Call to action buttons that bring in customers

A call to action is the button or link that tells a visitor what to do now: "Call us", "Book an appointment", "Get a quote". A good call to action is one per page, says exactly what happens after the click, sits where the visitor has already made up their mind, and is easy to tap with a thumb on a phone. If your website gets visitors but few calls, this is very often where the problem is.

What a call to action is and why it matters

Call to action, or CTA, is a marketing term for any text designed to prompt an immediate response [1]. On a small-business website it is almost always one of four things: a call, a message, an enquiry through a form, or a booking.

People do not read your website from top to bottom. They arrive with a question ("Do they renovate bathrooms in my area?"), look for the answer and decide. If the next step is not in front of them at that moment, most simply close the page and open the next Google result. The call to action is the bridge between "this looks interesting" and "I'll call them". The whole path from visitor to customer is covered in how to turn website visitors into customers.

One main action per page

The most common mistake is a page with five equally bright buttons: "Call us", "Message us", "Download the brochure", "Follow us", "Subscribe". When everything shouts, nothing is heard. Nielsen Norman Group advises against piling many colourful boxes of different sizes onto one page, because the hierarchy gets lost [2].

Decide what the main action is for your business and make it the most visible thing. The others can stay, but quieter: as a plain link or a lighter button.

If you are not sure which to choose, look at which enquiry is worth the most to you and how your customers already prefer to get in touch. If you are thinking about online booking, see when online bookings are worth it.

What to write on the button

The words on a button are the shortest copy on your website and some of the most important. The rule is simple: the button says what will happen when you press it. Nielsen Norman Group describes how generic labels such as "Get Started" make people click without knowing where they are going, and then come back frustrated. Their advice is a label that says exactly what comes next [3].

A few quick rules:

• Start with a verb. "Book", "Call", "Get", "See".
• Name the result. "Book a table" is clearer than "Reservations".
• Don't promise what you don't do. If the button says "Reply within the hour", the reply has to come within the hour.
• Take the worry away. Under the button, one short line: "No obligation" or "We'll call you to check the details".

There is more on copy in general in how to write your website copy.

A good button is not the brightest one. A good button is one where people know what will happen before they press it.

Where to place the call to action

Put it in three places: on the first screen, after the proof (reviews, photos, projects) and at the bottom of the page. People hesitate right after they have seen your work, so that is where a button helps most. How to arrange the whole homepage is covered in what to put on your homepage.

The button also has to look like a button. Modern "flat" design often leaves just text in a coloured outline, and people cannot tell what is clickable. Nielsen Norman Group recommends keeping the rectangular shape with rounded corners and not styling ordinary headings to look like buttons [2].

Be careful with pop-ups too. If the first thing on a phone is a big newsletter window covering the page, the visitor never reaches your button. Google advises against covering the whole page with such windows and suggests banners that take up only a small part of the screen instead [6].

The call button on phones

Many people look for local services on their phone. There, the strongest call to action is usually the call itself.

1. Make the number a link. In HTML this is a tel: link; on a phone it dials the number directly [5]. A number people have to copy by hand loses customers.
2. Make it big. Google's web.dev recommends a tap area of around 48 pixels (around 9 mm), with about 8 pixels of space between neighbouring buttons [4].
3. Keep it visible. The number or a call icon in the top bar that stays on screen while scrolling.
4. Think about opening hours. Outside them, it is better to offer the form first so people can leave a request in the evening too.

That is how we approached two of our own projects. For a roadside assistance service (mobileservicebg.com) we put a large "Call us" button and the number on the first mobile screen, with WhatsApp beside it. The details are in a website for a car service or roadside assistance. For a renovation company in Sofia, the enquiry buttons on each service lead to the site visit form with that service already filled in, the call icon stays in the top bar on phones, and outside working hours the form comes first. See a website for a construction or renovation company and all our projects.

A 10-minute check

Open your website on your phone and go through this list:

1. Every important page has one main action, visible without scrolling.
2. The button text says what will happen.
3. The button looks like a button and is easy to tap with a thumb.
4. The phone number dials with a single tap.
5. The call to action is repeated after the reviews and at the bottom.
6. No pop-up covers the page when someone arrives.
7. The form behind the button is short: name, phone, one question.
8. You know how many times a week people press the button.

The last point matters: without numbers you don't know whether a change helped. How to count clicks and enquiries is in how to measure what your website brings in. Change one thing at a time and compare after a few weeks.

If you'd rather someone sorted it out for you

Clear buttons are a small change that often gets forgotten. At Studio V1 every website is built around one main action for the business, with a call button on phones, and after launch you can ask for minor updates, such as new button wording. The subscription is €50 a month, and the website is live within 7 business days. See how we work or get in touch.

References

1. Wikipedia. "Call to action (marketing)." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Call_to_action
2. Nielsen Norman Group. "Beyond Blue Links: Making Clickable Elements Recognizable." nngroup.com/articles/clickable-elements
3. Nielsen Norman Group. "'Get Started' Stops Users." nngroup.com/articles/get-started
4. web.dev (Google). "Accessible tap targets." web.dev/articles/accessible-tap-targets
5. MDN Web Docs (Mozilla). "HTML anchor element." developer.mozilla.org
6. Google Search Central. "Avoid intrusive interstitials and dialogs." developers.google.com/search