Specific elements on a webpage also enhance your marketing by encouraging visitors to take action. Here are some next-action design elements to try:
Red arrows: One of the most commonly used graphics online is a big red arrow pointing to something important. Why are they so popular? Because red arrows instruct people what to do, and people want to be directed. Think of using arrows as a courtesy to your visitors by guiding them to where they should be interested in going.
Guarantee sections: Guarantees might be written in text, but it’s the graphic piece that brings attention to it. After people are made aware that a guarantee is offered, they’re often more willing to take the next step.
Outlined text boxes: A page full of content needs to be divided into sections, or it will just look long-winded without purpose. But an outlined text box draws attention.
Inline text links: Throughout the content of a page, consider featuring links to other pages where more topic-specific content can be found. These inline links should always be underlined and blue in appearance.
Designers will try to be creative and convince you to use other colors. Programmers will use CSS styles to remove the underline from all text links because they believe the page looks less cluttered without a bunch of links all over it. But blue, underlined text links have been around since the word hyperlink was invented. Here are other colors as potential links:
Red is probably not a good color for links because red means “stop” in American society. We have red stop signs, red stop lights, and even red Corvettes that make us stop and look.
Green is not a horrible choice for a link. After all, we look at green as meaning “go” at a stop light. The problem with green is that it doesn’t stand out very well on a white background unless you use a larger font or bold the text. And, bolding every text link really drives designers crazy!
Yellow, orange, and even white links could be used when reverse text is concerned. Reverse text is when you have a very dark design forcing you to use very light colors for the text. In that case, try a lighter shade of blue for your links so that they stand out.
Yes, the color blue will be your best fit for a text link color. That’s not just because of tradition or because it’s what the pros do, but because blue works and we’re conditioned to look for blue when we want more information on a topic. People look for blue, underlined links. And you don’t want to let them down.
