Your Rotating Headers Don’t Have to Kill Your Conversion Rate

It’s like a virus on the web: Rotating Headers, also called “Carousels” or “Sliders”.

Designers recommend them.

Content Management Systems provide widgets to implement them.

And everyone is copying their competitors, which makes them spread.

Those of us that test websites know one thing: We can almost always get a higher conversion rate with a static image then with rotating header images.

Why Rotating Headers Hurt Conversion

There are two primary reasons that sliding header images hurt conversion.

1. Load Times

It takes a long time to load each image. Header images are generally large. Multiply that by three or four or five and you have a slooooow loading page.

2. Motion is Irresistible

Rotating Banner

Try to read this sentence with the  image above moving constantly.

Our brains are programmed to pay attention to things that move. When something moves, your “Lizard Brain” must ascertain if it is something we can eat, be eaten by or mate with.

Every time the header images slides or fades, we stop reading the page and look up. We can’t help it.

Why static images are scary

Static images require us to think hard about our value proposition. They require tough decisions because you must pick one image in a key location on your home page, category pages and landing pages.

Don’t try to hedge your bets with a rotating smorgasbord. Decisions are hard.

Fear not. We have been able to beat a static hero image with a rotating “slider” on more than one occasion. If you’re attached to your slider, we’re here to help you out.

Creating Rotating Headers That Work

This process only works if you know how to do A/B testing.

If you don’t, please, just use static images for your pages. Better yet, let us help you get setup for testing.

Rotating Mesh Banner-anonymized

This is a slider we optimized for custom sign maker. It started off with some advantages over most sliders we see on the Web.

First, the size of each image is relatively small, taking up one column width and measuring in at 519x 319 pixels.

Second, the rotation is a slow fade, not a sudden slide.

Third, the fade time is 10 seconds, which is quite long compared to other sliders we’ve seen.

Since we believed that a static image would perform better than the rotating images, we set out the see which of the panels would generate the most sales. We tested each image against the rotating banner as the control using Optimizely.

Here’s how they turned out. Only one panel beat the rotating image with high statistical significance.

Order Today Ships Today!

The others were inconclusive.

This was unexpected. So, we did a follow up. If we changed the order of the images, could we develop a rotating image that beat a static image?

We gave it a try, ordering the panels like this:

Panels in Order

In our test, the rotating header beat the static image by 61% with a confidence of over 99%.

What Does This Mean?

Does this mean that rotating sliders are the way to go? We have distilled the following best practices that have worked for us in other tests.

1. Make each image as small as possible so the page loads quickly.

2. Use a long interval between images.

3. Use a fade instead of a slide to minimize motion distraction.

4. Start the rotation with your highest performing images.

5. If you can’t test, go with a static image.

Don’t spread the virus. Be smart about your rotating messages.


21 Quick and Easy CRO Copywriting Hacks to Skyrocket Conversions

21 Quick and Easy CRO Copywriting Hacks

Keep these proven copywriting hacks in mind to make your copy convert.

  • 43 Pages with Examples
  • Assumptive Phrasing
  • "We" vs. "You"
  • Pattern Interrupts
  • The Power of Three
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Brian Massey
21 replies
  1. Jason Ward says:

    The visitors could be judging “quality” simply based on the animations and multiple slides. That is certainly the way that many designers/clients view it. So, why not create one animated slide that animates in certain elements like a hero image, value proposition and CTA button? Then you get the best of both worlds. The appearance of quality and a faster loading home page.

    Reply
  2. Tom Bowen says:

    @Jason I’m not sure I’d want my CTA button only appearing one-third of the time. Did I misunderstand your idea? I’m also not sure that designers’ objectives are closely aligned with the site visitors’ objectives. I think that’s why static images generally outperform sliders. Interested in Brian’s thoughts.

    Reply
  3. Kostas Chiotis says:

    Thanks for this Brian. I like sliders, but I can see how the fast movement can be off putting. Your tips are very helpful for making some adjustments that will make them more user friendly.

    Reply
  4. Karen Vaisman says:

    Hello Brian great article! I’ve been reading research online was great interested. I’m a professional photographer redesigning my website and I’m trying to navigate slider carousel slideshow versus hero image. I offer multiple services family portraits, headshots, pet photography and choosing one hero image is difficult because the image IS my product it is not focused as an ad for my product. Would you suggest your feedback above would work for a professional photographer? Most research I read suggest avoid the slider and use a hero image. Thank you for your advice http://www.karenvaismanphotography.com

    Reply
    • Brian Massey says:

      Karen, Most of the amazing photos in your carousel will never be seen. Put them on the page and let the visitor scroll through! Then they can find the one that relates to them. Put one of your amazing testimonials next to each.
      Write a caption for each image that explains why it’s good, and link to “Learn more”. I would prefer “Schedule a sitting” as a call to action. Why be coy?
      What to do with the hero shot? Put an image of your book there. That is what the copy is about.

      Reply

Trackbacks & Pingbacks

  1. […] Vous pouvez lire l’intégralité de son article qui s’intitule : Your Rotating Headers Don’t Have to Kill Your Conversion Rate. […]

  2. […] is why the carousel was born. Marketers couldn’t decide what to put on their home pages, so they just rotated through […]

  3. […] Conversion Science conducted a study where they observed a 61% increase in sales using a rotating slider versus a static image. To get these results they tested different configurations and re-ordered the slides, making sure to show the highest performing slide first.Some other key takeaways: […]

  4. […] is why the carousel was born. Marketers couldn’t decide what to put on their home pages, so they just rotated through […]

  5. […] We change the order of a rotating carousel, or slider. […]

  6. […] We change the order of a rotating carousel, or slider. […]

  7. […] The standout post with regard to bounce rate was Rotating Headers Don’t have to Kill Your Conversion Rate. […]

  8. […] final touch of evidence comes from Brian Massey at the ConversionScientist.com. Surprisingly, they come out in favor of sliders. Why? Because the data told them […]

  9. […] is on your website. Brian Massey, The Conversion Scientist, shared a very interesting learning in his post about sliders. He found that using a fade out versus a hard slide change helped increase slider conversions. I […]

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