# White background and 'Download It Now' CTA: up to +65.6% downloads

- Outcome: Won
- Page type: Landing page (Lead-gen)
- Elements: Multivariate, Cta copy, Design
- Date shared: 2005-12
- Test run by: [MarketingExperiments](https://liftarchive.com/practitioners/marketingexperiments/)
- Commentary by: LiftArchive (our analysis, not theirs)
- Original source: https://marketingexperiments.com/a-b-testing/multivariable-testing
- Page: https://liftarchive.com/test/mec-free-download-page-mvt/

On a free-download page, a white background converted at 40.28% against 24.32% for an opaque one (+65.6%), and a 'Download It Now' call to action converted at 39.19% against 25.00% for 'Click Here' (+56.8%). MarketingExperiments (MECLABS) ran this six-factor multivariate test on its own test site using Vertster. The sample was tiny, about 70 to 76 views per factor level, so treat these as early signals.

## Result

**up to +65.6% downloads**

- Background color: white converted at 40.28% (29 of 72 views) and opaque at 24.32% (18 of 74), a 65.6% relative lift. This was the largest effect in the test.
- Call to action: 'Download It Now' converted at 39.19% (29 of 74) and 'Click Here' at 25.00% (18 of 72), a 56.8% lift.
- Smaller gaps: a drop shadow beat no shadow (36.11% vs 28.38%), no border beat a border (35.14% vs 29.17%), and the angled hero shot edged out the vertical one (33.78% vs 30.56%).
- Headline: 'How to Get More Conversions' converted at 34.29% against 30.26% for the alternative.

## Control

A free-download offer page with an opaque background and a 'Click Here' call to action. Four other factors were also tested at two levels each.

## Variant

Versions with a white background and a 'Download It Now' call to action. The other factors were drop shadow, border, headline, and an angled versus vertical hero shot.

## Why it likely won (our reading)

- A white background likely made the copy and offer easier to read, which matters on a page asking for a quick decision.
- 'Download It Now' says exactly what happens next, while 'Click Here' tells the visitor nothing about the action.
- Free offers convert at high rates, so small differences in clarity can move many visitors at once.

## Caveats

The publisher called this a micro-test: each factor level had only about 70 to 76 views and fewer than 30 conversions, so the gaps could shrink with more traffic. Rates are per factor in a multivariate test, not head-to-head A/B results, and the data is from 2005.

## How to run this test

- Hypothesis: If we use a plain white background and a call to action that names the action, such as 'Download It Now', then more visitors will take the free offer because the page is easier to read and the next step is clearer.
- Primary metric: Download conversion rate
- Guardrail: Lead quality (email validity or later engagement)
- Guardrail: Bounce rate
- Who should test it: Lead-gen and SaaS teams with free downloads, ebooks or trials behind a short form. If your page already uses a clean background and action-led button copy, expect less from this.

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Credit: MarketingExperiments ran this test and owns the result. Summary and commentary by LiftArchive (https://liftarchive.com/test/mec-free-download-page-mvt/).
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.