Today I want to tell you about something called decision fatigue and how subpar web design makes it happen. And in case you didn’t read the title, once your users get decision fatigue you’ve pretty much failed (if you’re focused on conversions).
What Is Decision Fatigue?
Having so many options that you don’t know what to choose, which then makes you mentally/emotionally exhausted. Sound familiar? It’s why your kids dump all their toys out and don’t play with any of them. It’s why you get a hazy feeling in your brain at Baskin Robins trying to pick out an ice cream flavor. It’s why you’re happier with less.
Decision Fatigue Kills Decision Making
What happens when you’re on the edge of making a decision, but there are so many options that you aren’t quite sure what to do and you get fatigued? That’s right, you do nothing. It’s so much easier. Unless you absolutely have to make a choice to go on with your day, you probably won’t.
That’s a big deal if your company website is focused on conversions. If your users are suffering from decision fatigue, that means your conversion rates will be lower. Even if you gave them more than one way to convert.
Web Design That Causes Decision Fatigue
It’s more than having a cluttered website. Yes, cluttered websites do suck (unless you’ve discovered a flux capacitor and you’re back in the early 00’s). But it’s more than that. You can have a simple, clean, and elegant website that still gives a user decision fatigue.
Remember, decision fatigue is all about making a decision. So primarily we’re dealing with the CTA’s of a website (the call to action). Website that gives users decision fatigue are typically the ones with too many conversion options. When your website visitors have to think, “crap, I’m not sure what the best thing to do here is…” that’s when you have decision fatigue. Whey they think “should I call? Or email? Or send a contact form? Or go there in person? Or fill out an estimate? Or do a chat?” You have decision fatigue.
A Simple Fix
KISS. Don’t get too crazy now, that’s an acronym for “Keep It Simple Stupid.” You’re not stupid, but you should keep it simple. Have one, easy to find, relevant, simple to accomplish call to action per page. Maybe two. Don’t think about the hundred ways you can get someone plugged into your marketing funnel and put every option on the page just to cover your bases. Give them one option and make it good.
Our Kansas City web design agency has spent years perfecting simple CTA’s to eliminate decision fatigue in web design. Why? Because conversions matter. Take a look at your website, make sure you have a CTA, and make sure it’s singular.