Call To Action (CTA)

Call To Action (CTA) is typically a button or a link that is placed strategically on the page so that the user will notice it and interact with it. Typically CTAs are used to entice users to signup for service, subscribe to a newsletter, try a product, or buy something.

Often user flow (or task flow) is designed with multiple CTAs in place each leading to deeper and deeper commitment from the user. For example, a hero unit on the website describes a product or a service that company is selling, but CTA says “Learn more”. Call to Action to buy the product might not be shown until further down the detailed page that describes all the benefits of that particular product/service.

Sometimes designers use multiple calls to action on the same page. Typically, we differentiate between primary and secondary calls to action giving more prominence to primary CTAs.

Clever example of CTAs

Some products use CTAs in a particularly creative and clever way, luring the user into the registration funnel. For example, SquareSpace takes users through a series of steps of setting up a website before asking for registration:

SquareSpace CTAs funnel - Get Started
Primary Call To Action is “Get Started”
SquareSpace CTAs funnel - Goal for the website
Call to action is low effort to the user, but can be a valuable learning data point for SquareSpace even if the user chooses not to continue in the funnel
SquareSpace CTAs funnel - Picking a theme
This page is rather enticing as it allows the user to preview a number of suggested themes and “commit” to one they like the most.
SquareSpace CTAs funnel - Registration
Final step is registration. By now the user already interacted with the product and is much more likely to commit to registration.
User is not asked for any billing information as SquareSpace enrolls the user into a 14-day trial automatically. CTA to upgrade is kept out of the user’s way, but still clearly visible.

Note that the final CTA in the funnel is not a payment form. SquareSpace automatically enrols the user into a 14-day free trial of the site builder. CTA to upgrade is subtle, and is designed to stay out of the user’s way as one tries the product, but also to give the user a sense that he might be missing out on features.