'Make Your Own Cards' above downloads: trials 11.9% to 19.8%
Commentary byLiftArchiveOur analysis, not theirsMoving the 'Make Your Own Cards' button above the 'Download These Cards' buttons raised conversion to free trial from 11.90% to 19.82%, a relative lift of about 67%.
Patrick McKenzie ran this test on Bingo Card Creator, a bingo card software product, and published it on the Kalzumeus blog in 2009. The result was significant at 90% confidence, and the new order became the default.
- Conversion to free trial rose from 11.90% to 19.82%, about 67% higher in relative terms.
- Significant at 90% confidence, which is a lower bar than the usual 95%.
- Sample size and test length were not shared.
The change
The trial button moves above the free download buttons.
Simplified mockup drawn by LiftArchive from the shared screenshots.
Control
Free bingo card pages listed the 'Download These Cards' buttons first. The 'Make Your Own Cards' option, which opens trial registration, sat below them.
Variant
The same pages put 'Make Your Own Cards' above the download buttons. Nothing else about the page was reported as changed.
Why it likely won
Our reading of the result, not the practitioner's claim.
- Visitors tend to act on the first option they see, so putting the trial path first likely pulled more of them into it.
- The free download satisfied the visitor's need on its own, so showing it first gave people a reason to leave without signing up.
- 'Make Your Own' speaks to a bigger goal than a ready-made card, which may suit visitors who want something custom.
Caveats: Only 90% confidence and no sample size or duration shared. The data is from 2009 and covers the web version of the product only.
Who ran it
Patrick McKenzie ran this test and published the results (Kalzumeus (patio11) blog). The numbers are theirs; the summary and commentary on this page are ours.
Read the original case study on Patrick McKenzie →
How to run this test on your site
- Hypothesis
- If we place the button that starts a free trial above the free download option, then more visitors will start a trial because the first option they see is the one that leads to sign-up.
- Primary metric
- Free trial sign-up rate from the content page
- Guardrails
- Paid conversion from trial
- Bounce rate on the content page
- Free download count
- Who should test it
- SaaS products that give away free content or tools next to a trial offer, such as templates or generators. It matters less if the free content is your main lead magnet and downloads already feed an email list you value.
Questions
Does button order affect sign-ups?
It can. In this test, putting the trial button first raised trial conversion from 11.90% to 19.82%.
People often pick the first option that meets their need.
Should free downloads go below the trial offer?
If the trial is what earns you money, test putting it first.
Watch download numbers too, in case the free content brings in search traffic or email sign-ups you rely on.
Is 90% confidence enough to ship a change?
It is weaker evidence than the usual 95%.
For a cheap, easy-to-reverse change like button order, many teams accept it, but a retest adds confidence.