UX & Conversion
Glossary.

The content a visitor sees immediately when they land on your page, before scrolling. Named after the physical fold in a newspaper.

Research shows visitors decide whether to stay within 3–5 seconds. If your headline, offer, and primary CTA aren't visible without scrolling, most visitors never find them.

• Put your clearest headline and value proposition at the very top
• Place your primary call to action button above the fold on both desktop and mobile
• Remove large image headers or hero videos that push key content down
• Test your page on a real mobile device — not just desktop

A short text description added to images in your website's code. Screen readers use it for visually impaired users, and search engines use it to understand what the image shows.

Images without alt text are invisible to search engines, hurting your SEO. It also means visually impaired visitors using screen readers get no information from your images.

• In your CMS (WordPress, Squarespace, etc.) every image has an alt text field — fill it in
• Describe what the image shows and why it's relevant, e.g. 'Plumber fixing a leaking pipe under kitchen sink'
• Avoid keyword stuffing — write naturally for a human reader
• Decorative images (dividers, backgrounds) can have empty alt text

The percentage of visitors who land on your page and leave without clicking anything or visiting a second page. A high bounce rate usually means the page failed to meet the visitor's expectation.

A bounce rate above 70% on a service or product page typically signals a mismatch between what drew the visitor to your site and what they actually found. It's lost revenue, not just a vanity metric.

• Ensure your headline matches the promise of the ad or search result that brought them
• Make your value proposition clear within the first few seconds
• Reduce page load time — slow pages increase bounce rate significantly
• Add a clear next step so visitors know what to do

A secondary navigation element showing visitors where they are within your site structure, e.g. Home > Services > Plumbing > Boiler Repair.

Breadcrumbs reduce confusion for visitors navigating deeper pages and are picked up by Google as structured navigation, improving how your pages appear in search results.

• Add breadcrumbs to any page more than one level deep
• Most CMS platforms (WordPress, Wix) have breadcrumb plugins or built-in options
• Add BreadcrumbList schema markup to help Google understand the structure
• Keep breadcrumb labels short and match your page titles

Any button, link, or prompt that directs a visitor to take a specific next step — 'Get a Quote', 'Book a Call', 'Buy Now', 'Download the Guide'.

Vague CTAs like 'Submit' or 'Click Here' significantly reduce conversion. Specific, outcome-focused CTAs tell visitors exactly what will happen and what they'll get, which builds confidence and drives action.

• Replace generic button text ('Submit', 'Send', 'Click Here') with specific outcomes ('Get My Free Quote', 'Book a Free Call')
• Ensure your primary CTA is visible above the fold without scrolling
• Use a contrasting colour for CTA buttons so they stand out from the page
• Limit each page to one primary CTA — too many choices causes paralysis

An HTML tag that tells search engines which version of a page is the 'official' one when similar or duplicate content exists at multiple URLs.

Without canonical tags, Google may split your page's authority across multiple URLs and rank none of them well. Common causes include www vs non-www versions, HTTP vs HTTPS, or filter pages in ecommerce.

• Choose one canonical version of your domain (www or non-www, HTTPS) and redirect all others
• Most SEO plugins (Yoast, RankMath) handle canonicals automatically
• Check your site isn't indexed under multiple domains using 'site:yourdomain.com' in Google
• If you have URL parameters (e.g. ?sort=price), set them as non-indexable in Google Search Console

The process of comparing your website's UX and conversion performance directly against a competitor's site to identify where you lead, where you fall behind, and what they are doing that you should adopt.

Your conversion rate doesn't exist in a vacuum — visitors compare you to alternatives before deciding. Understanding exactly where a competitor outperforms you gives you a concrete, prioritised list of improvements grounded in the real competitive landscape, not guesswork.

• Run a Competitor Comparison on Signal & Flow to get a scored head-to-head report in under 60 seconds
• Focus first on the dimensions where the gap is largest — a 20-point trust deficit is more urgent than a 5-point messaging gap
• Study their best moves: specific things they are doing well that you can adapt for your own site
• Re-run the comparison after making changes to measure whether the gap has closed

A specific area where a competitor's website outperforms yours — in UX, conversion clarity, trust signals, messaging, or overall score. Competitive gaps are what a competitor comparison report is designed to surface.

