This post is adapted from Chris’s video on the Showit YouTube channel. Chris is a designer, and the three steps below are the ones he uses on every site he builds.

I once built a site for a client that looked far better than what they had before. When we launched it, their sales dropped. That’s when I learned that a better design means nothing if the site doesn’t convert.

Getting people to buy or book on your website has a lot less to do with branding and design than most people think. If conversion isn’t part of the strategy from the very beginning, you’re decorating a billboard that no one is reading.

If you’ve been wondering why your website isn’t converting, here are the three steps I use on every site I build to boost conversions, plus a bonus change you can make today without touching your traffic or redesigning anything.

Prefer to watch? Chris walks through all three steps in the video below.

Step 1. Dial In Your Messaging

I’m a designer first, and I’ll still be the first to tell you that your messaging is the single most important tool you have for getting people to take action. I once heard another designer put it this way. Design matters, but words close deals. You can have the most stunning design in the world, and if your message doesn’t speak directly to what your audience wants and worries about, your site is dead in the water.

To dial in your messaging, focus on four things.

Start With Your Visitor’s Core Motivation

Figure out the real reason someone is on your site and what they’re chasing. You have to dig a little deeper than the product itself. Nobody buys a hammer because they love owning hammers. They buy it to hang a picture or build a shelf.

This is the most important part of your messaging, and I see so many online business owners leave it as an afterthought.

Explain What Makes You Different

There are two questions your copy needs to answer.

Why should I buy this instead of anything else? Your product isn’t only competing with other products. It’s competing with a few extra coffees at Starbucks or money saved for a family vacation.

Why should I buy this instead of something just like it? Here you’re comparing your offer to the other options your buyer is already considering.

When you spell out what you offer and why you’re different, visitors can decide whether the value is worth what you’re asking them to give up.

Address Their Anxieties

Think through the doubts and hesitations that keep someone from taking the next step with you. If you don’t speak to those directly in your copy, visitors will come up with their own answers, and those answers often aren’t the conclusions you’d hope for.

Show Them What They’ll Miss

Build a little FOMO into your messaging by making it clear what someone loses if they don’t act. That could be a limited-time offer, or it could simply be missing out on the benefits your product or service provides.

When your copy covers all four of these, your website doesn’t just look good. It converts.

Step 2. Design With Conversion as the Priority

Here’s an unpopular opinion. Those fun animations we all love on websites might be costing you conversions. They look amazing, and most of us react with some version of “wow, how cool.” Then we stop there. We don’t go on to sign up or buy, because the animation isn’t leading us anywhere.

Everything in your website’s design should have one goal, which is getting people to the thank you page. That’s the page someone sees after booking a call, downloading a lead magnet, or buying a product.

Use Visual Hierarchy to Guide the Eye

When someone lands on your site, they aren’t reading every word. They’re scanning and scrolling fast, using as little brain power as possible. If you want them to pause long enough to read the words you worked so hard on, your layout has to show them what’s worth their attention. That’s what visual hierarchy does.

These design principles make the most important things stand out.

Contrast. Your calls to action should pop. Avoid low-contrast buttons that blend into the background.

Size. Bigger elements draw more attention, so use large, bold headlines to guide the eye.

White space. Use space intentionally to group ideas and separate sections, so people know exactly where to head next.

Grouping. Keep related copy, visuals and calls to action together so they read as one clear message, and visitors aren’t left guessing what belongs together.

Design isn’t only how your site looks. It’s also how it works, and when it works well, it leads people where you want them to go.

Make Your Text Easy to Read

A few small formatting choices make a big difference in how people engage with your content.

• Keep paragraphs short. Aim for no more than a couple of sentences at a time.
• Use at least 16 pixels for body text. Nobody wants to squint to read your site.
• Keep lines to about 50 to 75 characters. That’s the sweet spot for readability.

Tiny text that feels like the fine print on a contract is intimidating. People bounce before they ever read the message you worked so hard to write.

Step 3. Test Small Changes Before You Redesign

Most people assume a site that isn’t converting needs a complete overhaul. In my experience, small tweaks to your existing site often make a bigger difference than a total redesign. Testing is how you figure out which tweaks to make.

Ask better questions. Start with something specific, like how to get more people to add items to their cart or what might help more visitors sign up for your newsletter.

Brainstorm possible changes. Maybe the headline could be clearer, the imagery could catch more attention, or the button could move higher on the page.

Run an A/B test. You don’t need to be a software engineer to do this. Tools like VWO and Crazy Egg can run the test and show you which version won. They’re paid tools and work best on sites with steady traffic, so if your site is smaller, change one thing at a time and compare your results over a few weeks.

Rinse and repeat. Once you have a winner, test another variation, and keep going until nothing clearly beats what you have.

Only after you’ve tested your current setup thoroughly should you think about a full redesign. That’s the difference between guessing and growing.

Bonus Step. Give Every Page One Clear Call to Action

This is one of the easiest and most overlooked ways to improve your conversion rate. Most websites either offer too many options or no clear next step at all, and confused visitors don’t convert.

Every page on your site should have one primary goal, and your design and copy should guide people straight to it. Make sure one action stands out and tells visitors what to do next, whether that’s booking a call or adding a product to the cart.

Write Button Copy That Says What Happens Next

Avoid vague button text like “Let’s do this” or “I’m so ready.” It doesn’t tell visitors what will happen when they click. Use clear, action-oriented text instead.

• Book your free discovery call
• Start your free trial
• Add to cart
• Download the guide

When a button tells people exactly what they’re getting, they’re far more likely to click it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Start With One Page This Week

You don’t need a new website to get more people to act on the one you have. Pick a single page, check its messaging against the four components above, tighten up the visual hierarchy, and give it one clear call to action. Then test a change and let the data tell you what works.

If you’re building on Showit, every change in this post can be made right in the editor you already use.