Does stating the step count lift lead form completions?
Our multi-step quote form did not say how many steps it had, and its progress bar was faint. We stated the step count, made the bar solid and made the buttons easier to tap. Conversion moved +40.2% over 14 days, short of our confidence bar.
Not significant Responsive 14 days Not called
The hypothesis
By stating the number of steps, clarifying the progress bar and making buttons easier to click, we will make the form easier to finish, resulting in more completed forms.
The form asked visitors to answer several steps without telling them how many there were. The progress bar was partly transparent and hard to read, and the answer buttons did not look clearly clickable or clearly selected.
We grouped these fixes into 1 variation to make the form feel shorter and easier to move through.
What we changed
We stated the step count and made the progress bar clear and solid.
Var A updated the header copy to state the number of steps. It removed the transparency from the progress bar and set it to fill at 20%, 40%, 60% and 80%. Buttons got stronger click and selected states, and the energy provider step stopped drawing focus to the other option.
- Header states the number of steps
- Solid progress bar
- Bar fills at 20, 40, 60 and 80%
- Clearer click and selected states
- Less focus on the other provider option
The result
Conversion moved +40.2% over 14 days, short of our confidence bar.
After 14 days, Var A was 40.2% above the control on completed forms. Traffic to this form was low, so even a lift this large did not reach our confidence bar. The trend was positive, so we kept Var A as the starting point for the next round and built on it there.
What we would do next
The lift was large, but the traffic was too thin to call it.
Every change in this round made the form easier to read or use, and nothing pointed to harm. We carried Var A into the next test and added changes aimed at reducing anxiety, rather than waiting weeks for this test to reach our confidence bar.