A competitive gap is a direct business risk. If a visitor compares your site to a competitor's and the competitor has clearer pricing, stronger social proof, or a more compelling CTA, you will lose that visitor. Identifying and closing competitive gaps is often faster than building entirely new features.

• Use the Where They Win section of your Competitor Comparison report to identify specific gaps
• Prioritise gaps by impact: trust gaps and conversion gaps typically cost the most revenue
• Don't copy competitors directly — understand why their approach works and adapt it to your own brand and positioning
• Use the Their Best Moves section to identify techniques worth studying rather than copying wholesale

The percentage of website visitors who take your desired action — making a purchase, submitting an enquiry form, booking a call, or signing up.

The average small business website converts 1–3% of visitors. Doubling your conversion rate doubles your revenue without spending a penny more on traffic. It's often the highest-return lever in your business.

• Identify your current conversion rate: conversions ÷ total visitors × 100
• Remove friction from the conversion path — fewer form fields, clearer CTAs, visible pricing
• Add trust signals near the point of conversion (reviews, guarantees, contact details)
• Run a UX audit to find the specific barriers stopping visitors from converting

The systematic process of increasing the percentage of website visitors who take a desired action, without increasing your advertising spend.

Most businesses focus on getting more traffic to fix a revenue problem. CRO fixes the leaks in the bucket first — converting more of the traffic you already have, which is almost always more cost-effective than buying more.

• Start with a UX audit to identify your biggest conversion blockers
• Prioritise quick wins: clearer CTAs, reduced form friction, social proof near conversion points
• Test changes one at a time to understand what's working
• Focus on the pages with the most traffic and worst conversion rate first

Google's set of metrics measuring real-world user experience: how fast the main content loads (LCP), how stable the layout is (CLS), and how quickly the page responds to interaction (INP).

Core Web Vitals are a confirmed Google ranking factor. Poor scores hurt your search rankings and directly damage user experience — slow, jumpy pages lose visitors before they've read a word.

• Test your scores free at PageSpeed Insights (pagespeed.web.dev)
• Compress and properly size all images — this is the single biggest LCP improvement for most sites
• Set explicit width and height on images to prevent layout shift (CLS)
• Remove or defer unused JavaScript and third-party scripts

Google's framework for evaluating content quality: Experience (first-hand experience with the topic), Expertise (knowledge of the subject), Authoritativeness (reputation in the field), and Trustworthiness (accuracy and safety).

Google uses E-E-A-T signals to decide how much to trust and rank your content. Sites with low E-E-A-T signals — no author information, no credentials, no proof of experience — rank lower and lose traffic to more credible competitors.

• Add an About page that details your background, experience, and credentials
• Include author bios on blog posts and articles
• Earn mentions and links from reputable websites in your industry
• Display your physical address, phone number, and business registration details

A trigger that detects when a visitor is about to leave your page (typically when their mouse moves towards the browser's back button or close button) and displays a popup or offer to retain them.

Exit intent popups can recover 10–15% of abandoning visitors when used well. They're a last-chance intervention for visitors who haven't yet converted.

• Only show an exit intent popup with a genuinely valuable offer — discount, free guide, or lead magnet
• Keep the popup copy short and the CTA clear
• Don't trigger on every page — focus on high-intent pages like pricing and product pages
• Ensure it's dismissible and doesn't fire on mobile (where exit intent detection is unreliable)

An eye-tracking research finding showing that web users often read pages in an F-shaped pattern — scanning across the top, then down the left side — rather than reading every word.

Most visitors scan, they don't read. If your most important information isn't in the first line or the left column of your content, many visitors will miss it entirely.

