Startups often lack 4 things: time, budget, insights into user behavior and developers. But as precarious as that sounds: it is precisely this mix of young companies that often makes the innovation engines that we all know and celebrate from the media. However, it should not be ignored that, particularly in the initial phase of companies, the greatest possible effects must be achieved with just a few resources. It's the same with your own website. Visitors should be converted into customers as quickly and effectively as possible. Room for experiments and expensive campaigns remains rare.
For exactly this reason, the article briefly and concisely summarizes what makes a high-conversion website and on which platforms top designers get inspiration for world-class designs.
What makes for a conversion-strong website?
Contrary to what designers often communicate, outstanding design often only has a peripheral influence on the conversion rate. First and foremost is content that must be included, and in the second step, the design fits seamlessly around this content, thus increasing trust in what is being shown and making navigation through the website as easy as possible. Central elements for high conversion rates are:
- Clear value proposition and positioning: Your own website must immediately communicate what your business has to offer and how added value is generated for the customer. This helps to arouse interest right from the start and to keep visitors coming back.
- Social proof and testimonials: Don't just claim that your product creates added value, prove it. Real testimonials and case studies build trust and increase the conversion rate.
- SEO and website copy: A good ranking in search engines helps to become visible and generate traffic. Valuable content that is tailored to the needs of your target group increases the chances of being found. However, this applies not only to your blog, but also to every website text.
- User-centered design: Design the website so that it adapts seamlessly to the customer journey and is as easy as possible to navigate. A logical structure and meaningful links are essential.
- Call-to-Actions (CTAs): Strong and clear calls to action are at the heart of conversion-optimized websites. Let them stand out and even work with CTVs (call-to-values) if necessary. These do not call for action, but directly communicate the added value that an action promises (e.g. “Save 3 meetings a week now.”)
- Mobile optimization: More and more people are surfing via smartphones. A fully responsive website is therefore a must.
- Loading times: Fast loading times are essential for user experience and SEO ranking. Optimize images and avoid external scripts and features to increase speed. For this, read also the Webflow Page Speed Guide for beginners.
- Analysis and iteration: Use tools like Google Analytics to understand your visitors' behavior and iterate where you see high bounce rates.
The right inspiration for your website so you don't have to test everything yourself
In a perfect world, your own website would be 100% based on what was made obvious through customer interviews and analytics data. However, the problem lies behind the time and budget that would have to be spent testing designs and elements step by step.
For this reason, it makes perfect sense, especially at the beginning of a business, to get inspiration from those who are exactly where your own startup wants to go. Opportunities to get inspiration include:
- Industry leader and startups that are exactly where you want to be in 3 years.
- Design galleries and showcases.
- Award websites, which feature excellent websites.
In over 3 years as a Webflow partner agency and with several of our own awards, the following best practices have proven successful for us:
1. Analyze the websites of 3 companies in the same industry that are located where you want to go
First and foremost, it makes sense to pick out 3 companies that are exactly where your own startup journey should go. Industry leaders are typically suitable for this. But even startups that have already completed one or two rounds of financing often already have very sophisticated websites from which you can learn a lot. Collect screenshots of important sections (based on the list above), for example in a Figma file or a Miro board.
2. Get design inspiration for implementing the individual building blocks from dribbble.com or behance.net
It gets more creative in step 2. Simply copy and paste is uncool and stands out quickly. It is therefore important to transfer the elements that have been identified into your own style. Dribbble and Behance stand out massively as sources of inspiration for branding, design and layouts. Here you will not only find the latest trends, but you can also search specifically for use cases and industries to find the perfect design for your website.
3. Check the Webflow Showcase to see if certain elements are available as cloneable
Almost a small pro tip and only suitable for Webflow users or those who want to work with Webflow. The Made in Webflow Showcase is a great collection of designs that have already been developed. Many of these designs are available as so-called cloneables. Cloneables range from individual elements (such as a nice button) to entire websites that can be cloned (free of charge) with one click. These can then be redesigned to suit your own requirements and offer a great basis, especially at the beginning.
Current trends in web design and why you shouldn't blindly chase them
Y2K aesthetics are currently making a comeback and designers are looking at it with mixed feelings. Y2K combines nostalgia with a touch of retro in modern designs. The use of pixelated fonts and images, custom mouse pointers, organic shapes and smooth color gradients set new accents and can give a website a unique character. However, the emphasis here is definitely on skill.
Trends should always be viewed with caution. On the one hand, these naturally reflect timeliness and relevance, as it becomes clear that the company website is up to date, but trends are not necessarily user-friendly and can therefore lead to a drop in conversions. Before a trend is implemented, it should therefore be clearly checked that it does not restrict the usability of the site. On the other hand, there is usually nothing wrong with setting accents.