A/B Testing Idea #1: Place irresistible and clear CTA buttons

A/B Testing Idea #1: Place irresistible and clear CTA buttons

Are you wasting much of your time and effort A/B testing every single idea that pops into your head, yet you're not generating sufficient traffic to your website? Don't worry—we've got you.
 
We'd like to introduce you to the A/B Testing Ideas learning series, a collection of easy-to-use design tips to A/B test your website pages. This series will include techniques to effectively optimize various elements on your website and boost conversion rates in a short time. These ideas can also give you a strong framework to start your conversion rate optimization and discover what design changes work best for your website. Do Follow the page and post your comments about the content shared in the comment box below.

So, here is our first post in the series: Place irresistible and clear CTA buttons



As we know, the basic intention of any website is to make somebody do something—for example, getting visitors to fill in a form, download a PDF, or purchase an item. And, of course, the best way to make visitors perform these actions is through the simple CTA (call-to-action) buttons placed on your web page, such as "Buy now", "Learn more", or "Sign up" links.

However, at times you might notice that your website is getting a good traffic but the conversions obtained on your CTA are poor. This is exactly when you need to A/B test your CTA buttons. In today’s post, we'll learn a few simple, yet powerful, CTA testing ideas to maximize conversions and recover those lost leads on your site.

So how do you create and test a persuasive CTA?

There are three parts to look at: the text, the position, and the graphical presentation of the CTA on your web page.
 
Testing the CTA words
Good CTA copy is more than just text. In general, CTA copy that speaks directly to your visitor outperforms generalized CTA copy. Here are a few points to consider while crafting your CTA copy:
  • Decide what action you want your audience to take and describe what will happen next—for example, use text like “Subscribe to our blog " or "Request a product demo" and not "Subscribe" or "Register here." This will tell visitors what to expect by clicking on the CTA.

  • Start with action-oriented words in your CTA like "read," "download," "call," and more. This can make your button stand out from the rest of the page content and convince visitors to click it instantly.

  • Create a sense of urgency with words like “today,” “now,” or “in the next 24 hours” in your CTAs to garner those extra clicks with less effort.
Focusing on the above tips can help you kindle your audience’s emotion towards your products/services, build a sense of trust in your business, and eventually achieve your website goal.

A few examples of good CTA copy you can test out include:
  • Using a "Grab my ebook" CTA on the web page  instead of a CTA that just instructs visitors to “Download.” This will create a more personal touch and draw interest towards the button.



  • Using a "Access courses for free" CTA instead of an overused "Sign up" button to build connections and boost sign ups on your newly developed elearning website.

Extra tip: Your CTA buttons should always have a healthy chunk of white space surrounding them. White space helps instantly grab your visitors' attention and adds focus to your button.

Testing the CTA position
Strive to achieve CTA placement that is noticeable but not disruptive to your audience. If you place your CTA button in a spot where your users don’t naturally look, you’re going to lose conversions. There are generally two points to look at while testing CTA position:
  • Identify and utilize smart button placement based on your visitors' natural reading flow (top to bottom and left to right or right to left) and behavior on your website. This includes the path users follow on your website to complete a process, the design elements they click on, and the barriers that prevent them from achieving their goal.

    Tip: You can use Session Recordings in PageSense to see how and why users are interacting with your CTAs the way they are.

  • Place the CTA button above or below the average fold of your page depending on the length and complexity of the content. This could also be determined by how far down the page your visitors scroll on an average. However, adding your CTA above the fold is the most common placement choice used on homepage/landing page designs.

    Tip: You can set up heatmaps, scroll maps, and attention maps in PageSense to determine whether people are responding to—or even seeing—your CTAs.
A few examples of good CTA placement you can test out include:
  • Showing a glimpse of soon-to-be-released products with feature highlights, and then at the end placing "Pre-order for free" CTA on your digital store. This uses the below-the-fold area of your web page to catch the attention of the visitors first, even before redirecting visitors to the preferred page(s).



  • Adding a “Buy Now” or "Add to Cart" button at the top-right section of the product page where a user would immediately click to buy after viewing your product offers page on the ecommerce site. This type of CTA placement adds visitors to your sales pipeline quickly by canceling extra steps like add to cart and check out.

Testing the CTA appearance
The color and appearance of your CTA button are the most important aspects while testing and optimizing your website. As humans, we always have a greater tendency to stick to information that looks bigger and brighter. Below are some practical tips on designing and testing an appealing CTA button:
  • Add a bold, bright, and contrasting background color to CTAs. Give more important CTA buttons a brighter color and the less important functions a lighter color or simple text links.

  • Have your CTA appear more clickable. This could be done by adding some visual effects such as a slight gradient or a small shadow to create that real push-button effect. However, if you think none of the effects will suit the chosen style of your website, add emphasis by applying rounded edges to the button.