• Put your most critical information at the very start of paragraphs and sections
• Use subheadings that communicate value on their own — don't make people read the body to understand the point
• Keep left-aligned content — it gets more eye-time than centred or right-aligned text
• Use bullet points to break up content that would otherwise be skipped

A model developed by Stanford researcher BJ Fogg stating that behaviour (B) happens when Motivation (M), Ability (A), and a Prompt (P) converge at the same moment. Remove any one element and the behaviour doesn't happen.

Most conversion failures are explained by this model. A visitor might be motivated but the form is too long (low ability). Or the page is easy to use but the visitor doesn't understand why they should act now (low motivation). Identifying the missing element points you to the right fix.

• Check Motivation: does your page clearly communicate the benefit of taking action?
• Check Ability: is the conversion action simple enough? Fewer form fields, clearer steps
• Check Prompt: is there a clear CTA that appears at the right moment in the visitor's journey?
• Don't assume motivation — spell out the value at every stage

Any element of a contact or checkout form that makes it harder to complete — too many fields, confusing labels, unclear error messages, or requiring information the visitor doesn't want to give.

Every additional field in a form reduces completion rates. Research consistently shows that reducing a form from 6 fields to 3 can double completion. Most small business contact forms ask for far more than they need.

• Reduce to the minimum fields needed: Name, Phone (or Email), and Message for most enquiry forms
• Remove 'Company Name', 'How did you hear about us', and other optional fields
• Use clear, human labels ('Your phone number') not technical ones ('Contact No.')
• Show a confirmation message immediately after submission

The three horizontal lines icon (☰) used on mobile and tablet devices to hide and reveal navigation. Named for its resemblance to a burger.

Hamburger menus reduce the discoverability of your navigation — visitors have to actively look for it. On pages where you want visitors to take a specific action, hiding all navigation links in a hamburger menu can actually improve conversion by removing distractions.

• For marketing and landing pages, consider removing the hamburger menu entirely and keeping only a single CTA
• If you keep the hamburger menu, ensure the icon is clearly visible and the touch target is at least 44x44px
• Consider a visible bottom navigation bar instead for key links on mobile
• Always include Home and Contact as the first items in a mobile menu

The structured use of heading tags (H1, H2, H3) on a page to organise content. There should be one H1 per page (the main title), with H2s as section headings and H3s as subsections.

Search engines use heading structure to understand your page's content and topic hierarchy. Poorly structured headings (multiple H1s, skipped levels, keyword stuffing) reduce your SEO effectiveness and make pages harder for screen readers to navigate.

• Ensure every page has exactly one H1 that clearly describes the page's topic
• Use H2s for major sections and H3s for subsections — don't skip levels
• Include your primary keyword naturally in your H1
• Don't use heading tags just to make text bigger — use them for structure

A visual representation of where visitors click, move their mouse, or how far they scroll on a webpage. Warmer colours (red, orange) indicate more activity; cooler colours (blue, green) indicate less.

Heatmaps reveal what visitors actually do on your pages versus what you assume they do. They commonly reveal that visitors click on non-clickable elements, miss important CTAs, or stop scrolling before reaching key content.

• Use a free or low-cost tool like Hotjar, Microsoft Clarity (free), or Lucky Orange
• Focus your heatmaps on your highest-traffic, lowest-converting pages first
• Look for clicks on elements that aren't links (indicates confusion or expectation mismatch)
• Check scroll depth to see where visitors stop — anything below that point needs moving up

The large, prominent section at the top of a webpage — typically containing a headline, subheadline, and primary call to action. It's the first thing most visitors see.

The hero section makes or breaks your first impression. Visitors decide within seconds whether to stay or leave based almost entirely on this section. A vague or visually overwhelming hero is one of the most common reasons sites fail to convert.

• Lead with a clear, benefit-focused headline that answers 'what's in it for me?'
• Add a one-sentence subheadline that clarifies who you help and how
• Include a single, prominent CTA button
• Avoid generic stock photography — use real images of your work, product, or team where possible

A psychological principle stating that the time it takes to make a decision increases with the number and complexity of choices available.

Giving visitors too many options — too many navigation links, too many service packages, too many CTAs — slows down decision-making and often results in no decision at all. Simplicity drives action.

