How to Design a Website that Converts Visitors into Quality Leads

January 02, 2024

Generating leads is a critical part of any business' marketing strategy, and your website is key to getting it done. It is often the first point of contact between a potential customer and your business. Therefore, it is essential to have a website design that not only looks great but also converts visitors into quality leads. 

So how do you design a lead-generation machine that addresses your customer's pain points, offers solutions, and provides a great user experience? Let’s find out.

Understanding pain points

No matter how well your organization knows its customers, we often discover new challenges and pain points when conducting market research. This critical step helps guide your content marketing strategy, which might include blog posts, case studies, white papers, webinars, and so forth, that resonate with your audience and provide solutions to their problems.

A strategic content marketing plan provides two main benefits. It can help:

1. Establish your brand as a thought leader in the industry while building a loyal following of engaged readers and viewers who are more likely to trust and patronize your brand.
2. Increase visibility on search engines like Google, which can lead to more traffic and conversions.

Learn more about how we conduct market research and make recommendations based on the findings.  

Designing a user-friendly website

Another critical element of lead generation website design is user experience. A user-friendly website is easy to navigate and provides a seamless experience. A difficult-to-navigate website can lead to visitors leaving your website without taking any action.

To create a user-friendly website, you should focus on the following elements:

Navigation

• Navigation should be easy to use and intuitive. Visitors should find what they are looking for quickly and easily.

Design

• Design should be visually appealing and reflect your brand's personality.

Mobile optimization

• It is essential to design your website to be mobile-friendly. A mobile-friendly website provides a great user experience on all devices, including smartphones and tablets.

Speed

• Speed is a crucial factor in user experience. Visitors expect websites to load quickly. A slow-loading website can lead to high bounce rates.

Now let’s take what we’ve learned about user experience and apply it throughout our website design.

Let’s start with the homepage

Your homepage must have an impact to capture your audience’s attention. Thoughtfully incorporate the following elements to grab users’ attention and provide a seamless transition to engaging and educational content.

• Clear and prominent call-to-action (CTA) buttons: Your homepage should have clear and prominent CTA buttons that are easily visible to visitors. The CTA should be persuasive, action-oriented, and relevant to the needs of your target audience.
• User-friendly design: The design of your homepage should be user-friendly and easy to navigate. Visitors should be able to find the information they need quickly and easily. Avoid cluttered designs, confusing navigation, and slow loading times.
• Valuable and relevant content: Your homepage should provide valuable and relevant content that speaks directly to the needs and pain points of your target audience. Use persuasive language and highlight the benefits of your product or service.
• Social proof: Incorporating social proof, such as customer testimonials, reviews, and ratings, can help build trust and credibility with your visitors. Include logos of well-known companies or organizations that you’ve worked with.

Additionally, the inclusion of strategically placed opt-in forms, a mobile-friendly design, and the use of analytics and tracking tools will further enhance your ability to measure, refine, and ultimately maximize the ability of your homepage to help generate valuable leads.

• Opt-in forms: Opt-in forms are an effective way to collect visitor information and generate leads. Place opt-in forms strategically on your homepage, such as in the header, footer, or sidebar.
• Analytics and tracking: Use analytics and tracking tools, such as Google Analytics, to measure the effectiveness of your homepage in generating leads. Monitor your website’s traffic, bounce rates, and conversion rates, and use this information to make data-driven decisions to optimize your homepage for lead generation.

One thing we must remember, however, is that many – if not most – visitors do not start their on-site journey on your homepage. Many will arrive directly onto a search-optimized content page or on one of your site’s landing pages, most likely from an email marketing campaign or a paid or social media ad. It’s vital those experiences are optimized for conversion, as well.

Stick the landing page

Landing pages have one purpose: persuade site visitors to convert. The design, copy and call-to-action should work together to make converting easy and painless. Within five seconds, visitors should understand the page’s purpose and what they gain by converting.

An opt-in form, which we’ll discuss next, should fall above the fold (without much scrolling) if possible, and the page should include a clear call-to-action along with additional information about the offer. Removing navigation can help facilitate conversions, and it doesn't hurt the user experience since visitors who arrive on landing pages usually have high intent.

Here are your focal points for high-conversion landing pages:

• Define the landing page’s purpose: Is it to promote a specific product or service? To encourage visitors to sign up for a newsletter or download a whitepaper? Understanding the purpose of the landing page will help you create a more effective design and messaging.
• Keep it simple: A landing page should be easy to understand. Use a clear and concise headline and avoid cluttering the page with unnecessary text or images. Use bullet points and short paragraphs to convey your message.
• Use a persuasive CTA: Make it action-oriented, too. Use language that encourages visitors to act, such as "Download Now" or "Sign Up Today." Use contrasting colors to make the CTA button stand out.
• Offer something of value: That might be a free e-book or webinar. As long as the offer is relevant to the needs and interests of your target audience, they are more likely to fill out a form and share contact information with you.
• Use video to capture attention: Video can be a powerful lead generation tool. Video on a landing page can increase conversion by as much as 86%, according to HubSpot.
• Make the form as prominent as possible: The form on your landing page should be simple, easy to fill out and, ideally, visible without much scrolling. Ask for only the information you need, such as name and email address. The more fields that you include, the less likely visitors are to fill out the form.
• Test and optimize: Testing is crucial to improve landing page effectiveness. A/B testing can help determine which design elements and messaging work best for your target audience and help you make data-driven decisions to optimize your landing page for lead generation.

