# Three-step free trial sign-up on the homepage: -24.5% completed leads

- Outcome: Lost
- Page type: Homepage (SaaS)
- Elements: Form steps, Copy
- Date shared: 2011-08
- Test run by: [MarketingExperiments](https://liftarchive.com/practitioners/marketingexperiments/)
- Commentary by: LiftArchive (our analysis, not theirs)
- Original source: https://marketingexperiments.com/a-b-testing/marketing-intuition-regonline
- Page: https://liftarchive.com/test/regonline-homepage-three-step-free-trial/

Switching RegOnline's homepage free trial sign-up from two steps to three, with contact details asked for first, cut completed leads by 24.5%. MarketingExperiments (MECLABS) ran this test for Active Network's event registration software, RegOnline. The new version also used different page copy, so the loss can't be pinned on the extra step alone.

## Result

**-24.5% completed leads**

- Completed free trial leads fell 24.5% for the three-step version. This is a loss.
- Only visitors who finished every step counted as a lead, so partial sign-ups at step one didn't count.
- MECLABS later found visitors were clicking Pricing in the navigation instead of starting the trial. Later versions of the page reached +141%, but that follow-up isn't covered in this post.

## Control

The homepage had a two-step free trial sign-up. Visitors filled in two forms before they could use the event software.

## Variant

The homepage used a three-step sign-up. The first form collected contact information, then two more forms led to free access, and the page copy was different.

## Why it likely lost (our reading)

- Asking for an email before showing much value may have felt like a hard ask from a brand the visitor had just met.
- An extra form adds one more place to drop off before the lead counts as complete.
- The top navigation let visitors jump to pricing before the trial pitch had done its work, which hurt both versions.

## Caveats

This was a multi-factor test: the step count and the copy changed together. Sample size, duration and confidence weren't shared, and the data is from 2011.

## How to run this test

- Hypothesis: If we split our free trial sign-up into more steps that start with contact details, then completed trials will rise because each step feels smaller.
- Primary metric: Completed free trial sign-ups per visitor
- Guardrail: Step-one starts (partial leads)
- Guardrail: Trial-to-paid conversion
- Guardrail: Sales-accepted lead rate
- Who should test it: SaaS companies with a free trial and a sign-up form of several fields. It is risky when visitors arrive cold and haven't yet seen why the product is worth their details.

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Credit: MarketingExperiments ran this test and owns the result. Summary and commentary by LiftArchive (https://liftarchive.com/test/regonline-homepage-three-step-free-trial/).
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.