In all your efforts to catch the audience’s attention, you are able to provide them with valuable content, and make a good first impression. As a result, you must then lay down your call-to-action (CTA) to trigger engagement on your website or on social media.
You can tell them to like and follow your Facebook and Twitter profiles, share your content, get their opinions, buy your products, or so on. But it’s not just about asking them to do those things, but also how you ask them as well.
Designing a call-to-action is an art itself, and getting it right involves processes like A/B testing and a good bit of trial and error. A good call-to-action is the sum of its parts, and a great way to help make your audience respond to it is to put it all into a button.
Getting Familiar with CTA Buttons
The CTA button persuades the audience to take a specific action by compressing it into a button they can click once for convenience. The button can then lead them to wherever you wish to go, whether it is to subscribe to a channel, take a look at your products, register for an event, and so on.
That seems simple enough, but the way the CTA button looks and conveys its message is important. It must draw attention to itself and compel your audience to at least look at it. But while it must be attention-grabbing, it must also complement the rest of your design so it doesn’t stick out too much like a sore thumb and ruin how your site looks.
Also, the CTA button may be supplemented by accompanying information on what the call-to-action is about. The audience would somehow appreciate it if they are told what they are getting themselves into, after all. Being understood means readable text, which is where type fonts come in, and it is important for CTA buttons as well.
4 Best Practices for an Engaging CTA Type Font
#1. Finding the Right Place
The call-to-action must be easily seen, which means it shouldn’t be on the side of the page or anywhere else where it won’t be the focus. For calls-to-action that have other things like text boxes, the CTA button may reside right beside the other interactive element, as long as the call-to-action as a whole, is near the middle of the website where it can be seen easily.
#2. Size Matters
Choosing the right size of a CTA button is one of the most vital decisions all web designers need to make to get the best result. While it must be big, it can’t be too big that it moves other elements out of the way and takes up too big a chunk of the screen. It should be a bit bigger than most other elements on the web page while still being small enough to blend in.
#3. Consistent Readable Font is the Key
While it is true that the CTA button must draw attention to itself, it must also not stick out so much like a sore thumb that it puts people off. A readable font that is consistent with the other fonts used on the website, preferably the same type of font, should be used so that it doesn’t clash with everything else. To make it more visible, you may try to make the font bold to see if it looks good and is more visible.
As for color, it is best to use the color used for anchor text on the website, excluding the default. It should be a complementary color that doesn’t clash with everything else while still being different enough to draw attention to itself.
#4. Negative Space is a MUST
As you can see in the image above, the first thing you probably see is a black vase which we consider the “positive space”, however, if you shift your perspective to the white spaces on its sides, the “negative space”, you’ll see an image of two faces that are facing each other.
There has to be some space between the copy and the CTA button, as well as everything else. The empty spaces are just as important as the text, as ample spacing makes everything more readable and helps the audience distinguish one element of the website from another.
Some Brands with Engaging CTA Type Fonts
Crazyegg
The CTA button for Crazyegg is quite specific because it is not just telling users to click for more information or to buy a product, but a more particular action for the website. Having a CTA button that is a lot more interactive, if needed, can yield some good results.
In the case of Crazyegg, their call-to-action is simply a text field for entering your website’s URL and a button that lets you see your website’s heatmap and geolocation. It is simple and direct, letting users make use of their services right on the first landing page.
The label of the CTA button itself is not in uppercase, which makes it more of a suggestion than a pushy commanding statement. It is also written in first person, making it more personable to users.
Uber
Starting off with a simple but effective one, Uber’s CTA buttons in their website is supported by a short copy that tells users why they should click any of the buttons that apply to their needs.
There are two CTA buttons on their homepage, one button is “Sign up to drive” which has 13 words in total which is designed for professional drivers want to apply to become uber drivers and the other one is “Sign up to ride” which has 12 words, telling users they can get transportation quickly through the Uber app, and the button lets them sign up for an account.
The buttons are in black font and in formal form, but are not typed in bold. The CTA design isn’t that loud and groundbreaking, but it does make a difference as it is looking professional as well as clear and concise, and that’s all it has to be. Also, the font used is both readable and consistent with the rest of the website design.
MedCPU
This CTA button is different from the previous two. It is not in a prominent color, but the copy stands out more. That is because its call-to-action is merely for more information. For a website of a medical company like this, it is appropriate because sending information is the main goal.
A healthcare provider medCPU provides technological solutions and B2B tools for hospital needs & operations. They know their customers may be limited to medical professionals who most likely would not be adverse to reading lengthy articles and would want to get the information they need instantly without using much time just to look for it.
Therefore, having a blue background CTA button with relatively small all-bold text that says “THERE IS A BETTER WAY” shouldn’t be a problem, even if it seems to be breaking the “rules” of what a good CTA button should be. What matters is that the CTA button is designed to easily draw the attention of the users.
Takeaway
As a result, while it may seem at first that any button would do, there is a lot of thought put into the design of CTA buttons, this includes choosing the right typeface. It may seem like a small detail, but in many cases, small details matter most in the end.