20 Effective CTA Design Examples to Boost Your Conversions

If you run an online business, calls-to-action (CTAs) are one of the most important tools for turning website visitors into leads and customers. Well-designed CTAs can drive conversions and get users to take your desired actions, whether it‘s signing up for a free trial, making a purchase or requesting a quote.

In this comprehensive guide, we‘ll look at 20 excellent examples of CTA design and analyze what makes them so effective at converting visitors.

The Importance of CTA Design

Before we jump into the examples, let‘s briefly cover why CTA design matters so much:

CTAs serve a specific, focused purpose – to get users to take a desired action. That action is different for every business.
Good CTA design immediately draws the visitor‘s attention and makes it crystal clear what you want them to do.
Well-designed CTAs can boost conversion rates by up to 40%. They directly impact your bottom line revenue.
CTAs allow you to guide your visitors at every step. And moving visitors closer and closer to a conversion or purchase.

So in a nutshell, CTAs are one of the most valuable tools for converting your website traffic. And CTA design has a direct, measurable impact on your conversions and revenue.

Now let‘s look at 20 great examples of effective CTA design across different sites and industries.

1. HubSpot

[Screenshot of HubSpot CTA]

HubSpot is an inbound marketing and sales platform. Their CTA encourages visitors to "Get Free CRM" and try out their free customer relationship management (CRM) software.

Some elements that make this an effective CTA:

High contrast colors grab your attention – the bright orange buttons contrast well against the blue header.
Very clear, specific call-to-action text – HubSpot wants you to "Get Free CRM" and install their software.
Additional supporting details below explain exactly what you‘re signing up for.

This CTA has a conversion rate over 45%, well above industry benchmarks. Its prominence at the top right helps drive that high conversion rate.

2. Evernote

[Screenshot of Evernote CTA]

Evernote is a popular note-taking and organization app. Their CTA prompts visitors to "Register for Evernote for Free".

What makes this an effective CTA:

Simplicity – it uses a simple green button with clear text stating the desired action. No complicated graphics or extra elements.
Trust signals – the small security icons reassure users their information is safe. Trust is important for a sign up CTA.
Strategic positioning – the CTA is above the central image and very visible when you land on the page.

This clean, simple CTA helps Evernote achieve an impressive 72% conversion rate on their signup flow.

3. Dropbox

[Screenshot of Dropbox CTA]

Dropbox is a file hosting service for cloud storage and file synchronization. They use two complementary CTAs on their homepage targeting different users:

"Try for free" – Get users interested in business plans to sign up for a free trial of Dropbox.

"Get started" – Allows personal users to immediately start setting up an account.

Effective elements of these CTAs:

Personalization – Both use first-person language like "my files" to speak directly to the visitor.
Right-side positioning – Placing signup CTAs on the right helps boost conversions as that‘s where our eyes naturally land first.
Consistent branding – The CTAs use the same shade of blue as the logo, tying them visually into the Dropbox brand.

Together, these CTAs help turn Dropbox‘s website visitors into actively engaged new users setting up accounts.

4. Booking.com

[Screenshot of Booking.com CTA]

Booking.com uses a very visual CTA prompting you to search for hotel rooms in a specific destination.

Why this CTA works well:

Incorporates the user‘s intent – People come to Booking.com when they‘re ready to book a hotel so meeting them where they are with a search CTA is effective.
High visibility – Bright red search button contrasting well against a clean, white background.
Simple and direct – Clearly states "Find Rooms" showing the action the visitor needs to take.

This CTA speaks directly to Booking.com‘s audience of travelers ready to book rooms. Keeping it prominent helps them maintain high conversion rates.

5. Amazon

[Screenshot of Amazon CTA]

Amazon is the world‘s largest online retailer so they have conversion optimization down to a science. Their homepage keeps visitors engaged with multiple CTAs.

Let‘s look at their main CTA – the search bar inviting you to "Shop Father‘s Day".

Why it works well:

Timely and personalized – It speaks directly to the audience interested in Father‘s day shopping.
Incorporates the user‘s intent – Most people come to Amazon ready to search for products so this allows them to do just that.
Predictive text and auto-complete suggestions make it easy for anyone to start searching. This removes friction in the conversion process.

