Does less homepage copy above the fold lift mobile conversion?
Our mobile homepage opened with several lines of copy above the registration form. We cut it back to short, clear instructions on what to do. Conversion moved +2.2% over 29 days, short of our confidence bar.
Not significant Mobile 29 days Not called
The hypothesis
By reducing the copy above the fold and focusing on clear instructions, we will get more mobile visitors to engage with the form, resulting in more registrations started and completed.
On mobile, the copy at the top of the homepage sat between visitors and the registration form, which was the first step of their order.
We ran the same idea on desktop at the same time as a separate test, so each device could be read on its own.
What we changed
We cut the copy above the fold back to short instructions.
The control opened the mobile homepage with several lines of descriptive copy before the registration form. Var A replaced it with a few short, action-focused instructions, so the form sat higher on the screen and the first step was clear.
- Cut descriptive copy above the fold
- Kept short instructions on what to do
- Moved the form higher on the screen
The result
Less copy moved mobile conversion +2.2% over 29 days.
Over 29 days, Var A moved conversion +2.2% and revenue per visitor +2.2%. Neither reached our confidence bar. Form submissions were 3.1% lower, so fewer visitors started the form, but slightly more of those who did went on to buy.
The result looked stronger in its first 3 weeks and leveled out over the full run. The shorter copy was implemented.
What we would do next
Shorter copy kept sales steady with fewer form starts.
Fewer visitors started the form, but more of those who started finished. That suggests the shorter copy filtered out some casual starts rather than adding new buyers. A next round could test what the remaining instructions say, not just how many there are.