Everyone wants more conversions, and we have previously discussed how important conversion rate optimization (CRO) is for your website. In this post, we will be breaking down how we use GDD, web development and design as a system to move the needle of your websites CRO.
What is GDD?
Growth Driven Design (GDD for short) is a system where we approach websites in ways that minimize risks usually associated with design by focusing on design and web development features that are actually impactful and adding an element of continuous learning to methodically improve said website.
How Does GDD Work?
Instead of taking months to redesign an outdated website, we begin by tracking data on how visitors are using the current site. We spend some time analyzing conversion points: what is working, what could work better, what elements are distracting users away from conversion points, what would make the visitors’ experience easier and/or will promote conversion. Then this real data is used to find the most important features that are creating conversions and quickly design and launch a powerful “mini” website that includes those features. This site is then used to continue learning more about visitors/conversions and regularly updated based on those results. The goal is to use GDD to increase CRO by making things as easy as possible for visitors who also happen to be the most qualified leads.
Protip: The continuous improvement aspect of GDD is done because we continue analyzing, A/B testing what’s working and improving/optimizing all conversion points and paths.
What Do Web Development And Design Have To Do With Affecting Conversion Rate Optimization?
The roles web development and design play in bringing that website to life center around User Experience (UX). After the analysis and testing are completed, designing is based on the results and what we now understand is helping to increase conversions. If testing showed that adding a video, updating content, making CTAs more visible, etc. increased CRO then the design team will make sure those items are included. Other design elements that can affect conversion rate include: (but are not limited to) color palettes (aka branding,) visual communication, simplicity, and clarity.
This optimized design is then translated into reality by the web development team. It is critical that the marketing, design and web development teams work closely together to identify what functionalities were tested and how they should be implemented in the final version. One important item to discuss for web development and how it affects CRO is mobile responsiveness. According to the most recent global overview by We Are Social, mobile web browsing has seen a 30% year-over-year increase; which means it accounts for 50% of web traffic.
GDD analysis should always include mobile users; how many visitors to your site are using their mobile devices? How are these mobile visitors converting? The final design should then be developed with mobile responsiveness in mind. All content and conversion forms should look readable in mobile viewports even if they need some modifications from the full desktop design. If an image or video makes the mobile user experience clunky then it should be hidden so as to not lose possible leads.
Conclusion
When we acknowledge how design and web development are in affecting conversion rate optimization, we are able to maximize how hard websites work for businesses. Every step in the GDD process builds on the next and helps to lay a foundation that allows companies to efficiently influence visitors into converting. We would love to help you start strategizing and creating a GDD Launchpad site. If you are ready to take your website to the next level of performance simply contact us by leaving a comment below or give us a call.