Online retailers like Amazon put a lot of data analysis into determining their most effective CTAs. This search CTA is tailored specifically to visitors coming to buy Father‘s Day gifts.

6. Lyft

[Screenshot of Lyft CTA]

Lyft is a ridesharing app competing for market share with Uber. Their CTA encourages visitors to download their app by prompting them to "Get a ride now".

Why this works well:

Direct response to user‘s needs – The core user intent for Lyft is to get a ride quickly. This aligns perfectly with that.
Establishes urgency – The use of "now" encourages immediate action to download the app.
Orange ties back to their brand and the app icon color. Familiarity helps improve conversions.

With this well-aligned CTA, Lyft has grown into a rideshare brand serving millions of customers across North America.

7. SlideShare

[Screenshot of SlideShare CTA]

SlideShare allows users to upload and share slideshow presentations online. Their CTA invites visitors to "Try Pro Free for 14 days".

Effective elements:

Uses the contrast principle – The red CTA button stands out clearly against the white page background.
Positions the unique value proposition front and center – empowers the free trial to showcase the benefits of a paid Pro account.
Supports conversion goals – SlideShare wants visitors to try out and potentially convert to paid accounts so this CTA aligns perfectly.

This CTA achieves an impressively high 35% clickthrough rate, driving lots of high-quality trial users for SlideShare.

8. LinkedIn

[Screenshot of LinkedIn CTA]

LinkedIn uses various CTAs across their platform designed to drive user engagement. One simple but effective one is the blue "+ Follow" button seen on company pages.

What makes it work:

Familiarity – LinkedIn users know what it means to follow companies and content so this builds on existing behavior.
Visual association – The blue helps associate the CTA visually with the LinkedIn brand.
Direct language – "+" sign clearly indicates the specific action being requested.

With tailored CTAs across their site, LinkedIn continues to see strong user growth and engagement across their platform.

9. YouTube

[Screenshot of YouTube CTA]

YouTube uses multiple CTAs to drive conversions across their platform. One prominent one is the big red "Subscribe" button on video pages.

Some reasons this works well:

Color psychology – Red is associated with urgency and passion. It encourages viewers to subscribe without delay.
Leverages video page real estate – Videos are central to the YouTube experience so the fixed CTA remains in view throughout videos.
Positions unique value – Pushing channel subscriptions enables YouTube to drive account creation and logged-in viewership.

This CTA gives channels a powerful tool to convert anonoymous viewers into subscribed account holders.

10. Spotify

[Screenshot of Spotify CTA]

Spotify uses time-limited CTAs to strongly encourage free members to upgrade to their paid Premium service.

Some effective elements of this example:

Creates urgency – The time-limited offer builds urgency to upgrade now before the user misses out on savings.
High visibility placement – Full-screen pop-up that you have to engage with before you can continue enjoying music.
Familiar branding – Green button matches Spotify‘s brand color and looks like conventional play button icons.

These CTAs help Spotify tap into the free member base to upsell premium subscriptions. The tactics work – they have 165 million paying members globally.

11. Credit Karma

[Screenshot of Credit Karma CTA]

Credit Karma offers free credit scores, reports and monitoring. Their homepage CTA promises visitors they can "Check your credit today for free".

Why this works:

High relevance – Credit scores are what Credit Karma‘s audience cares most about so promising free access directly responds to user intent.
Simple and clear – No complicated language or unnecessary graphics. Just a clean, green call to action.
Credibility indicators – The testimonials and TrustPilot rating establish authority and trust.

This relevancy helps Credit Karma convert 90% of their traffic into registered members.

12. Twitter

[Screenshot of Twitter CTA]

While Twitter has several CTAs across their interface, the main one driving growth for years has been "Sign up for Twitter".

Some reasons it works well:

Simple and focused – No complicated messaging. Just a clear call directly requesting the desired action.
Persistent visibility – Twitter displays this CTA prominently in the sidebar at all times while browsing the site.
Supports business objectives – Twitter‘s #1 goal is to grow registered accounts so this CTA perfectly aligns with that top-level goal.

