--- title: "Conversion" url: "https://www.insideuxdesign.com/en/glossar/conversion" language: "en" description: "What is a conversion? A plain-language explanation with the conversion rate formula, an example and practical tips. Learn how UX shapes your conversions." published: "2026-10-14T15:20:22+02:00" updated: "2026-10-14T15:20:22+02:00" --- # Conversion A conversion is a desired action on a website or in an app, such as a purchase or a signup. The conversion rate shows what share of visits leads to one. - **Buchstabe:** C - **Englischer Begriff:** Conversion UX glossary · engl. Conversion # Conversion A conversion is a desired action on a website or in an app, such as a purchase or a signup. The conversion rate shows what share of visits leads to one. Imagine a small online shop for coffee beans gets 4,000 visits a month. Lots of people browse products and even add something to the cart, but only a few end up ordering. The team wonders: is it the price, the shipping costs or the checkout? That’s the kind of question conversion is all about. ## Explained simply A conversion is the moment someone completes a desired action on a website or in an app: visitors turn into customers, subscribers or leads. The team decides what counts as a conversion. Typical examples are a purchase, a newsletter signup, a contact request or a download. Think of a bookshop. Plenty of people come in to browse. How many of them end up at the checkout is the conversion. The layout of the shop, the advice from staff and the length of the queue all play a part in whether browsing turns into buying. ## Calculating the conversion rate The conversion rate is the share of visits that lead to a conversion. The formula is simple: number of conversions divided by number of visits, times 100. If 80 out of 4,000 visits in the example above result in an order, the conversion rate is 2 percent. Depending on your analytics tool, it may count per session or per person, so it’s worth checking what exactly is being measured. The Nielsen Norman Group distinguishes two types. **Macroconversions** are the main goals, such as a purchase. They often happen too rarely to deliver meaningful data quickly. **Microconversions** are smaller steps along the way, like adding a product to the cart or creating an account. They happen more often and show earlier where things get stuck. One important point for UX: the conversion rate doesn’t depend on design alone. Prices, seasons, ad campaigns and traffic quality affect it too. That’s why it works best for tracking changes over time, not as a single snapshot. Which psychological factors come into play is covered in [Why Do Visitors Convert into Buyers?](https://www.insideuxdesign.com/en/blog/why-do-visitors-convert-into-buyers). ## An example Here’s an example: analytics for the coffee shop show that many people leave the checkout on the shipping page. That’s where shipping costs appear for the first time, and the form also requires creating an account. The team now shows shipping costs right on the product page and allows guest checkout. To find out whether it works, they run an [A/B test](https://www.insideuxdesign.com/en/glossar/a-b-testing) instead of relying on gut feeling. You’ll find more on friction-free forms in [Forms Nobody Abandons](https://www.insideuxdesign.com/en/blog/forms-nobody-abandons-12-rules-for-better-form-ux). ## Common misconceptions A higher conversion rate isn’t automatically a win. If you push people into a purchase with hidden costs or pre-checked add-ons, the number goes up in the short term, but you lose trust and get more returns. These [dark patterns](https://www.insideuxdesign.com/en/glossar/dark-patterns) aren’t optimization. They’re manipulation. ## In practice - **Define conversions up front.** Decide which macro- and microconversions matter for your product before you start comparing numbers. - **Combine numbers with observation.** Analytics shows where people drop off, while [usability testing](https://www.insideuxdesign.com/en/glossar/usability-testing) shows why. - **Test one change at a time.** If you change many things at once, you won’t know afterwards what made the difference. ## Related terms [A/B Testing](https://www.insideuxdesign.com/en/glossar/a-b-testing), [Dark Patterns](https://www.insideuxdesign.com/en/glossar/dark-patterns), [Usability](https://www.insideuxdesign.com/en/glossar/usability), [Journey Map](https://www.insideuxdesign.com/en/glossar/journey-map) ## Sources - [Kathryn Whitenton: What Is a Conversion Rate, and What Does It Mean for UX? Nielsen Norman Group, 2019](https://www.nngroup.com/videos/conversion-rate-and-ux/) - [Kathryn Whitenton: Macro and Microconversions as Metrics in Analytics. Nielsen Norman Group, 2019](https://www.nngroup.com/videos/macro-microconversions-metrics-analytics/) - [Optimizely: Conversion Rate. Optimizely Glossary (in German)](https://www.optimizely.com/de/glossary/conversion-rate) ## More terms [ ### A/B Testing An A/B test is an experiment that shows two versions of a page or element at the same time to randomly split groups of visitors. It lets you decide with real data which version works better. ](https://www.insideuxdesign.com/en/glossar/a-b-testing) [ ### ARIA ARIA is a W3C standard that adds roles, states and properties to HTML. It tells screen readers what an element is and how it currently behaves. ](https://www.insideuxdesign.com/en/glossar/aria) [ ### Accessibility Accessibility means designing websites, apps and digital documents so that everyone can use them, including people with visual, hearing, motor or cognitive disabilities. ](https://www.insideuxdesign.com/en/glossar/accessibility) [ ### Affordance An affordance describes what action an object makes possible and whether people can recognize it: a button invites you to press it, a handle invites you to pull. ](https://www.insideuxdesign.com/en/glossar/affordance) [ ### Alt Text Alt text is a short text version of an image, stored in the HTML alt attribute. Screen readers read it aloud so people who can’t see the image get the same information. ](https://www.insideuxdesign.com/en/glossar/alt-text) [ ### Atomic Design Atomic Design is a method for building user interfaces from small, reusable building blocks, from single elements like buttons all the way up to complete pages. ](https://www.insideuxdesign.com/en/glossar/atomic-design) [ ### BFSG The BFSG, Germany’s Accessibility Strengthening Act, has required many companies since 28 June 2025 to make certain products and digital services, such as online shops, accessible. ](https://www.insideuxdesign.com/en/glossar/bfsg) [ ### Card Sorting Card sorting is a research method in which people sort terms written on cards into groups. It shows you how they mentally organize content, so you can plan navigation that makes sense to them. ](https://www.insideuxdesign.com/en/glossar/card-sorting) [ ### Cognitive Load Cognitive load is the mental effort it takes to understand and use an interface. The less unnecessary thinking a design demands, the easier the actual task becomes. ](https://www.insideuxdesign.com/en/glossar/cognitive-load) [ ### Color Vision Deficiency A color vision deficiency means someone has a harder time telling certain colors apart than most people. The most common type is red-green deficiency. ](https://www.insideuxdesign.com/en/glossar/color-vision-deficiency) [ ### Contextual Inquiry Contextual inquiry is a research method where you observe and interview people in their real work environment. It shows you how they actually get tasks done, not just how they describe it. ](https://www.insideuxdesign.com/en/glossar/contextual-inquiry) [ ### Contrast Ratio The contrast ratio describes how much two colors differ in brightness, such as text and background. WCAG requires at least 4.5:1 for normal text. ](https://www.insideuxdesign.com/en/glossar/contrast-ratio)