Loan form page 1 with USPs, awards and time estimate: +9% completions
Commentary byLiftArchiveOur analysis, not theirsAdding USPs, awards, a time-to-complete estimate, clearer instructions and an easier layout to the first page of a personal loan form raised form completions by 9%.
IMB Bank, an Australian bank, ran this test, and it was published as a VWO case study.
All the changes shipped together, so the gain belongs to the set, not one element.
- Users completing the form: +9% during the test.
- After rollout, completions were up 12% year on year. That figure is a before-after comparison, not a split test.
- Sample size, duration and confidence level were not shared.
The change
Page 1 of the loan form gains USPs, awards, a time estimate and clearer steps.
Simplified mockup drawn by LiftArchive from the shared screenshots.
Control
The first page of the personal loan application form, where about 37% of users dropped off.
Variant
The same page with added USPs, award mentions, an estimate of how long the steps take, clear instructions at each step and a layout that was easier to move through.
Why it likely won
Our reading of the result, not the practitioner's claim.
- Telling people how long the form takes lowers the fear of a long, open-ended application.
- USPs and awards remind applicants why this bank is worth the effort at the point they might quit.
- Clear step instructions and a simpler layout cut confusion on the page with the highest drop-off.
Caveats: Bundled test: several changes went live together, so no single element can be credited. Sample size and duration were not shared, the 12% figure is a year-on-year comparison after rollout, and the data is from around 2019.
Who ran it
IMB Bank ran this test for Australian bank and published the results (VWO case study). The numbers are theirs; the summary and commentary on this page are ours.
Read the original case study on IMB Bank →
How to run this test on your site
- Hypothesis
- If we add our key selling points, awards, a time-to-complete estimate and clearer instructions to the first page of our application form, then more people will complete it because they know what to expect and why it's worth finishing.
- Primary metric
- Application form completions
- Guardrails
- Drop-off rate on page 1
- Approval or qualified-application rate
- Time to complete
- Who should test it
- Lenders, insurers and other lead-gen businesses with long, multi-step applications and a clear drop-off on the first page. It may add little if the form is already short or the first page isn't where people quit.
Questions
How can I reduce drop-off on the first page of a loan application?
Test setting expectations and giving reasons to continue.
IMB Bank added a time estimate, selling points, awards and clearer steps, and completions rose 9%.
Does showing how long a form takes help completions?
It was part of the winning set here.
Because it shipped with other changes, its own effect wasn't measured.
Should trust signals go on application forms?
They're worth testing on high-stakes forms like loans.
Awards and USPs were added on page 1 in this test, as part of a bundle that lifted completions.