Heeding the call (to action)

An organized call-to-action strategy is essential when designing a lead generation website. Each CTA should be clear, concise, and active, incorporating messaging that underscores the value of the offer or its urgency and scarcity.
 
Follow these CTA tips to enhance the effectiveness of your CTAs, ensuring they resonate with your target audience and drive desired actions.

• Be clear and concise: Use language that is action-oriented and directly relevant to your target audience. Use active verbs and avoid jargon or confusing language.
• Use contrasting colors: To make your CTA stand out, use contrasting colors that grab the user's attention. The color of the CTA button should contrast with the background color of the website, making it easy to find.
• Position it prominently: Prominent spots include the header, footer, or sidebar. Make sure the CTA is visible without having to scroll and use white space to draw attention.
• Use urgency and scarcity: Incorporating a sense of urgency or scarcity can be effective in encouraging visitors to act. For example, using language such as "limited time offer" or "only 5 spots left" in your headline or CTA copy can compel visitors to take action.
• Get personal: Personalizing the CTA can make it more effective. Saying "Talk to an Engineer" instead of "Contact Us" can make the CTA feel more relevant. Providing more information about what to expect can help increase conversions overall.
• Test and optimize: Testing and optimizing your CTA strategy is crucial to improving its effectiveness. A/B testing can help you determine which CTAs work best for your target audience and make data-driven decisions to optimize your website for lead generation.
• Use multiple CTAs: Using multiple CTAs can be effective. For example, using a CTA in the header, footer, and sidebar can increase the likelihood visitors will act.

Picking pop-up forms

Pop-up forms are a popular tool used by marketers to capture leads. These forms appear as a window that pops up on the screen when a visitor lands on a particular page or performs a specific action. They’re often used to collect prospect’s information, including email addresses, names, and phone numbers. You can then use that information to build a database of potential customers or subscribers, which can be used to further promote your products or services.
 
When designing a pop-up form, it's important to make it visually appealing and easy to use. The form should be clearly visible on the page and not obstruct any important information. Make it simple and quick to fill out, with only the necessary fields required. Incentivizing visitors by offering a free e-book, discount code, or other valuable content can also help increase conversions.
 
It's important to use pop-up forms strategically, as too many or poorly timed pop-ups can frustrate visitors and lead to high bounce rates. A/B testing can help determine the most effective placement, timing, and design of your pop-up forms.

Let’s talk about conversational marketing

Conversational marketing involves engaging with website visitors in real-time through conversational interfaces such as chatbots or live chat. It allows businesses to communicate with visitors in a more personalized and conversational manner, which can be an effective way to capture leads. Conversational marketing can be used to provide quick answers to questions, offer product recommendations, or provide personalized assistance to visitors.
 
Chatbots that help guide visitors through the sales funnel are an effective use of conversational marketing that prospects are becoming comfortable with. By asking visitors questions about their needs and preferences, chatbots can recommend products or services that are relevant to them, which can increase the likelihood of a sale. You can also use chatbots to collect contact information, such as email addresses or phone numbers, which can be used to follow up with visitors later.
 
Live chat is another effective conversational marketing lead gen strategy. By offering visitors the option to chat with a live representative, businesses can provide personalized assistance and answer any questions visitors may have. You can also collect contact information and provide visitors with additional resources or incentives to convert them into leads.

Improving conversion rates

Finally, to design a lead generation website that converts visitors into quality leads, you need to focus on improving your website's conversion rate, or the percentage of visitors taking a desired action on your website, such as filling out a form or making a purchase.

Here are some tips for improving your website's conversion rate:

• Use a clear and compelling call to action (CTA): Your CTA should be easy to find and use strong, action-oriented language. It should clearly communicate the benefit of taking the desired action.
• Show social proof: Social proof is a powerful tool for building trust with your visitors. You can use customer testimonials, case studies, and other forms of social proof to demonstrate the value of your product or service.
• A/B test things: A/B testing involves testing different elements of your website to see which version performs better. You can test different headlines, CTAs, and other components to determine what works best for your audience.
• Make it easy to contact you: Make sure your contact information is easy to find and use. Provide multiple ways for visitors to contact you, such as a phone number, email address, and contact form.
• Optimize your forms: Your website's forms should be easy to use and only ask for essential information. You can use form analytics tools to identify where visitors are dropping off in the process and make changes to improve completion rates.
• Use retargeting: Retargeting involves showing ads to visitors who have already visited your website. This can help keep your brand top of mind and encourage visitors to return and take the desired action.

By focusing on these elements, you can improve your website's conversion rate and generate more quality leads for your business.

Final thoughts

Designing a lead generation website requires a deep understanding of your target audience's pain points, a focus on providing solutions to customers’ problems and a user experience that is both engaging and user-friendly.

By keeping these considerations in mind when designing your website, you can create a lead generation machine that drives traffic, engages visitors, and converts leads into customers.

Interested in learning more about designing a lead-generating and well-designed website? Give our web development and technology team a call.