Numerous elements can and do influence what your sales page visitors will buy. Some elements, like your heading, can have major impact. Others – like your payment method – are subtle with less impact.
Anything you do in terms of the design and display of your sales copy can potential determine what a customer will and will not purchase. The most often-overlooked part of page design that does appear to influence sales is your page's Background Color.
Most sales pages are a single column with a white background, framed on both sides with color. This makes the greatest impact. Because it’s so important, what should you use?
Based upon research, the most effective color for the background on a sales page is dark blue, followed by black, gray and white (although it’s not clear why someone would use white if the text area is white). When it comes to bright colors or neutrals, neutral colors tend to outperform brighter colors. Yet, html background color alone isn’t the only factor.
Certain market segments and demographic groups seem to like particular colors. For example, if the hot fashion color this season is orange, then a fashion web site might want to use this color to his/her advantage. Likewise, for a site offering a special on or around Valentine’s Day, is best to stick with the pink/red color family. In 2010, two of the most favored colors appear to be lime green and pink.
Your background choice color doesn’t have to be simply a plain color. It can have varying tones or even a watermark to help garner tremendous success. The only way to know is by testing the colors and the response that different shades generate. You can construct two (or more) different versions of your sales page, changing only the color, and tracking the results. You might just stumble upon a background color that superchargers your sales – by as much as 30% according to some research.
With all that said, your headline and sales copy are going to be far more important. Nonetheless, taking some time to test for an optimal color or simply relying on a dark blue background is probably a far better idea than “following your instincts” and choosing a more colorful palette that could turn some visitors off.
Every part of your sales page can make a difference. To potentially change the edge your page has on the competition, changing your background color is a simply and quick way to start.
Glennette Goodbread, Owner
Premium Web Design and Hosting