• Limit your primary navigation to 5–7 items maximum
• Offer a maximum of 3 pricing tiers — research shows 3 is optimal for conversions
• Ensure each page has a single primary CTA, not multiple competing actions
• Use progressive disclosure to reveal complexity only when the user has committed to a path

Links from one page on your website to another page on the same website. Used to help visitors navigate and to help search engines discover and understand all your pages.

Good internal linking keeps visitors on your site longer, helps them find relevant content, and distributes 'link equity' (SEO authority) from your strong pages to your weaker ones. Poor internal linking means some pages are effectively invisible to both visitors and Google.

• Link to relevant service or product pages from blog posts and articles
• Add 'related services' or 'you might also like' sections at the bottom of key pages
• Ensure every important page can be reached within 2–3 clicks from the homepage
• Use descriptive anchor text — 'website conversion audit' not 'click here'

A technique that delays loading of images and content until they're actually needed — typically until the user scrolls to that part of the page — rather than loading everything at once.

Lazy loading significantly reduces initial page load time, directly improving your Core Web Vitals scores and user experience. Pages that load faster convert better and rank higher in search.

• Add loading='lazy' attribute to all images below the fold — this is a one-line HTML change
• Most modern WordPress themes and page builders have lazy loading built in or as a setting
• Do NOT lazy load your hero image or above-the-fold content — it should load immediately
• Use a caching plugin (WordPress) or your host's performance tools to enable lazy loading site-wide

A conversion framework by WiderFunnel that evaluates pages across six factors: Value Proposition (the core offer), Clarity (how easy it is to understand), Urgency (motivation to act now), Anxiety (fears and doubts), Distraction (things pulling attention away), and Relevance (how well the page matches expectations).

The LIFT Model gives a structured way to diagnose why a page isn't converting. Most conversion problems map to one of these six factors — identifying which one means you fix the right thing first.

• Start with Value Proposition: is your offer clearly better than alternatives?
• Check Clarity: can a stranger understand what you offer within 5 seconds?
• Remove Distractions: unnecessary navigation links, social media buttons, or competing CTAs
• Address Anxiety: add guarantees, social proof, and contact details near conversion points

A short summary of a webpage (typically 150–160 characters) that appears beneath your page title in search engine results. Not a direct ranking factor, but directly affects how many people click your result.

A compelling meta description can increase your click-through rate from search results by 5–10%, getting you more traffic from the same rankings. A missing or auto-generated one often shows irrelevant page text, wasting the opportunity.

• Write a unique meta description for every important page
• Lead with the benefit: what does the visitor get by clicking?
• Keep it under 160 characters or it gets cut off in search results
• Include your primary keyword naturally — Google bolds it in the results, making your listing stand out

The small, functional pieces of text throughout a website — button labels, form field instructions, error messages, confirmation messages, placeholder text, and tooltips.

Microcopy directly affects whether visitors complete forms, click buttons, and understand what's happening. Poor microcopy ('Error occurred') creates anxiety and abandonment. Good microcopy ('We couldn't find that email — try a different one') guides and reassures.

• Audit every button label on your site — replace vague text with specific, outcome-focused labels
• Rewrite form field error messages to be helpful rather than technical
• Add reassurance text near form submit buttons: 'No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.'
• Use plain English for confirmation messages — 'Got it! We'll be in touch within 24 hours'

The visible area of a webpage on a device screen. The viewport meta tag tells browsers how to scale your page on mobile devices.

Without a proper viewport meta tag, mobile browsers render your desktop site at full size and then shrink it — making text tiny and links impossible to tap. This is a fundamental mobile usability failure that affects over 60% of your visitors.

• Add <meta name='viewport' content='width=device-width, initial-scale=1'> to your page's <head>
• Most modern CMS platforms add this automatically — check your site on a real phone to verify
• Test your site using Google's free Mobile-Friendly Test tool
• Ensure tap targets (buttons, links) are at least 44x44 pixels on mobile

A set of meta tags added to your pages that control how your content appears when shared on social media platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, and WhatsApp — defining the title, image, and description shown in link previews.

