# Removing the 'log in as guest' link: no change in trial sign-ups

- Outcome: Flat / inconclusive
- Page type: Signup page (SaaS)
- Elements: Form
- Date shared: 2009-08
- Test run by: [Patrick McKenzie](https://liftarchive.com/practitioners/patrick-mckenzie/)
- Commentary by: LiftArchive (our analysis, not theirs)
- Original source: https://www.kalzumeus.com/2009/08/19/minor-lessons-from-ab-testing/
- Page: https://liftarchive.com/test/patio11-bcc-guest-login-link/

Removing a small log-in-as-guest link from the registration form made no significant difference to trial sign-ups, though guest sessions fell sharply. Patrick McKenzie ran this split test with A/Bingo on the web version of Bingo Card Creator and shared it on the Kalzumeus (patio11) blog. No numbers or sample sizes were published, so we treat it as flat.

## Result

**no change in trial sign-ups**

- Trial sign-ups: no significant difference. Flat.
- Guest sessions dropped sharply without the link, as expected.
- No sign-up numbers, sample size or test length were shared.

## Control

The registration form included a discreet link letting people log in as a guest instead of creating an account.

## Variant

The same registration form with the guest link removed.

## Why it likely came out this way (our reading)

- People who used the guest option were mostly not people who would have registered anyway.
- A low-key link doesn't pull much attention from the main form, so it neither helped nor hurt registrations.
- The guests had little business value, so losing them didn't show up in sign-ups.

## Caveats

No numbers, sample size or duration were shared. The author kept the guest option after the test.

## How to run this test

- Hypothesis: If we remove the guest option from our sign-up form, then more visitors will register because skipping sign-up is no longer an easy way out.
- Primary metric: Trial registrations per sign-up page visitor
- Guardrail: Guest-to-registered conversion
- Guardrail: Total product activation
- Guardrail: Trial-to-paid rate
- Who should test it: SaaS products that offer a guest or demo mode next to sign-up. If guests often convert later, removing the option may cost you more than it gains.

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Credit: Patrick McKenzie ran this test and owns the result. Summary and commentary by LiftArchive (https://liftarchive.com/test/patio11-bcc-guest-login-link/).
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.