  • Size of the button is another crucial factor in designing an effective CTA button. Larger CTAs have a higher chance of being noticed and clicked by readers. It’s also common to arrange UI components according to their importance. 
A few examples of good CTA appearance you can test out include:
  • Adding an attractive 3D or shadow effect to the "last minute deal" CTA button on your ecommerce site. This effect can spotlight the CTA, making it bright and prominent in comparison to other features like wish lists, view cart, or check out buttons.



  • Applying a bright color to the most recommended plan on your pricing page that you think will be a good fit for the majority of visitors. This might help highlight the best features in your product and avoid confusing buyers.

Found this useful? We would love to know what you think about this post. And, do you have any favorite A/B testing tricks or preferred approaches that you experiment on your website CTAs? Let us know in the comments below!

Happy testing. Happy converting!

    Access your files securely from anywhere

        All-in-one knowledge management and training platform for your employees and customers.






                              Zoho Developer Community




                                                    • Desk Community Learning Series


                                                    • Digest


                                                    • Functions


                                                    • Meetups


                                                    • Kbase


                                                    • Resources


                                                    • Glossary


                                                    • Desk Marketplace


                                                    • MVP Corner


                                                    • Word of the Day


                                                    • Ask the Experts





                                                              Manage your brands on social media



                                                                    Zoho TeamInbox Resources



                                                                        Zoho CRM Plus Resources

                                                                          Zoho Books Resources


                                                                            Zoho Subscriptions Resources

                                                                              Zoho Projects Resources


                                                                                Zoho Sprints Resources


                                                                                  Qntrl Resources


                                                                                    Zoho Creator Resources



                                                                                        Zoho CRM Resources

                                                                                        • CRM Community Learning Series

                                                                                          CRM Community Learning Series


                                                                                        • Kaizen

                                                                                          Kaizen

                                                                                        • Functions

                                                                                          Functions

                                                                                        • Meetups

                                                                                          Meetups

                                                                                        • Kbase

                                                                                          Kbase

                                                                                        • Resources

                                                                                          Resources

                                                                                        • Digest

                                                                                          Digest

                                                                                        • CRM Marketplace

                                                                                          CRM Marketplace

                                                                                        • MVP Corner

                                                                                          MVP Corner







                                                                                            Design. Discuss. Deliver.

                                                                                            Create visually engaging stories with Zoho Show.

                                                                                            Get Started Now


                                                                                              Zoho Show Resources

                                                                                                Zoho Writer

                                                                                                Get Started. Write Away!

                                                                                                Writer is a powerful online word processor, designed for collaborative work.

                                                                                                  Zoho CRM コンテンツ



                                                                                                    Nederlandse Hulpbronnen


                                                                                                        ご検討中の方




                                                                                                                • Recent Topics

                                                                                                                • Cliq iOS can't see shared screen

                                                                                                                  Hello, I had this morning a video call with a colleague. She is using Cliq Desktop MacOS and wanted to share her screen with me. I'm on iPad. I noticed, while she shared her screen, I could only see her video, but not the shared screen... Does Cliq iOS is able to display shared screen, or is it somewhere else to be found ? Regards
                                                                                                                • Google Fonts Integration in Pagesense Popup Editor

                                                                                                                  Hello Zoho Pagesense Team, We hope you're doing well. We’d like to submit a feature request to enhance Zoho Pagesense’s popup editor with Google Fonts support. Current Limitation: Currently, Pagesense offers a limited set of default fonts. Google Fonts
                                                                                                                • CRM

                                                                                                                  How do I build an email funnel of 10 emails with decision tree ie; if yes use this email if no use this email. Also I cannot figure out how to add more groups or see my whole groups. I've set up different groups like attorneys is one group of companies/people
                                                                                                                • WebDAV support

                                                                                                                  I need WebDAV support so that I can upload/download (and modify) documents from my local file system. Is anything planned in his direction?
                                                                                                                • Replying from same domain as a catch-all?

                                                                                                                  I have 2 domains setup on Zoho, both with associated email addresses. They look something like this: john@example.com (primary address) john@test.com (this domain also has a catch-all setup) I use the catch-all for test.com as a public-facing email address
                                                                                                                • Is there a way to show contact emails in the Account?

                                                                                                                  I know I can see the emails I have sent and received on a Contact detail view, but I want to be able to see all the emails that have been sent and received between all an Accounts Contacts on the Account Detail view. That way when I see the Account detail
                                                                                                                • Internal Fillable Contract with Zoho Writer (Before Sending to Client)

                                                                                                                  Hi everyone, I’m trying to automate the following process in Zoho CRM and would appreciate some guidance. Process: When a Deal moves to a specific stage, CRM triggers an automation. CRM sends a contract template to an internal team member so they can
                                                                                                                • Import Quote from CRM into document in Writer?