Without Open Graph tags, social platforms pick arbitrary images and text to show when someone shares your link. This often results in poor-quality previews that get low engagement. Good OG tags dramatically improve the click-through rate on shared links.

• Add og:title, og:description, og:image, and og:url tags to every page
• Use a 1200×630px image for og:image — this is the optimal size for most platforms
• Most SEO plugins (Yoast, RankMath) handle Open Graph automatically
• Test your current setup using Facebook's Sharing Debugger or LinkedIn's Post Inspector

How quickly a webpage loads and becomes usable for a visitor. Measured in seconds and broken into metrics like Time to First Byte (TTFB), First Contentful Paint (FCP), and Largest Contentful Paint (LCP).

Google research shows 53% of mobile visitors abandon a page that takes more than 3 seconds to load. Page speed is also a Google ranking factor. Slow pages lose traffic from search and lose visitors when they arrive.

• Test your current speed free at PageSpeed Insights (pagespeed.web.dev)
• Compress all images — unoptimised images are the #1 cause of slow pages
• Use a fast hosting provider — cheap shared hosting is often the bottleneck
• Enable browser caching and use a CDN (Content Delivery Network) for static assets

A UX design pattern that shows only essential information initially, revealing more detail as the user engages — accordions, 'Read more' links, and tabbed content are common implementations.

Showing all information at once overwhelms visitors and slows decision-making. Progressive disclosure keeps pages clean and focused while still providing depth for visitors who want it.

• Use accordion components for FAQs — show the question, hide the answer until clicked
• Keep product and service descriptions brief on listings, linking to a full detail page
• Put supporting information (terms, technical specs) in expandable sections rather than inline
• Ensure the most common questions are answered in the visible content — don't hide critical information

A guarantee or promise that removes the risk of buying from the visitor's perspective — money-back guarantees, free trials, satisfaction guarantees, or no-quibble returns policies.

Every purchase carries perceived risk. A clear guarantee shifts that risk back to the seller, reducing the anxiety that causes hesitation. Research consistently shows guarantees increase conversion rates, even when they're rarely claimed.

• Add a specific, clear guarantee near your primary CTA — '30-day money back, no questions asked'
• Make the guarantee prominent — don't bury it in your terms and conditions
• For service businesses, a satisfaction guarantee ('We'll fix it or your next call is free') is highly effective
• Pair your guarantee with social proof — the guarantee handles risk, the reviews handle trust

A persuasion technique that highlights limited availability — of stock, time, or access — to increase the perceived value of an offer and motivate action.

When something is scarce, people want it more and act faster. Genuine scarcity (limited stock, a booking deadline, a cohort that closes) is a powerful and ethical conversion tool when used honestly.

• Only use scarcity when it's real — false urgency damages trust when visitors see through it
• Show actual stock levels ('Only 3 left') rather than artificial countdown timers
• For service businesses, show genuine availability: 'Currently booking March appointments'
• Pair scarcity with social proof to show why spots fill up

Code added to your website (usually in JSON-LD format) that helps search engines and AI tools understand what your business does, what you sell, and key details like your location, reviews, and opening hours.

Without schema markup, search engines have to guess what your page is about. With it, your business can appear in rich results — showing star ratings, FAQs, or prices directly in search — which significantly increases click-through rates. It also helps AI tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity understand and cite your business correctly.

• Use Google's free Structured Data Markup Helper to generate the code
• Add LocalBusiness schema with your name, address, phone, and opening hours
• Add Review schema if you have testimonials on the page
• Add FAQPage schema to your FAQ section — it can generate expanded search results

Evidence that other people have used and valued your product or service — reviews, testimonials, case studies, customer counts, logos of clients, media mentions, or star ratings.

People trust other people more than they trust businesses. Social proof reduces the perceived risk of buying by showing that others have made the same decision and been happy with it. Its absence is one of the most common trust killers on small business websites.

