Website Usability: How to Increase Conversions
Jakob Nielsen is a usability expert who’s philosophies we try to incorporate across our network. His writings can be found on his site at http://www.useit.com/. One of his cornerstone concepts is that users often read a web page in an F shape pattern. Users first scan the top of the page from left to right, then move down a bit and repeat the same pattern, then continue to brows down the left hand side of the page. With this in mind, a designer can place conversion points along these lines which can have a significant impact in increasing overall conversion rates.
Take a look at Treatment 4 Addiction. The world’s greatest designer did an awesome job on this - although she knows better than to have canonicalization issues with her homepage 
A few observations on why Lissette’s design works:
- The entire page considers conversion, not just above the fold. She puts key conversion points along the where the usually naturally scans the page and repeats the technique down the page.
- Repetition of the same theme helps visitors get comfortable with the information quickly.
- Lissette really brings the user into the page with critical information and clear interactive points. A more engaged visitor understands how to read deeper into the site and is presented with a continually engaging and layered experience.
- The site has 3 primary types of visitors - those looking for addiction information, immediate treatment solutions and ongoing recovery options. Each layer helps to get each type of visitor to the right information quickly and clearly. The page really opens up wide, then gets you slotted in quickly - sort of like Plinko!
If you’d like me to take a look at your website and provide thoughts around usability and conversion, simply let me know via comment on this post or send me an email and I’d be happy to get back to you.