                                                                                                                  Hi, I created a quote for a proposal in the Zoho CRM and was wondering if there is a way to embed the quote into a document in Zoho Writer so I can make our sales proposals look a little nicer. Is that possible?
                                                                                                                • Zoho Sheet for Desktop

                                                                                                                  Does Zoho plans to develop a Desktop version of Sheet that installs on the computer like was done with Writer?
                                                                                                                • Can I convert MSG to HTML on Mac?

                                                                                                                  Yes, you can convert MSG files to HTML on a Mac using software Aryson MSG file Converter. This tool allows you to convert Outlook MSG emails into multiple formats, including HTML, PDF, EML, PST, and more. It preserves all email content, attachments, metadata,
                                                                                                                • Duplicate Leads Notification Help!

                                                                                                                  Hello! I have several web forms that have a duplicate lead notification that are being sent to the creator of the web form. I understand how to change the form entry notification, but I am specifically looking to change the recipient of the "Duplicate Lead" notification. Any help you can offer is greatly appreciated! TIA, ~ Jenn
                                                                                                                • Adding Calendar Display to Home Page

                                                                                                                  I would like to display my calendar in a module on the Zoho CRM Home Page. I can't figure out a way to do this.  Is it possible to display the CRM Calendar on the Home Page?  
                                                                                                                • Schedule a Call by Date and Time when a specific lead status is selected

                                                                                                                  Hi Wanting to create a workflow where a call can be scheduled by date & time when a specific lead status is selected. Can only currently set the date by Due Date - Trigger Date - Plus 'x' day(s) Thanks
                                                                                                                • Incoming email replies not automatically associating with Deals/Opportunities - Is this possible in Zoho CRM?

                                                                                                                  Hello Zoho Community, I'm running a travel agency (B2B and B2C) and we've been struggling with what seems like a basic functionality that we cannot get to work properly. Our use case: We send emails to suppliers (hotels, transportation companies) and
                                                                                                                • Duplicate Leads Concerns with Round Robin and Lead Approval Process

                                                                                                                  It is great to have the Duplicate Lead Approval Process, there are a few issues with the process that I would greatly appreciate taken consideration in enhancing. It appears that A Lead comes in Lead owner assigned by the Round Robin Check for Duplicate,
                                                                                                                • Private email threads

                                                                                                                  When sending a Private email or receiving a response once the email thread has been marked as 'Private'- is there a way to trigger the system to "restart the clock"? I am finding that when someone responds to a 'Private' thread that it is opening the
                                                                                                                • SLA Notification

                                                                                                                  Team members have been receiving this notification and feel as though it is as random. Explanation on this notification is appreciated! Also, is there a way to disable this notification?
                                                                                                                • Map: Output None

                                                                                                                  Hi, Checking if you help me inspect this block The code below triggers during Successful form Submission from another Form. // rec_a = formA[ID!=0]; rec_b = formB[ID!=0]; ListA = List(); //subformA for each recA in rec_a.ItemSubform { for each recB in
                                                                                                                • Use arbitrary images in deluge

                                                                                                                  I am sending emails from my deluge code and I would like to be able to include a few images in the email template. While I know that I could put the on a website somewhere and link to them in the HTML, that is not what I want due to email client security
                                                                                                                • How to add "All Open AND Overdue" back to the Home Page Task Component?

                                                                                                                  Hi everyone, I’m looking for a way to restore the Tasks component dropdown list on the Zoho CRM Home Page. Since the recent update to the Task area in my Home Page Classic View, the dropdown options (e.g., My Next 7 Days + Overdue) are too restrictive
                                                                                                                • Sync Attachments in Comments from Zoho Desk to Zoho Projects

                                                                                                                  Hello Zoho Desk Team, We hope you're doing well. We are actively using the Zoho Desk–Zoho Projects integration, especially for reporting and managing bugs/issues between support and development teams. Current Limitation: After creating a bugs/issues via
                                                                                                                • Add a way to connect Log360 Cloud logs with Zoho analytics

                                                                                                                  Hi, Several month ago Log360 Cloud was added to zoho one - and this is great. But as far as I see there is no prebuilt way to connect Zoho analytics to the logs we have in Log360 Cloud. Please add a prebuilt connection like we have for so many other zoho
                                                                                                                • Auto sync Photo storage

                                                                                                                  Hello I am new to Zoho Workdrive and was wondering if the is a way of automatically syncing photos on my Android phone to my workdrive as want to move away from Google? Thanks
                                                                                                                • Funcionalidades y configuration ZohoDesk

                                                                                                                  Creo que no estoy sacando el provecho adecuado a la application quisiera solicitar una capacitación al respecto
                                                                                                                • How to call Functions and perform Write Operations using Page Scripts?