• Add real customer reviews or testimonials to your key pages — quote the customer, include their name and location
• Embed your Google Reviews or Trustpilot widget directly on the page
• Display logos of well-known clients if you have them
• If you're new, gather 3–5 testimonials from early customers before prioritising other marketing

Secure Sockets Layer — the technology that encrypts data between a visitor's browser and your website, indicated by the padlock icon and HTTPS in the URL.

Browsers now display 'Not Secure' warnings for HTTP sites, which destroys visitor trust immediately. Google also gives a small ranking advantage to HTTPS sites. SSL is non-negotiable for any site collecting data, running forms, or selling products.

• Most modern hosting providers include free SSL via Let's Encrypt — check your hosting control panel
• If your site shows as HTTP, contact your hosting provider — SSL installation is usually a one-click process
• After enabling HTTPS, redirect all HTTP traffic to HTTPS via your .htaccess file or hosting settings
• Verify there are no 'mixed content' warnings (some assets still loading over HTTP) using your browser's developer tools

A navigation bar that remains visible at the top of the screen as visitors scroll down the page, rather than disappearing out of view.

On long pages, visitors lose access to navigation and CTAs as they scroll. Sticky navigation keeps your key actions — including your contact button or quote CTA — permanently accessible without requiring visitors to scroll back to the top.

• Enable sticky header in your theme or page builder settings — most modern themes have this option
• Ensure the sticky header is slim on mobile (doesn't take up too much screen height)
• Include your primary CTA button in the sticky header
• Add a subtle background to the header when it becomes sticky so it remains readable over page content

The physical area on a touchscreen that a user taps to interact with an element — button, link, or icon. Google recommends a minimum size of 44×44 pixels.

Small tap targets cause mis-taps on mobile, which frustrates users and causes them to abandon the page. Tiny navigation links, small icon buttons, and dense link lists are common culprits on sites designed primarily for desktop.

• Ensure all buttons are at least 44×44 pixels on mobile screens
• Add padding to text links so the tappable area is larger than the text itself
• Space links and buttons far enough apart that accidental taps on the wrong element are unlikely
• Test on a real phone with your thumb — if it's hard to tap accurately, it needs fixing

Direct quotes from customers describing their experience with your product or service, typically including their name and sometimes their photo or job title.

Testimonials are the most common form of social proof for small businesses. A specific, named testimonial ('James cut our enquiry-to-sale time in half' — Sarah T., Manchester) is far more credible and persuasive than a generic one ('Great service!').

• Gather testimonials that mention specific outcomes or results — not just general praise
• Include the customer's name and location at minimum — a photo significantly increases credibility
• Place testimonials near your CTAs and conversion points, not just on a dedicated Testimonials page
• Ask happy customers for a review via Google Reviews or Trustpilot — third-party reviews are more trusted than on-site quotes

The HTML title of a webpage, displayed as the clickable blue link in search engine results and as the browser tab label. The most important on-page SEO element.

Your title tag is the primary signal Google uses to understand what your page is about and rank it for relevant searches. A well-written title tag drives more clicks from search results — a poorly written one means your page ranks for the wrong terms or gets skipped.

• Include your primary keyword near the start of the title tag
• Keep it under 60 characters or it gets cut off in search results
• Make it descriptive and compelling — it's your headline in search results
• Use the format: Primary Keyword — Business Name (e.g. Emergency Plumber in Leeds — FastFix Plumbing)

Specific elements on a website that actively undermine visitor confidence — design inconsistencies, outdated content, missing contact details, generic stock photos, spelling errors, or broken links.

Trust is built slowly and destroyed instantly. A single trust killer — a copyright date from 2019, a broken image, or a missing phone number — can override all the positive signals on your page and cause an otherwise interested visitor to leave.

• Update your copyright year in the footer
• Replace generic stock photography with real images of your work, premises, or team
• Add a visible phone number and physical address — their absence signals something to hide
• Check every page for broken links, missing images, and spelling errors at least quarterly

Any element on your website that increases visitor confidence in your legitimacy and capability — reviews, accreditations, guarantees, contact information, professional photography, SSL certificates, and years in business.

