# Screenshot moved below the fold on home page: about -25% downloads

- Outcome: Lost
- Page type: Homepage (SaaS)
- Elements: Screenshots, Layout
- Date shared: 2006-07
- Test run by: [Patrick McKenzie](https://liftarchive.com/practitioners/patrick-mckenzie/)
- Commentary by: LiftArchive (our analysis, not theirs)
- Original source: https://www.kalzumeus.com/2006/07/29/10-minute-tweaks-to-boost-your-conversion/
- Page: https://liftarchive.com/test/patio11-bcc-screenshot-above-fold/

Patrick McKenzie moved the product screenshot on Bingo Card Creator's home page from above the fold to below the sales pitch, and trial downloads fell about 25%. The below-fold version ran for 3 days with nothing else changed, as a before/after test rather than a split test. It was published on the Kalzumeus blog in 2006.

## Result

**about -25% downloads**

- Trial downloads: about -25% with the screenshot below the fold. This was a losing change.
- The author also reports that having a screenshot beat having none, but gives no number for that.
- A scan of printed output did better at the bottom of the page, because placing it above the pitch meant few people scrolled down to read it.

## Control

A product screenshot sat above the fold on the home page.

## Variant

For 3 days, the screenshot was moved below the sales pitch, with nothing else on the site changed.

## Why it likely lost (our reading)

- Many visitors leave within seconds, so they need to see what the product does before they decide to read on.
- A screenshot proves there is a real product and shows the output quickly, which text alone can't do.
- Moving it below the pitch meant the people most likely to bounce never saw it.

## Caveats

Sequential before/after over 3 days, not randomized, on a very small 2006 site. Bingo Card Creator was downloadable desktop software at the time, not SaaS.

## How to run this test

- Hypothesis: If we show a clear product screenshot above the fold on our home page, then more visitors will start a trial because they can see what the product does before they leave.
- Primary metric: Trial starts or sign-ups per home page visitor
- Guardrail: Bounce rate
- Guardrail: Scroll depth
- Guardrail: Page load time
- Who should test it: SaaS founders whose home page leads with text or abstract illustrations instead of the product. Less useful if your product is hard to show in one image, where a short demo or output example may work better.

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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-screenshot-above-fold/).
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.