                                                                                                                  Hi everyone, How to call a function from a Zoho Creator application within a Page Script, also how to perform write operations (adding or updating records) using page scripts?
                                                                                                                • Connecting Airwallex in Zoho Books

                                                                                                                  I have a question. I’m trying to connect our Airwallex account to Zoho Books, but the integration does not seem to work. Could you please guide me on how to properly connect Airwallex? I need to see the expenses also, since it only shows the profits now
                                                                                                                • Questions Regarding Helpdesk & SalesIQ Customization and Email Setup

                                                                                                                  Hello, I hope you’re doing well. I have a few questions regarding Helpdesk and SalesIQ: Can the emails sent to customers via helpdesk tickets be fully customized — including signature, subject line, and other elements? Also, is it possible to send these
                                                                                                                • Button Duplication when emails forwarded or replied

                                                                                                                  When I create a new email template in campaigns and send it out it looks fine to all the users, however if that email is then on forwarded or replied to then all buttons within the email duplicate.  See below The one on the left is the original one.
                                                                                                                • Workdrive backup and default storage selection

                                                                                                                  Hi community, I have been informed by Zoho that workdrive will be the default storage mechanism for crm and projects. These 2 Apps seem to have different design on how they interact with workdrive for storage. 1. Crm: seems to have files saves at the
                                                                                                                • Ask the Experts 27: Onboarding and managing support reps

                                                                                                                  Hello everyone, We are back with our Ask the Experts (ATE) series for 2026. This year, we bring experts to help you address customer support challenges using Zoho Desk. For our first ATE, we are getting into the human side of customer support. "Every
                                                                                                                • Introducing Rollup summary in Zoho CRM

                                                                                                                  ------------------------------------------Moderated on 5th July'23---------------------------------------------- Rollup summary is now available for all organizations in all the DCs. Hello All, We hope you're well! We're here with an exciting update that
                                                                                                                • Enhancements for Currencies in Zoho CRM: Automatic exchange rate updates, options to update record exchange rates, and more

                                                                                                                  The multi-currency feature helps you track currencies region-wise. This can apply to Sales, CTC, or any other currency-related data. You can record amounts in a customer’s local currency, while the CRM automatically converts them to your home currency
                                                                                                                • Marketer's Space: Why your open rates suddenly drop to zero?

                                                                                                                  Hey everyone—welcome back to another post in Marketer's Space! If you regularly track the performance of your campaigns, open rates are probably one of the first numbers you check after sending an email. So it can be quite alarming when a campaign suddenly
                                                                                                                • Bulk upload images and specifications to products

                                                                                                                  Hi, Many users have asked this over the years and I am also asking the same. Is there any way in which we can bulk upload product (variant) images and product specifications. The current way to upload/select image for every variant is too cumbersome.
                                                                                                                • I'd like to Import Contacts for an SMS Campaign, but they don't have email addresses.

                                                                                                                  I've got a contact list of about 4000 contacts. Some only have mobile phone and not email. Can I still import the contacts?
                                                                                                                • How to sync overtime from zoho people to zoho payroll

                                                                                                                  Hi everyone, I’m currently setting up Zoho People with Zoho Payroll. While configuring the sync, I noticed I can only fetch Employee Profiles, LOP (Loss of Pay), and enable the Employee Portal. I can’t seem to find a way to automatically pull Overtime
                                                                                                                • Bulk Associate Tasks/Task Lists to Milestones (Similar to Issues)

                                                                                                                  Hello Zoho Projects Team, We hope you are doing well. We would like to request an enhancement regarding Milestone management for Tasks in Zoho Projects. Current Behavior: In the Issues module, it is possible to select multiple issues and easily associate
                                                                                                                • Is Zoho Sites still actively being developed?

                                                                                                                  Hello, Is Zoho Sites still actively being developed as part of the Zoho ecosystem? I noticed that the What's New page (https://www.zoho.com/sites/whats-new.html) does not show any updates since Q1 2025. We were considering migrating our website from Squarespace
                                                                                                                • Adding new data to the sheet with most recent data being added to top row.

                                                                                                                  I am using a form that I built from within sheets.  When the form is submitted, is it possible to have the data entered in (for example) row 2 (since row 1 is the heading) instead of being added into the next available row which should be hundreds of
                                                                                                                • need a packing list feature

                                                                                                                  In our business, goods listed on an invoice are packed in separate boxes and shipped off. for e.g. an invoice may have 10 items. each item could then be packed in different boxes depending on qty of each item. this packing list is as important as the invoice for purposes of shipping documents.  Request you to add this feature asap.
                                                                                                                • Next Page