Before a visitor converts, they need to trust that you're real, competent, and safe to buy from. Trust signals answer these questions before the visitor even consciously asks them. Missing trust signals are invisible losses — you never know how many enquiries you didn't get because of them.

• Add your phone number to the header of every page
• Display relevant accreditations, certifications, or trade memberships with their official logos
• Show a physical address — even a trading address — to confirm you're a real business
• Add a photo of yourself or your team — faceless businesses are inherently less trusted

A persuasion technique that creates a time-related reason to act now rather than later — deadlines, time-limited offers, or highlighting the cost of inaction.

Without urgency, visitors default to 'I'll come back to this later' — and rarely do. A genuine reason to act now is one of the most effective conversion tools, as it overcomes the natural human tendency to delay decisions.

• Only use urgency that's real — a countdown that resets when it reaches zero is a trust killer
• For service businesses, use booking windows: 'Next available appointment: 14th March'
• Highlight the cost of delay: 'Every week you wait is a week your site is losing enquiries'
• Limited-time price promotions are effective but should be genuine and not permanent

A clear statement of why a customer should choose you over alternatives — what you offer, who it's for, and why it's better or different. It should be immediately obvious from your homepage.

A weak or absent value proposition is the most common reason small business websites fail to convert. If visitors can't quickly answer 'Why should I choose this business?' they default to searching for one that makes the answer clearer.

• Write your value proposition as: [What you do] + [Who you do it for] + [Why you're the right choice]
• Test it: cover your logo and show your homepage to a stranger for 5 seconds — can they tell you what you do and who for?
• Put it in your H1 or the first sentence below your hero image
• Avoid generic claims ('Excellent service', 'Competitive prices') — be specific about what makes you different

The arrangement of elements on a page in a way that guides the visitor's eye in order of importance — using size, colour, contrast, and spacing to communicate what to look at first, second, and third.

Poor visual hierarchy means visitors don't know where to look, what matters most, or what to do next. When everything looks equally important, nothing gets attention.

• Make your headline significantly larger than body text — it should dominate the page
• Use one accent colour for CTAs only — consistency trains visitors to recognise your action elements
• Use whitespace to separate sections and give important elements room to breathe
• The most important element on the page should be the most visually prominent — check that your CTA is never competing with other bold, colourful elements

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines — the international standard for making websites accessible to people with disabilities, covering visual, auditory, motor, and cognitive impairments.

Around 20% of the UK population has some form of disability. Beyond the ethical obligation, accessibility improvements also improve usability for everyone, and Google rewards accessible sites with better rankings.

• Check your colour contrast ratio using free tools like WebAIM's Contrast Checker (minimum 4.5:1 for normal text)
• Ensure all images have descriptive alt text
• All interactive elements must be keyboard-navigable (Tab key should reach every button and link)
• Use descriptive link text — 'Read our UX audit guide' not 'Click here'

The empty space between and around elements on a page — also called negative space. It doesn't have to be white; it refers to any unoccupied area in the design.

Cluttered pages feel overwhelming and unprofessional, causing visitors to leave. Whitespace improves comprehension, draws attention to key elements, and signals a confident, premium brand. Many small business sites are packed with content that would convert better with less of it.

• Increase padding inside sections — most pages need more vertical breathing room between content blocks
• Reduce the amount of content on key pages — every element should earn its place
• Let your headline sit with space around it — it's more impactful in isolation
• Test a version of your homepage with 30% less content — it will often convert better

A method of comparing two versions of a webpage (or element) by showing version A to one group of visitors and version B to another, then measuring which performs better.

A/B testing removes guesswork from conversion optimisation. Instead of debating which button colour or headline is better, you let your actual visitors decide with their behaviour.

• Test one element at a time — changing headline and button and layout simultaneously means you can't know which change made the difference
• Use free tools like Google Optimize (now sunset) or affordable alternatives like VWO or Convert
• You need sufficient traffic to get statistically significant results — typically 1,000+ visitors per variant
• Start with high-impact elements: headlines, CTA text, hero images, and pricing page layout