What Is A Website Conversion?

Date First Published: 8th September 2022

Topic: Web Design & Development

Subtopic: Web Development

Article Type: Computer Terms & Definitions

Difficulty: Medium

Difficulty Level: 4/10

CONTENTS

Types Of Conversions
How To Calculate Conversion Rate?
Why Should Conversions Be Measured?

Learn more about what a website conversion is in this article.

A website conversion occurs when a user performs a desired action on a website, such as filling out a contact form, purchasing a product, signing up for a newsletter, or sharing a post on social media. The percentage of visitors that complete the desired action is known as the conversion rate. If a visitor leaves a website without doing anything, it is not a conversion and is known as a bounce. All business websites are built to generate conversions.

Types Of Conversions

Conversions come in two types, including:

Micro-conversion - When an action that indicates a user progressing towards an end goal is achieved, showing that the user has an interest in the brand, products, or services. For example, a user registration would be a micro-conversion on an ecommerce website. Signing up for a newsletter is another example of a micro-conversion. These are the small steps a user takes on their way to achieving a macro-conversion.
Macro-conversion - When a user performs an action that achieves an end goal. For example, a sale generated by purchasing a product on an ecommerce website or signing up for a paid subscription is a macro-conversion. Macro-conversions are the main conversions on a website and are the larger engagements that generate revenue and have an impact on the profits of the company.

Why Should Conversions Be Measured?

Conversions should be measured because they help to understand the performance of a webpage or an ad. This can help to understand the users and whether they are satisfied. For example, a low conversion rate on a product page could mean that the products need to be further explained to users and a high conversion rate indicates that the audience has successfully converted and there is not much that interferes with the amount of conversions. For more information about conversion rates, see this article.