# Shorter sign-up form: +16% free sign-ups, but paid fell 0.97% to 0.72%

- Outcome: Lost
- Page type: Signup page (SaaS)
- Elements: Form fields, Cta copy
- Date shared: 2004-04
- Test run by: [MarketingExperiments](https://liftarchive.com/practitioners/marketingexperiments/)
- Commentary by: LiftArchive (our analysis, not theirs)
- Original source: https://marketingexperiments.com/value-proposition/ideal-subscription-path-tested
- Page: https://liftarchive.com/test/me-paid-content-site-shorter-registration/

A shorter, streamlined first sign-up step raised free sign-ups from 49.29% to 57.39%, but paid memberships fell from 0.97% to 0.72% (33 to 26) and revenue dropped about 6%. MarketingExperiments (MECLABS) ran this seven-day test for a paid-content membership site. Several changes shipped together, so the result can't be pinned on any single one.

## Result

**+16% free sign-ups, but paid fell 0.97% to 0.72%**

- Free sign-ups: 49.29% to 57.39% of registration-page visitors (1,670 to 2,084), about +16% relative.
- Paid memberships: 0.97% to 0.72% (33 to 26), about -26% relative. This is the main loss.
- Revenue in the test week: $1,263.50 to $1,187.00 (-6.1%).
- Average transaction rose from $38.29 to $45.65, which the source puts down to the more visible annual plan.
- The paid counts are very small, so the paid and revenue drops could be noise.

## Control

The original registration page, where visitors chose a free or paid membership and filled in a longer first page of details.

## Variant

A shorter first page asking only for name, email and password, with new button text and a cleaner form layout. The year-long paid option was also more visible.

## Why it likely lost (our reading)

- Making the free path easier may have pulled people who would have paid on the spot into the free tier instead.
- With a lighter first step, the free option became the path of least resistance. Fewer visitors stopped to weigh up the paid plan.
- The higher average transaction suggests the people who still paid were more likely to pick the annual plan.
- The source argues the extra free members could convert to paid later by email, but this test did not measure that.

## Caveats

Bundled changes (form length, button text and layout) tested for seven days in 2004, with only 33 vs 26 paid sign-ups. The source's later 14.74% monthly revenue lift is a before/after comparison after more changes, not part of this split test.

## How to run this test

- Hypothesis: If we cut the first sign-up step down to name, email and password, then more visitors will finish sign-up because the form feels quicker, without hurting paid conversions.
- Primary metric: Paid sign-ups (or revenue) per registration-page visitor, measured over at least 30 days so later upgrades count
- Guardrail: Free sign-up rate
- Guardrail: Free-to-paid upgrade rate after sign-up
- Guardrail: Average transaction value
- Who should test it: Freemium SaaS and membership sites that sell paid plans on the same sign-up path as a free tier. If you have no free tier, or your free users rarely upgrade, judge the test on paid sign-ups alone and expect a smaller gain.

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Credit: MarketingExperiments ran this test and owns the result. Summary and commentary by LiftArchive (https://liftarchive.com/test/me-paid-content-site-shorter-registration/).
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.