We have all seen numerous times how a good call to action can increase the conversion rate of a website. And we have also learned that trust elements (like a clear return policy) are equally important for conversions. Both work because consumers react best to the two underlying concepts: urgency and confidence.

Interestingly enough most sites have focused their efforts of applying the concepts of urgency and confidence only to their homepage and / or specific landing pages but not to the whole purchase funnel. One of the sites you can probably learn the most from is Booking.com. Booking is a division of Priceline and one of the fastest growing hotel reservation websites. You should take the time and look at their UI in detail but you will find urgency and confidence messages at every step of the booking process (see also the example screenshot below): “Last chance – only 1 room left”; “Best price guarantee”; “Free cancellation”; “recent bookings” are all messages that help to convert users on the spot.

So the next time you are thinking about UI and conversion rates, keep the concepts of urgency and confidence in mind – they are very powerful concepts.