Buttons are one of the most important elements on a web page. Visitors use them to navigate your site and trigger actions that are key to driving on-site conversions. Think opening a case study, submitting a form, downloading an ebook or signing up for a webinar.

In web design circles, button design gets a lot of attention: user experience (UX) experts will spend an inordinate amount of time perfecting the shape, states and placement of individual buttons to minimise friction and maximise engagement -- as evidenced by the National Archive’s 1,800-word deep dive into their own button design process

But button copy is often an afterthought. Research published by The UX Content Collective suggests that the overwhelming majority of brands still opt for ‘read more’ ‘learn more’, or ‘click here’ button text. The question is, what do we miss by following the crowd and refusing to innovate?

While there are specific use cases where generic button text may be the best option, ‘learn more’ or 'read more' buttons generally:

• Lack context
• Fail to engage users
• Fail accessibility checks
• Rob you of the opportunity to reinforce your brand

To elaborate, let’s break down each of these four problems in turn:

Context is key

Clicking a button is a transaction. You’re asking someone to trust that you’re going to respect their time and send them to a page or website that enhances their experience but ‘learn more’ is oddly ambiguous.

Learn more about what? Where will I be reading it? What will I gain? We can probably guess based on context, but why are we making fickle and flighty web users guess at the value they’ll extract from engaging with our button? Remember that good web copy is always clear, concise and benefit-led.

If users have to ask themselves what they’re about to read, we’ve done something very wrong. Specifically, we’ve created a conversion option with poor informational scent which means that users will underestimate its value.

We’ve also missed the opportunity to sell the benefits of engaging with our website. Instead of ‘read more’, why not ‘discover the process’, ‘get up to speed’ or ‘uncover the process’? Something that speaks to the specific benefits a visitor gets in exchange for their click.

Note that button copy like ‘buy’ is equally problematic. Again, we’ve done nothing to describe the purchase journey, or set expectations. Are users going to be prompted to pay there and then? Will they be able to continue shopping? Uncertainty deters interaction so be clear and precise. Opt for 'add to basket' or 'add to bag' instead. 

‘Submit’ is yet-another faux pas - we can probably guess at what’ll happen when we click an element sporting this button text, but we have missed a crucial opportunity to flag the value of interacting, and submit has incredibly negative connotations.

Compare ‘submit’ to a crafted alternative like ‘start a conversation’ which sets expectations, highlights value and speaks to brand values and it becomes clear that spending time here - working to perfect your button copy -  will deliver a significant ROI.

Overlooked buttons don’t convert

Problem number 2: ‘learn more’ is so overused that many web users have trained themselves to ignore it. According to a small study (n=56) published by Sparkbox, only 28% of people click ‘read more’ buttons.

It’s hard to prove that this is due to overuse, but it’s worth noting that these results are eerily similar to the results from studies into right-rail blindness - a well documented phenomenon where certain demographics learn to completely ignore certain elements of a page because they consistently offer low (or no) value.

Now, most buttons - learn more or otherwise - serve a specific purpose. They’re often the culmination of a concerted effort to motivate action via web content of some description, and they play a critical role in moving users from point A to point B.

We don’t want people to ignore them. Just the opposite in fact. We want our button copy to leap out of the page and give users that last little push so it’s worth spending a bit of extra time to craft alternatives that are high-energy, verb-led, on-brand and enticing.

Accessibility matters

Button copy that lacks descriptive keywords and/or context clues are particularly bad for screen readers.

Users with visual impairments can’t just glance up to a previous paragraph if they want to know what a ‘learn more’ link is referencing, which is why descriptive button text has been an integral part of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)’s web content accessibility guidelines since early 2017.

It’s easy to be dismissive of accessibility issues: People are often quick to point out that only 2.9% of the UK population lives with sight loss and that it’s hard to justify the cost of designing to such a small minority but we think this is misguided.

Firstly, on principle, the web should be accessible to everyone. Secondly, designing for accessibility guidelines is often just designing for modern best practices. This is definitely the case when talking about button copy.

Brand is everything

As our talented studio team is always keen to point out, brand design isn’t just logos and fonts. Tone of voice is an integral part of every brand identity, and while slogans, headlines and ad copy are the obvious place to emphasise that tone, it’s important to remember that every line of web copy contributes to your audience’s impression of your brand.

