Call to Actions can be the life or death of your campaign, whether it’s in an email blast or on your website. If no one clicks through, then you’ve lost your customers and your online stability. Certain internet conventions have made Call to Actions easy, because everyone knows what a button looks like and what you do with them – you click!
But with so many options out there (size, color, shape, placement), how do you know what will work the best? First off, you need to give your audience some credit. Don’t make your button the size of Antarctica, because then it won’t even look like a button anymore. Feel the flow of your layout, and place your CTA in a reasonable spot. After they’ve read the copy, they’ll want to go to the next step, so give it to them.
Color
It’s best to make your button a complementary (opposite) color to the rest of your layout. If your site is yellow (hey, what an awesome color!), maybe you should choose purple or blue to bring attention to your CTA.
Shape
Conventions exist, because they work. The shape of your button should reflect what’s popular and known: this doesn’t mean you can’t have fun with it, it just means you should acknowledge what’s functional. Generally, buttons have rounded corners and emulate 3-D. Try adding in gradients so it looks like it’s catching light. The more ‘real’ it looks, the more people will want to touch it.
Placement
White space is your friend! The more open air you have around your CTA, the more attention it will call to itself. Try using your site without the button, and see where you as a user would want it. Above all else, it should be functional.
See Some Examples of Good and Bad Button Practices
Create Your Own Button
This tutorial will help you make your own eye-catching button: Site Point
