Seven-step inquiry form cut to four steps: +53% conversions
Commentary byLiftArchiveOur analysis, not theirsHomEquity Bank cut its inquiry form from seven steps to four and saw a 53% lift in conversions.
The bank's digital team ran the test in early 2016, after an earlier move from one page to seven steps, and it was published as a MarketingSherpa case study.
HomEquity Bank sells the CHIP reverse mortgage to Canadian homeowners aged 55 and older.
- Conversions: +53% compared with the seven-step form.
- This came on top of the 154% lift from the earlier move from one page to seven steps.
- The source does not say whether questions were dropped or grouped together, and gives no sample size or duration.
The change
The same inquiry form, cut from seven steps to four.
Simplified mockup drawn by LiftArchive from the shared screenshots.
Control
A seven-step reverse mortgage inquiry form.
Variant
A four-step version of the same inquiry form.
Why it likely won
Our reading of the result, not the practitioner's claim.
- Seven steps may have felt long, so visitors gave up before the end.
- Fewer clicks to finish means fewer points where someone can leave.
- Four steps likely kept the benefit of short screens while cutting the sense of a long process.
Caveats: The source does not explain how the steps were reduced or describe the test setup, sample size or duration. The audience is Canadians aged 55 and older.
Who ran it
HomEquity Bank ran this test and published the results (MarketingSherpa case study). The numbers are theirs; the summary and commentary on this page are ours.
Read the original case study on HomEquity Bank →
How to run this test on your site
- Hypothesis
- If we combine our multi-step form into fewer steps, then more visitors will finish because the process feels shorter while each screen stays simple.
- Primary metric
- Form completion rate
- Guardrails
- Lead quality or contact rate
- Drop-off at each step
- Time to complete
- Who should test it
- Lead-gen teams that already use a multi-step form and see steady drop-off across later steps. If most people leave at step one, fix that step first.
Questions
Can a multi-step form have too many steps?
Yes. HomEquity Bank gained from moving to seven steps, then gained another 53% by cutting to four.
How do I find the right number of steps?
Look at drop-off per step, then test merging the steps where people leave.
Keep each screen short and easy to read.
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