--- title: "Calls To Action: Basic Tips For Ecommerce Store Owners" description: Recently, a friend of mine invited me to take a look at the website for the business that they work for. The site, while not an ecommerce site per se, does give customers the option to make appointments and order services online. As such, there are multiple calls to action on the site. That’s the good news. The bad news? Aside from the fact that the background of the site is black and the call to action (CTA) buttons are glaringly bone white, the buttons themselves don’t really inspire much action. How can you, as an ecommerce storeowner avoid this same problem and improve the messages that your call to action buttons are actually sending?  Just as importantly, how can you clearly communicate these messages to a wide range of site visitors? image: https://blog.miva.com/hubfs/Blog%20-%20Default%20Featured%20Images/General_Photo_Blog%20%E2%80%93%2017@2x.jpg --- - [![Miva, Inc logo.](https://www.miva.com/images/logos/miva-type-white.svg)](https://www.miva.com) - ![White X close button](https://www.miva.com/images/svg/icons/icon-x-white.svg) - Why Choose Miva - Solutions - [Why Miva Simplify Complexity](https://www.miva.com/why-miva) - [Platform Overview A Complete Ecommerce Solution](https://www.miva.com/platform-overview) - [Miva Connect Real-time Native Connections](https://www.miva.com/miva-connect) - [Vexture AI-powered Product Discovery](https://www.miva.com/vexture) - [PageBuilder No-code Page Creation](https://www.miva.com/pagebuilder) - [MivaPay Flexible Native Payment Solution](https://www.miva.com/mivapay) - Business Type - [B2B Robust Business Tools Built-In](https://www.miva.com/b2b-ecommerce) - [B2C Designed for Agility](https://www.miva.com/b2c-ecommerce-platform) - [Hybrid B2B + B2C, All Managed Together](https://www.miva.com/b2b-dtc-ecommerce-platform) - [Enterprise](https://www.miva.com/enterprise-ecommerce-platform) - Resources - Community - [Customer Stories Case Studies and Featured Stores Built With Miva](https://www.miva.com/customer-stories) - [Technology Partners An Ecosystem Built for Flexibility](https://www.miva.com/partners) - [Agency Partners Helping You Build and Grow](https://www.miva.com/miva-agency-partners) - Resources - [Resource Center Browse Our Extensive Library](https://www.miva.com/ecommerce-strategy-resource-guides) - [Blog Explore Miva Insights on Ecommerce](https://blog.miva.com/) - [Documentation Answers for All Your Miva Questions](https://docs.miva.com/) - [Get Pricing](https://www.miva.com/schedule-demo-admin) [![Miva, Inc logo.](https://www.miva.com/images/logos/miva-type-white.svg)](https://www.miva.com) - Why Choose Miva - Solutions - [Why Miva Simplify Complexity](https://www.miva.com/why-miva) - [Platform Overview A Complete Ecommerce Solution](https://www.miva.com/platform-overview) - [Miva Connect Real-time Native Connections](https://www.miva.com/miva-connect) - [Vexture AI-powered Product Discovery](https://www.miva.com/vexture) - [PageBuilder No-code Page Creation](https://www.miva.com/pagebuilder) - [MivaPay Flexible Native Payment Solution](https://www.miva.com/mivapay) - Business Type - [B2B Robust Business Tools Built-In](https://www.miva.com/b2b-ecommerce) - [B2C Designed for Agility](https://www.miva.com/b2c-ecommerce-platform) - [Hybrid B2B + B2C, All Managed Together](https://www.miva.com/b2b-dtc-ecommerce-platform) [![](https://www.miva.com/images/webp/apex-stat.webp)](https://www.miva.com/case-studies/apex-tools) Your Partner for Growth See how Apex Tool drove a 57% revenue lift with Miva's Vexture® solution. - [Enterprise](https://www.miva.com/enterprise-ecommerce-platform) - Resources - Community - [Customer Stories Case Studies and Featured Stores Built With Miva](https://www.miva.com/customer-stories) - [Technology Partners An Ecosystem Built for Flexibility](https://www.miva.com/partners) - [Agency Partners Helping You Build and Grow](https://www.miva.com/miva-agency-partners) - Resources - [Resource Center Browse Our Extensive Library](https://www.miva.com/ecommerce-strategy-resource-guides) - [Blog Explore Miva Insights on Ecommerce](https://blog.miva.com/) - [Documentation Answers for All Your Miva Questions](https://docs.miva.com/) - [Get Pricing](https://www.miva.com/schedule-demo-admin) - ![White, three-lined, menu icon.](https://www.miva.com/images/svg/icons/icon-menu.svg) # Calls To Action: Basic Tips For Ecommerce Store Owners By Miva | June 6, 2012 - [Ecommerce Marketing](https://blog.miva.com/tag/ecommerce-marketing) ![](https://blog.miva.com/hubfs/Blog%20-%20Default%20Featured%20Images/General_Photo_Blog%20%E2%80%93%2017@2x.jpg) ### Before You Read On... See why top ecommerce brands use Miva’s no-code platform to run multiple stores, manage massive catalogs, and grow their revenue. [Book a Demo of Miva](https://www.miva.com/schedule-demo-admin) Recently, a friend of mine invited me to take a look at the website for the business that they work for. The site, while not an [ecommerce site](https://blog.miva.com/beating-brick-mortar-retail-experience-product-visualizers/) per se, does give customers the option to make appointments and order services online. As such, there are multiple calls to action on the site. That’s the good news. The bad news? Aside from the fact that the background of the site is black and the call to action (CTA) buttons are glaringly bone white, the buttons themselves don’t really inspire much action. How can you, as an ecommerce storeowner avoid this same problem and improve the messages that your call to action buttons are actually sending?  