Simplified homepage hero: +26% desktop conversion, mobile fell
Test run byBlend CommerceCRO agency
Commentary byLiftArchiveOur analysis, not theirsReplacing a busy homepage hero with a simpler one lifted desktop conversion rate by 26%, but mobile conversion and revenue fell.
Blend Commerce ran this A/B test for an apparel brand.
Several changes shipped together, and the brand kept the new hero on desktop only.
- Desktop conversion rate: +26%.
- Desktop revenue per user: +27%.
- Add-to-cart rate: +8.27%. The source did not say which devices this covers.
- Mobile: conversion rate and revenue per user both fell. Exact figures were not shared. This is a negative result for mobile.
The change
The variant drops story widgets and the busy banner for benefits, social proof and two CTAs.
Simplified mockup drawn by LiftArchive from the shared screenshots.
Control
The homepage hero had story widgets and a complex banner with overlapping elements, so there was no clear call to action. Heatmaps showed shoppers scrolling past it.
Variant
The story widgets were removed and the banner replaced with a cleaner hero. It had bullet-point value propositions, a '4,000+ happy customers' line, and a primary and secondary CTA.
Why it likely won
Our reading of the result, not the practitioner's claim.
- A clear hierarchy and obvious next step may help desktop visitors who were skipping a cluttered hero.
- Bullet benefits and a customer count give quick reasons to trust the brand before scrolling.
- On mobile, the new layout may have pushed products further down or felt less visual. That is a guess; the source did not explain the drop.
- Because several elements changed at once, the lift cannot be credited to any single one.
Caveats: This was a bundled change: widgets removed, banner replaced, and new copy, social proof and CTAs added together. It ran for two weeks, mobile results were negative, and sample size and confidence were not shared.
Who ran it
Blend Commerce ran this test for a apparel brand and published the results (Blend Commerce A/B test). The numbers are theirs; the summary and commentary on this page are ours.
Read the original case study on Blend Commerce →
How to run this test on your store
- Hypothesis
- If we replace a busy homepage hero with clear benefit bullets, social proof and one primary CTA, then more visitors will start shopping because the next step is obvious.
- Primary metric
- Conversion rate, split by device
- Guardrails
- Mobile conversion rate
- Revenue per user
- Homepage bounce rate
- Who should test it
- Stores whose homepage hero is cluttered and gets little engagement in heatmaps. Plan to read desktop and mobile separately, since this test helped one and hurt the other.
Questions
Should a homepage hero be simple?
Often a clear message and one next step work better than a busy banner.
Here a simpler hero lifted desktop conversion by 26%, though mobile went the other way.
Why would a homepage change win on desktop but lose on mobile?
Screen space differs a lot. A layout that reads well on a wide screen can push products down or feel text-heavy on a phone.
Can I ship a test winner on one device only?
Yes. This brand kept the new hero on desktop and planned separate changes for mobile.
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