Functional homepage redesign for B2B buyers: +26% conversion rate
Test run byOnline DialogueCRO agency
Commentary byLiftArchiveOur analysis, not theirsA functional homepage redesign lifted conversion rate by 26% for Zolemba, a webshop selling printed labels to businesses.
Online Dialogue ran the test in 2021 and published it as a case study.
Many changes shipped together, so the result belongs to the redesign as a whole, not to any one element.
- Conversion rate: +26%, the main hypothesis.
- Click-through to product pages: +81%, the second hypothesis.
- Logins: +24%, and orders through the label configurator: +38%.
- All changes shipped as one bundle, so no single element can take credit.
The change
The redesign trades a big hero for search, login, shortcuts and the configurator.
Simplified mockup drawn by LiftArchive from the shared screenshots.
Control
Zolemba's homepage dated from 2017. Most visitors never scrolled below the hero and mainly used search and the login link in the top navigation.
Variant
The redesign added shortcuts to the most-used listing pages, highlighted the label configurator, made login easier with a reason to log in, enlarged search, and used USPs aimed at buyers who know what they want.
Why it likely won
Our reading of the result, not the practitioner's claim.
- Data showed visitors were goal-driven. Putting search, login and key shortcuts up top matched what they already tried to do.
- Repeat business buyers often reorder. Easier login with a clear reason likely sped up those orders.
- The design was busier above the fold, but every element served a common task. For focused buyers, being useful mattered more than looking clean.
Caveats: Bundled redesign with many homepage changes at once, run on the Dutch and German sites. Sample size and confidence were not shared, and the data is from 2021.
Who ran it
Online Dialogue ran this test for Zolemba and published the results (Online Dialogue case study). The numbers are theirs; the summary and commentary on this page are ours.
Read the original case study on Online Dialogue →
How to run this test on your store
- Hypothesis
- If we rebuild the homepage around the tasks returning buyers actually do, such as search, login and top listing pages, then conversion will rise because goal-driven visitors reach what they want faster.
- Primary metric
- Conversion rate (orders)
- Guardrails
- Click-through from homepage to product pages
- Login rate
- Homepage bounce rate
- Who should test it
- B2B webshops and stores with many repeat buyers who arrive knowing what they need. Check your scroll and click data first. It suits less well brand-led stores where new visitors need inspiration rather than shortcuts.
Questions
Should a B2B homepage have a big hero image?
Not always. Zolemba's visitors rarely scrolled past the hero, and a task-focused redesign lifted conversion 26%.
Look at what your visitors actually click first.
Can you A/B test a full homepage redesign?
Yes, as one bundled variant against the old page.
You learn whether the redesign works, but not which change drove it.
Does a busier homepage hurt conversions?
Not if each element helps a common task.
Zolemba's new page had more above the fold and still won, because it matched what buyers came to do.
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