Does a single opening question lift homepage form conversion?
The desktop homepage showed the full form with copy below it. We tested a multi-step form that opened with 1 question and cleared the copy below. Conversion rose 5.6%, but revenue per visitor fell 3.8% over 16 days.
Not significant Desktop 16 days Not called
The hypothesis
By turning the form into a multi-step flow that starts with 1 question, like the official state form, we will match what visitors expect and remove distractions, resulting in more completed forms.
Visitors came to renew a vehicle registration and expected a form like the state's own. Our homepage showed the whole form at once, with marketing copy below it.
A single opening question would be easy to answer, and later steps could focus on the form alone.
What we changed
We split the form into steps that start with a single question.
Step 1 asked a single question to get visitors started. Later steps focused on the form and removed the copy below the fold. The test ran on desktop, and a mobile version ran alongside it.
- Step 1 asks a single question
- Later steps focus on the form
- Copy below the fold removed
The result
Conversion rose 5.6%, but revenue per visitor fell 3.8%.
More visitors answered the first question, but many dropped off in the steps that followed. Conversion rose 5.6% and revenue per visitor fell 3.8%, and neither reached our confidence bar. We paused the test after 16 days.
The mobile version trended down and was paused sooner.
What we would do next
Tell visitors how many steps are coming.
The single question pulled visitors in, but the later steps caught them off guard. A progress bar or a line of copy about what comes next would set expectations from the start. Later tests built on this with smaller steps.