Imagine that you’re on the website for an agency that sources international solicitors. They’ve spent the last five minutes talking to you in a polished and professional tone that’s designed to build trust and establish their credibility. You read an article about their solicitor vetting process and scroll down to see a button that says ‘Click here to bag a great deal!’

Incongruous, isn’t it? Unfortunately, a great many brands spend hours perfecting tone of voice across multiple channels and then undercut their own hard work by leaning on button copy that strikes a completely different tone.

Expounding on the problems with bad button copy is all good and well, but what’s the alternative? We’ve already talked about clear, concise and compelling copy, but that’s not actionable advice.

To remedy this, we’ve outlined the three mindsets we adopt when thinking about button copy. Use them as a starting point for your own brainstorming process and you’ll be well on your way to creating button copy that contributes to your growth journey.

Thinking like a brand strategist

Button microcopy should support and elevate your brand. If you’re going for high-energy, creative or fun, make sure your button copy aligns with those values. Wendy’s (the fast food chain) provides plenty of inspiration; replacing tired ‘shop now’ button copy with buttons that read ‘order now before it’s gone!’

Time pressure, the exclamation mark, the familiar tone. It’s a brilliant example of how button copy can (and should) support your brand.

If you’re more serious, grounded and/or targeting high-end markets, you may need to look at luxury car brands like Rolls Royce or Bentley instead. Here, ‘learn more’ buttons are replaced by calls to ‘discover’ specific cars or ‘explore’ ranges. It’s subtle, but it paints a picture.

Thinking like an accessibility guru

A screen reader is going to read your button text after it’s covered all the contextual clues hidden in the text above. Above all, make sure that your label clearly describes the ‘what’. Eg. ‘Read our case study’, ‘discover diamond rings’, ‘explore our services’ or ‘order your meal’.

We want unambiguous and meaningful content that guides users towards a specific destination and/or action. Doubly so if we are asking people to interact with specific elements of a page (like pop-up banners for an email newsletter).

Spotify is a great source of inspiration here. All of their buttons are clearly labelled and tell you exactly what to expect from a click, from ‘make a playlist’ through to ‘sign up for Spotify family’.

Thinking like a conversion rate optimisation (CRO) expert

In a world where users skim-read websites, we need buttons to jump off the page. Critically, we also need them to inspire action. When writing button text, ask yourself

• Am I leading with a verb?
• Am I emphasising the benefits?
• Is my copy clear and compelling?
• Could I remove any ambiguity?

Anticipate and address potential objections; make it very clear what people stand to gain by interacting with your button and again, focus on eliminating any ambiguity. The overall aim here is to establish trust, remove friction and make people feel like they really ought to click that button. It’d be silly not to, right?

Microcopy placed in the immediate vicinity of important buttons can be incredibly powerful. Many brands use them to address common doubts and/or points of friction. For example, Netflix’s ‘get started’ buttons are always placed below text that tells you the price of a basic subscription and informs you that you can cancel any time.

Booking.com do the same thing; explicitly telling you that liking ‘reserve’ won’t immediately charge you a fee, and again, users will find this very reassuring.

Believe it or not, the best way to capitalise button copy is the subject of fierce debate. Some UX experts believe capturing attention with title case copy is key to making buttons convert, while others think that concerns about readability trump the need to grab a user’s attention -- making sentence case the go-to choice.

Apple and Google both use sentence-case button text on their websites, but Apple use title text buttons on a number of their apps and you’ll find plenty of other big brands prefer title case or even all caps on their websites too.

Spend time and energy crafting your button copy. It may take 1-2 hours to brainstorm ideas and create a consistent style for your site, but the time you invest here will pay dividends for years to come.

In particular, focus on making sure that all button copy is

• Clear, concise and compelling
• Outlines real value for the user
• Describes what people can expect to happen when they click
• Supports or develops your brand’s tone of voice.

You’ll find plenty of inspiration on the web, but you may find it helpful to refer back to evergreen resources like HubSpot's collection of 49 killer CTAs, ManyPixel’s guide to UX button design or UX Psychology’s guide to optimising button microcopy.

Our team of brand and content specialists are always happy to advise on web copy and/or UX design. We can also help you test different approaches to web design and messaging. Contact us directly or fill out the form to get started.