Does removing the top banner lift sitewide conversion?

An orange COVID-era banner ran across the top of every page and competed with the main button. We tested removing it sitewide. Over 14 days, conversion was 2.0% lower, short of our confidence bar.

Not significant Responsive 14 days Not called

SURFACE

Homepage

DEVICE

Responsive

VERTICAL

Ecommerce (B2C)

PRIMARY METRIC

Conversion rate

VARIATIONS

1

The hypothesis

By removing the orange top banner, we will cut a distraction from the main button, resulting in more form starts and more completed orders.

The banner was a motivator while DMV offices were closed, but most states had reopened, so it was less relevant. Its orange color also competed with the main button, and on mobile it pushed the button below the fold.

What we changed

Orange top banner removed on every page, mobile and desktop

Var A removed the orange banner from the top of every page. On mobile, this moved the main button above the fold. Nothing else on the pages changed.

VAR A: BANNER REMOVED

Orange top banner removed sitewide
Main button moves above the fold on mobile

The result

Conversion was 2.0% lower without the banner, short of our bar

CONVERSION RATE

-2.0%

Over 14 days, the pages without the banner converted 2.0% worse than the original, with revenue per visitor also down 2.0%. The gap did not reach our confidence bar, and the result looked revenue neutral. We paused the test once we understood the effect of removing the banner.

What we would do next

Use the banner space for a stronger message

Removing the banner did not move conversion either way, so the space itself was not hurting. We would test new messages in the same spot, such as how quickly registrations are processed, and that became the next banner test.