# Loan form hidden behind an 'Apply' button: +7% applications

- Outcome: Won
- Page type: Landing page (Lead-gen)
- Elements: Form placement
- Test run by: [Northmill](https://liftarchive.com/practitioners/northmill/)
- Commentary by: LiftArchive (our analysis, not theirs)
- Original source: https://wingify.com/success-stories/northmill/
- Page: https://liftarchive.com/test/easycredit-collapse-application-form/

Hiding the loan application form behind a green Apply button, instead of showing it in a sidebar, lifted conversions by 7%. Northmill ran the test on its Easycredit payday loan page in Sweden, and it was published as a VWO case study. The test ran for about five months.

## Result

**+7% applications**

- Loan applications: +7% conversions for the collapsed form version.
- The test ran for about five months, which helps smooth out weekly and seasonal swings.
- No sample size or confidence level was shared.

## Control

The payday loan page showed the full application form in a sidebar next to the page content.

## Variant

The form was collapsed. Visitors opened it by clicking a green Apply button in the top right corner.

## Why it likely won (our reading)

- An open form asks for commitment right away. Hiding it lets visitors read about the loan first, with less on screen to process.
- Visitors who click Apply have already chosen to start, so they may be more likely to finish.
- A single bright button gives one clear next step instead of a block of fields competing with the content.

## Caveats

Results are reported by the company through a vendor case study, with no sample size or significance figures. The audience was credit-impaired borrowers in Sweden, which may not match yours.

## How to run this test

- Hypothesis: If we hide the application form behind a clear Apply button, then more visitors will complete an application because they can read the offer first without facing a form.
- Primary metric: Completed applications per visitor
- Guardrail: Apply button click-through rate
- Guardrail: Form completion rate after opening
- Guardrail: Approval or funded rate of applications
- Who should test it: Lead-gen and finance businesses with long forms beside their content. It may not help if your form is very short, or if visitors arrive already ready to apply from a targeted ad.

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Credit: Northmill ran this test and owns the result. Summary and commentary by LiftArchive (https://liftarchive.com/test/easycredit-collapse-application-form/).
Usage: Free to use, quote and build on, with credit and a link: name the practitioner or organization that ran the test and link to its LiftArchive page. The results belong to the practitioners who ran and shared them; the summaries and commentary are LiftArchive's.