CTA and buttons
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Recommendations
Calls to action in text should be active.
Button text should:
- have 2 to 4 words
- be active, ideally start with an action word
- be meaningful – never "Click here"
- be specific: "get started" is too vague and misleads users
- reflect the destination content
- be in sentence case
- reflect destination page title and page content
- be in clear language, consistent with other content
Usability evidence
"Get Started" Stops Users, Aurora Harley and Kim Flaherty, Nielson Norman Group, 2
'Don't Make Me Think', Steve Krug, 2014 (3rd Edition)
Call to action buttons, Midas Media – this link is not working at the moment. If it doesn't come back we'll have to remove this as an evidence source.
Ghost button style: https://conversionxl.com/blog/ghost-buttons/
https://www.nngroup.com/articles/characteristics-minimalism/
https://boagworld.com/design/call-to-action/
Here are the guidelines we have at uSwitch:
Button text should
Additionally, we decided that for our tone of voice, use of first person was acceptable in button text (e.g. "Tell me more")
CTAs as a package should
Here is the full set of microcopy guidelines (we cover caveats, help text, error text and form labels, too): https://ustyle.guide/language/microcopy.html
Sorry to add this after the deadline, but I just finished working on the Button text guidelines for my team's new design system. We set up the guidelines as Do's and Don'ts:
DO
DON'T
Many of these items are already captured in the agreed-upon button text guidelines; however, one item I'll highlight is to "start with an action verb" — this is more specific than making the text "actionable," but perhaps it's too prescriptive.
Thoughts?
Thanks for looking at my late comments.
Agree Laura, great points (though 2 words can be a challenge!)
Particularly glad you mention: "Describe specifically what happens when people use the button." For trust, usability and time-efficiency the CTA needs to be consistent with the place the button takes users to.
So if it takes them to another page the CTA should reflect the page title to some extent. It could be a case of changing the page title itself, if the CTA is a more accurate reflection of the task on the page than the page title. For example, "Buy pet food" should lead to something like "Choose and buy pet food" rather than something like "Our range of amazingly delicious kitty nibbles are the best ever".
This might sound bland to copywriters, but the user has already chosen to buy pet food by clicking on the CTA so they don't need a lot of adjectives to entice them, and don't have time to read them. If anything, better to use something quantifiable like "high quality" as a descriptor, so "Choose and buy high quality pet food" – because who says it's delicious? The company selling them? Well that isn't much to go on! Sorry I've strayed into an entirely different discussion now…
Thanks Lauren also on this point » "Keep its promise and appropriately set up expectations (Don't mislead to get a click)"