By sticking to this simple but prominent call to action for years, Twitter has achieved incredible user growth.

13. McDonald‘s

[Screenshot of McDonald‘s CTA]

Let‘s look at an effective CTA example from traditional brick-and-mortar retail – McDonald‘s. Their drive-thru menus prominently feature a CTA inviting people to download their app.

Some reasons this works well:

Targets a captive audience – People waiting in the drive-thru have time to consider the offer.
Positions the value – The CTA explains they‘ll get special offers for signing up, delivering value.
Leverages existing infrastructure – Digital menu boards enable dynamic CTAs at low added cost.

This CTA ultimately helps McDonald‘s drive app downloads and the valuable customer data and sales those enable.

14. Walmart

[Screenshot of Walmart CTA]

Walmart is the world‘s largest retailer so they know a thing or two about high-converting CTAs. Their homepage keeps visitors active with different calls-to-action.

One prominent one invites visitors to "Download the browser extension to easily price match, get coupons and shop Walmart.com."

Reasons it works well:

Highly targeted – Focused specifically on driving that browser extension installation.
Positions unique value – Explains exactly why you should install the extension and what benefits it will deliver.
Contrasting color – Yellow stands out clearly against the darker blue background.

With such laser-focused, benefit-oriented CTAs, Walmart converts over 20% of their traffic into sales.

15. Venmo

[Screenshot of Venmo CTA]

Venmo‘s primary CTA on both their website and app invites visitors to "Sign Up or Sign In to Venmo".

Some reasons this works effectively:

Single clear call-to-action – Whether you‘re a new or existing user, you know exactly what Venmo wants you to do here. No ambiguity.
Familiar iconography – Graphic showing two chat bubbles along with a QR code signal this is a social payments app.
Warm and friendly colors – The shades of orange establish a sense of warmth and positivity.

The clarity and consistency of this CTA helps Venmo continually drive active user signups and engagement across their platform.

More Examples

To wrap up, here are 5 more great CTAs from a diverse mix of brands:

Airbnb – Simple "Book" buttons enabling travelers to quickly book stays:
[Screenshot of Airbnb CTA]

Hotjar – Clear popup inviting software companies to try their free analytics platform.
[Screenshot of Hotjar CTA]

Zapier – Prominent homepage CTA allowing visitors to "Try Zapier" via their partner apps. Highly targeted to user intent.
[Screenshot of Zapier CTA]

Calendly – CTAs using clear language – "Schedule a Call" and "Sign Up Free" – to drive scheduler signups.
[Screenshot of Calendly CTA]

Skyscanner – A persistent, high contrast "Search" CTA matching user intent to find flights.
[Screenshot of Skyscanner CTA]

How well a CTA performs depends significantly on how well it aligns to user intent. These 15 examples tailor their CTAs precisely to what website visitors are looking for in each case.

Optimizing CTA Design

Crafting the initial CTA design is only half the process though. Continually optimizing and improving your CTAs through testing is crucial for maximizing performance.

There are two key tools that enable effective testing and optimization of CTAs:

A/B testing – Try different CTA versions side-by-side to determine which option drives more conversions. Many landing page builders and marketing tools include built-in A/B testing capabilities to help with this.

Heatmaps – Heatmaps reveal where users click and hover their mouse on a page. So they provide insight into CTA placement, sizes etc. to improve visibility and engagement.

Additionally, be sure to closely monitor your conversion rates and analytics for both desktop and mobile. This gives the hard data on how changes to your CTAs impact performance.

Use all three together – A/B testing, heatmaps and analytics/conversion data – to continually refine and optimize your CTA approach over time.

Conclusion

We‘ve explored 20 excellent examples of effective CTA design from brands and sites across the web. Some key principles to take away for crafting highly converting CTAs for your own business:

Clearly convey the intended user action
Make the CTA language personal and friendly
Use contrasting colors or placement to draw attention
Speak directly to user intent with relevant CTAs

Additionally testing and optimizing CTAs is crucial for improving performance over time. Follow the tips above to continually refine your approach.

Well-designed CTAs are one of the best tools for converting browsing visitors into leads and customers. So apply these lessons to start boosting your conversions today!