5 Conversion Rate Optimisation Lessons From The Great British Bake Off

Your website is like a cake - or at least it is for the purpose of this blog post. With The Great British Bake Off final coming up on Wednesday, what better time is there to talk about how your website should be just as appealing as a chocolate gateaux? At SilverDisc we’re quite partial to both fabulous websites and a muffin or two, or a doughnut, or a coffee cake, or – you get the idea.

So let’s take a look at how you can think of your website like a cake, with the main aim to get as many people as possible to reach out for a slice of whatever you have to offer. Taking five lessons from GBBO, here is a list of things your website should do:

Look tempting

From palm trees and sunbathers to a fully functioning chocolate well, there have been some truly extravagant cakes in this series. Your website should look just as tempting as a chocolate carousel. Show your showstopper product on your homepage, as well as your tried and tested signature bake to lure people in.

Fulfil a need

Why do people eat cake? Because they’re hungry. Well, not necessarily, but if they are, a Battenberg is as good a way of satisfying that hunger as any. Cake fulfils a need like your website should. Just like a Battenberg might fill up a person, or a princess-themed cake might be perfect for a little girl’s birthday party, your website should appeal to your target market in every single way, and give out a strong message of how your business can give people the solution to their problem.

Facilitate impulsiveness

It’s probably easier to be impulsive about eating cake than it is to make an impulsive purchase online. The cake is right there – just cut a slice, grab a plate and chomp it down. Making a purchase online can take a little more thought, but it’s as easy for your customers as you make it. Amazon makes it very easy with one-click purchases, whereas other websites may have long forms or many pages to navigate, giving the customer plenty of time to reconsider their purchase.

Be moreish

Repeat customers can be very valuable, so like a good mini doughnut, your website should make people want more. You could achieve this through great, user-friendly web design, helpful and informative content, or brilliant customer service, facilitated by offering various ways for users to get in touch.

Pass the technical challenge

Luckily Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry don’t provide instructions for building websites, because if they did they would be somewhat vague and likely to lead to failure to some degree. But get the technical bits right and your website will be less likely to fall over. It will also run quite fast, but you don’t want your cake to do that.

Finally, bonus content for this blog post is that much like cakes, pies and tarts, your website should never, ever have a soggy bottom.