If you have a business or eCommerce website, then you have buttons on them like “Buy Now”, “Contact Us”, or “Add to Cart.” What color are they? Choosing the right button color for your website can increase conversions and sales.
Look at the three buttons below. Which one would you click?
Most people would click the orange button. Orange is an excellent choice for a “call to action” button. Red is a color that implies risk, and it is more of a “stop” color. It is good for headlines that grab your attention, but not buttons. Green is a calming color associated with spring and nature. It is also associated with the color of money in the US, and of the three above would be the second most likely to be clicked.
Trick question. Now look at the same three buttons. Which would you click now?
The orange button still does very well, but studies show that more people would click the green button. This is because the dark blue background comes into play and inspires a feeling of security and trust. The green color builds on this feeling. People feel calm and confident, and click the button.
Do you know anybody that uses button colors to improve their conversion rates and thus sales? How about amazon.com?
Amazon.com has spent years optimizing and studying the most effective color to use on their website buttons, and has found that the colors above make people click. The text and outline colors are navy blue, and the “Add to Cart” buttons are popularly called “Amazon Orange.”
Does anybody else use these colors? Consider PayPal. On the left are three buttons that they previously used, and on the right are the three new button colors. Orange, right?
So, what does this mean to you. Should all of your buttons now be changed to orange? If you have a white background and a simple layout, probably yes. Otherwise, you should do a study.
Capture the number of conversions on your present button for a study period of a week or more. Then, change the button color and capture the number of conversions for another study period. Remember that you have to adjust conversions to allow for the number of visitors to the page in each study period. This is because more visitors = more clicks regardless of the color.
What are your opinions about this? Have you had any good/bad experiences with changing button colors? Please post your ideas in a reply below!
