your pages.

• Interactive Design

Interactive design in the context of CRO refers to the type of work that specifically focuses on designing an experience for the users in order to accomplish certain actions.

• Directional Elements

This refers to any type of visual element that leads a viewer’s eyes to a place on a page where a marketer wants to attract attention.

• Positioning

Positioning guides the placement of a button, headline, imagery, or a section of content in order to make the best use of space. 

• Size

Size is a design element to determine how large or small a visual element is in relation to other elements within a given space.

• Color

Color is a design element that can be used to highlight information or create an emotional response.

• Shapes

Shapes refer to the visual forms of individual design elements as well as collective groups of design elements.

The Process: Best Practices for Various Design Elements

Best Practice: Create Interactive Design

It is important not only to focus on designing a beautiful page but also one that functions how it is intended for a page visitor. There are different ways to generate higher engagement and user interactions by adding effects and/or setting up actions that follow a user when they perform a specific action.

Example: Scrolling Header

In our case, we decided to add a header that appears when people are scrolling up the page to either see previous content or to accept the offer on the page. We made sure that our header always displays the main call-to-action (CTA) button in order to provide a seamless conversion process. Providing easy access to the CTA buttons saves time and offers convenience to users, leading to improved conversion rates. 

Best Practice: Directional Design Elements

Incorporating directional elements into a design is an effective method in guiding visitors’ attention to a specific destination on a page where you would like the user to pay attention to or take action.

Example: Diagonal Colored Backgrounds

There are different ways to utilize directional elements by adding visual cues, such as arrows and gradients. In our case, we implemented diagonal, colored backgrounds in different sections of the page. These directional elements not only separate different types of information but it also visually informs the user that there is more information to be seen when they scroll down the page.

 

Best Practice: Adjusting the Positioning of Design Elements

It is important to focus on the positioning of design elements and content to maximize the real estate of any given section on a page to guide visitors to take the desired steps toward conversion.

Example: Display Similar Content in a Row + Positioning of Content

As shown below, when displaying metrics in a row, we’re able to better maximize the space within the section and draw a correlation between each metric. This helps us communicate our point in a more concise manner so that a user does not have to scroll down.

Additionally, we intentionally positioned the statistics section above the final CTA section so that visitors are more compelled to convert after reading the results of how other brands have found success through our partnerships.

Best Practice: Sizing

Size is an important factor to consider when optimizing design elements. This is especially true when it relates to communicating the importance of certain information in a given space. On most occasions, users place greater importance on larger elements in comparison to smaller elements. 

Example: Text Size

For instance, if all font sizes were the same on a page, it would be difficult to determine what information is more important. One option includes changing the font color or style. On the other hand, if the most important information (such as the headline of a website) is larger in relation to other text on the page (like a subheadline), users are more likely to better comprehend the information in its context and receive it as the marketer intended.

Best Practice: Highlight Design Elements with Color