Just as importantly, how can you clearly communicate these messages to a wide range of site visitors? ## Keep Them Simple A call to action should be exactly that: a call to action, something that inspires site visitors to *do* something. Whether that something is buying your product now, contacting your company for more information, downloading a free white paper, or starting a free trial, your CTA message needs to be short and to the point.  Action verbs and phrases like “Download” and “Buy now” and “Learn More” go a lot further than lengthy statements like “Click Here To Learn More About Our Products.” ## Make Them Stand Out Remember when I said that the first thing that I noticed about the call to action buttons on my friend’s company’s site is that they were glaringly bone white against a black background? When it comes to cohesive web design, appearances definitely count.  Complimentary colors and keeping the color scheme of your CTA buttons true to (or at least not horribly clashing with) the overall color scheme of your website are basic design principles that sadly, many sites out there seem to ignore. ## Give Them Room To Breathe Make sure that there is enough negative space (i.e. uncluttered, empty space) around your CTA.  The more your message stands out, the more likely your site visitors will be to click on it, and vice-versa.  The right amount of blank space between the content and graphics on your site and your CTA messages will also help your ecommerce site look polished and more professional. ## Don’t Overuse Them While calls to action are powerful and essential ecommerce web design elements, like most good things, they should be used in moderation. Overwhelming your customers with multiple CTAs on the same page is the best way to make sure that they click away from your site as soon as possible. Have any great CTA tips or ecommerce web design tips in general to share with the Miva Merchant community? Feel free to leave a comment in the space below. [Back to top](https://blog.miva.com/calls-to-action-basic-tips-for-ecommerce-store-owners#postAnchor) ### Want to read this blog offline? No worries, download the PDF version now and enjoy your reading later... Download PDF ![Image of Miva.](https://blog.miva.com/hubfs/Miva%2010/Miva%2010%20Email%20images/miva-logo-square.png) Miva Miva offers a flexible and adaptable ecommerce platform that evolves with businesses and allows them to drive sales, maximize average order value, cut overhead costs, and increase revenue. Miva has been helping businesses realize their ecommerce potential for over 20 years and empowering retail, wholesale, and direct-to-consumer sellers across all industries to transform their business through ecommerce. [Visit Website](https://www.miva.com/) ![White Miva, Inc logo.](https://www.miva.com/images/logos/miva-type-white.svg) Powering the Next Era of Intelligent, Connected Commerce. [Get Pricing](https://www.miva.com/schedule-demo-admin) - [![White Facebook logo.](https://www.miva.com/images/svg/icons/icon-white-facebook.svg)](https://www.miva.com/social/facebook) - [![White X logo.](https://www.miva.com/images/svg/icons/icon-white-x.svg)](https://www.miva.com/social/x) - [![White LinkedIn logo.](https://www.miva.com/images/svg/icons/icon-white-linkedin.svg)](https://www.miva.com/social/linkedin) - [![White Instagram logo.](https://www.miva.com/images/svg/icons/icon-white-instagram.svg)](https://www.miva.com/social/instagram) ![Badge displaying that Miva was named Best Ecommerce Platform in 2020 by Vendors In Partnership.](https://www.miva.com/images/badges/best-ecomm-platform-2020.webp) - Solutions - [Why Miva](https://www.miva.com/why-miva) - [Platform Overview](https://www.miva.com/platform-overview) - [Miva Connect](https://www.miva.com/miva-connect) - [Vexture](https://www.miva.com/vexture) - [PageBuilder](https://www.miva.com/pagebuilder) - [MivaPay](https://www.miva.com/mivapay) - [MultiStorefront](https://www.miva.com/miva-multistorefront) - Business Type - [B2B](https://www.miva.com/b2b-ecommerce) - [B2C](https://www.miva.com/b2c-ecommerce-platform) - [Hybrid](https://www.miva.com/b2b-dtc-ecommerce-platform) - Community - [Customer Stories](https://www.miva.com/customer-stories) - [Technology Partners](https://www.miva.com/partners) - [Agency Partners](https://www.miva.com/miva-agency-partners) - [Forums](https://www.miva.com/forums/) - Resources - [Resource Center](https://www.miva.com/ecommerce-strategy-resource-guides) - [Blog](https://blog.miva.com/) - [Documentation](https://docs.miva.com/) - [App Store](https://apps.miva.com/) - [Miva Releases](https://www.miva.com/product-releases) - Compare Miva - [With Shopify](https://www.miva.com/miva-vs-shopify-plus) - [With BigCommerce](https://www.miva.com/miva-vs-bigcommerce) - [With Adobe Commerce (Magento)](https://www.miva.com/miva-vs-adobe-commerce-magento) - [With Salesforce Commerce](https://www.miva.com/miva-vs-salesforce-commerce) - Company - [About](https://www.miva.com/company) - [Leadership](https://www.miva.com/company/leadership) - [Diversity & Inclusion](https://www.miva.com/company/diversity-inclusion) - [Careers](https://www.miva.com/company/careers) - [Press Center](https://www.miva.com/press/) Copyright © 1997 – 2026 Miva®, Miva Merchant®, MivaPay®, Camp Miva®, Miva Connect®, Vexture®, Miva, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Terms & Policies - [Privacy Policy](https://www.miva.com/privacy) - [Cookie Policy](https://www.miva.com/cookie-policy) - [Job Applicants Privacy](https://www.miva.com/miva-applicant-privacy-notice) - [Intellectual Property](https://www.miva.com/intellectualproperty) - [Terms of Service](https://www.miva.com/pdf/SaaS_TOS.pdf) - [Non-Compliance Policy](https://www.miva.com/miva-software-updates) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@id" : "https://blog.miva.com/calls-to-action-basic-tips-for-ecommerce-store-owners#webpage", "@type" : "WebPage", "description" : "Recently, a friend of mine invited me to take a look at the website for the business that they work for. The site, while not an ecommerce site per se, does give customers the option to make appointments and order services online. As such, there are multiple calls to action on the site. That’s the good news. The bad news? Aside from the fact that the background of the site is black and the call to action (CTA) buttons are glaringly bone white, the buttons themselves don’t really inspire much action. How can you, as an ecommerce storeowner avoid this same problem and improve the messages that your call to action buttons are actually sending?  Just as importantly, how can you clearly communicate these messages to a wide range of site visitors?", "inLanguage" : "en-US", "isPartOf" : { "@id" : "https://blog.miva.com/#website" }, "name" : "Calls To Action: Basic Tips For Ecommerce Store Owners", "url" : "https://blog.miva.com/calls-to-action-basic-tips-for-ecommerce-store-owners" } ``` ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement" : [ { "@type" : "ListItem", "item" : "https://www.miva.com/", "name" : "Home", "position" : 1 }, { "@type" : "ListItem", "item" : "https://blog.miva.com/", "name" : "Blog", "position" : 2 }, { "@type" : "ListItem", "item" : "https://blog.miva.com/calls-to-action-basic-tips-for-ecommerce-store-owners", "name" : "Calls To Action: Basic Tips For Ecommerce Store Owners", "position" : 3 } ] } ``` ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Miva", "url" : "https://blog.miva.com/author/miva" }, "dateModified" : "1629999559922", "datePublished" : "2012-06-06 00:00:00", "description" : "Recently, a friend of mine invited me to take a look at the website for the business that they work for. The site, while not an ecommerce site per se, does give customers the option to make appointments and order services online. As such, there are multiple calls to action on the site. That’s the good news. The bad news? Aside from the fact that the background of the site is black and the call to action (CTA) buttons are glaringly bone white, the buttons themselves don’t really inspire much action. How can you, as an ecommerce storeowner avoid this same problem and improve the messages that your call to action buttons are actually sending?  Just as importantly, how can you clearly communicate these messages to a wide range of site visitors?", "headline" : "Calls To Action: Basic Tips For Ecommerce Store Owners", "image" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "height" : 630, "url" : "https://go.miva.com/hubfs/Blog%20-%20Default%20Featured%20Images/General_Photo_Blog%20%E2%80%93%2017@2x.jpg", "width" : 1200 }, "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://blog.miva.com/calls-to-action-basic-tips-for-ecommerce-store-owners#webpage", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "height" : 60, "url" : "https://www.miva.com/images/new-images/mivainc-logo.png", "width" : 300 }, "name" : "Miva", "url" : "https://www.miva.com/" }, "url" : "https://blog.miva.com/calls-to-action-basic-tips-for-ecommerce-store-owners" } ```