Showerthought: I redid my website's main button from a flat blue to a gradient and the click rate went up 12% in a week.

2 comments

2 Comments

Wonder if the gradient just made it look more like a button people expect to press. Like, a flat color can sometimes look like a header label, but a gradient gives it that slight 3D, clickable feel. Were you testing it on a site with mostly flat design before? I'm curious if the contrast against the rest of the page changed, making it pop more.

paul_sanchez18d ago

Gradients are basically cheat codes for attention. JessicaHill is right about the 3D thing, but it's more basic than that. Our brains are trained to see shiny things as interactive. A flat color just sits there, but a gradient has visual movement. That movement makes your eye stop and tells your finger to tap. It's a tiny trick that still works way too well.

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