Call to action.

What a call to action does

A call to action is the place where a visitor turns into an enquiry. A button, a link, a form: anything that offers the next step.

A mistake here costs more than in any other block. You can write honest copy, show case studies and handle objections — and lose the person on a “Submit” button that promises nothing and dissolves into the background.

Word the action, not the process

“Click here” and “Submit” describe the mechanics of a click. What matters to the visitor is different: what they will get and what happens to them afterwards.

What works is verbs backed by a clear result: “Get a quote”, “Book a site survey”, “Download the price list”, “Reserve a time”. Compare “Submit” with “Get an estimate in 20 minutes” — the second wording itself answers the question the person asks themselves before pressing.

Specifics matter more than cleverness. “Learn more” sounds polite but says nothing: more about what, in what form and how long it will take.

One main action per screen

Five equal buttons are not freedom of choice but an obligation to make a decision. A person who is simultaneously offered to buy, call, write in chat, download a catalogue and subscribe to a newsletter finds it easier to do nothing.

Leave one main action and, if a second is unavoidable, make it visually weaker: a bright “Get a quote” button with a pale “See prices” link beside it. Then the eye does not dart about but follows the intended route.

The button must be visible

Visibility is not “make the button red” but contrast with what surrounds it. If the whole page is done in blue, a blue button merges with it regardless of size.

Checking is simple: step back a couple of paces from the monitor or zoom the page far out. Whatever remains distinguishable is what the visitor will see in the first second. If the button disappeared along with everything else, it is not working.

Check the phone separately: the button must be tappable with a thumb without aiming, and a pop-up or cookie banner must not cover it.

What to write next to the button

The button itself holds two or three words, so the argument goes in a short line beneath it. “We reply within one working day”, “The quote is free and puts you under no obligation”, “10% off your first order” — this removes anxiety and explains the benefit.

This is also the place for urgency — but only genuine urgency. A “Today only” that hangs there for months gets noticed, and people stop believing everything else on the page. If the promotion has an end date, write the date. If there is no deadline, it is better to explain why it is worth not putting off: for example, that site surveys are booked up two weeks ahead.

The call should continue the page

The action must follow from what the person has just read. A reader of an article on choosing a contractor is not yet ready to buy — it makes more sense to offer them an audit or a consultation. A visitor on a service page is already choosing — they need a price or a quote.

And the action itself should be simple. An eight-field form, mandatory registration or a document upload before the first conversation devalues any wording: the more steps between the decision and the result, the fewer people make it to the end.

How to tell whether the wording works

An argument about button copy is not won with arguments — it is settled by measurement. Change one element at a time: first the wording, then the colour, then the position on the page. Otherwise it is unclear what exactly produced the result.

Look not at clicks but at completed enquiries. A button that gets pressed more often but whose form is not filled in usually promises more than it delivers — and that too is a useful conclusion.

Frequently asked questions

How many calls to action does a page need?

One in meaning, repeated along the page. Not everyone reads to the end, so it makes sense to show the button on the first screen, after the pricing block and at the finish — but the action in it must be the same.

Which button colour is best?

The one that appears nowhere else on the page. There is no universal colour: what works is contrast with the surroundings, not a specific shade.

Is it worth writing “free”?

It is, if it is true and removes the main worry — that you will be billed for the quote or the survey. But the word should not be the only argument.

Why do people press the button but no enquiries come?

Most often it is about what happens after the press: a long form, mandatory fields, an unclear next step. Look at which field people abandon the form on.

What to do next

Open your home page and try, within three seconds, to answer what you are being asked to do. If there is no answer, you need to start with the call to action, not the design.

We build pages that carry the visitor through to an enquiry — that is website development. Next, our guides on how to raise landing page conversion and how to test changes with an A/B test will come in handy.