Test whether your call to action actually asks for anything

Enter the CTA and, if you have it, the page context

Type the call-to-action phrase itself into the box, the words a reader would actually see on the button or link. Page context is optional, but it helps: a line or two about what the page offers and who is reading it lets the tester check whether the phrase matches what happens after the click.

Read the verdict

The tester checks the phrase against four things and gives a reason for each.

• Verb strength: whether the first word names an action or hides behind a vague one
• Specificity: whether the reader can tell what happens when they click
• Length: whether the phrase is short enough to read at a glance
• Pattern match: how the phrase compares with recognised CTA structures

A phrase can pass one check and fail another. 'Submit' names an action, so it passes the verb check, but it fails on specificity, because the reader still does not know what they are submitting or why it is worth their time.

Try the alternatives

Below the verdict, the tester generates three alternative phrasings built from the context you gave it. Read each one against your own sense of the page, because the tester works from patterns and does not know your product, your audience or your brand voice. Where the context you gave it was thin, the suggestions will be too, so a weak alternative is often telling you to add more context.

Pick the strongest, then check what surrounds it

Choose the version that names the outcome most directly and use it in place of your draft. A strong CTA still sits inside the copy that leads up to it, so once you have settled on the phrase it is worth running the paragraph above it through the readability checker, because a clear call to action does little for a reader who could not follow the sentence that brought them to it.