Does a multi-step form lift mobile homepage conversion?
The mobile 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 4.0%, but other measures were down, and we paused it after 9 days.
Not significant Mobile 9 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 mobile 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 mobile form into steps that start with 1 question.
Step 1 asked a single question to get visitors started. Later steps focused on the form and removed the copy below the fold, down to the footer. The test ran on mobile, and a desktop 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 4.0%, but other measures fell and we paused at 9 days.
Conversion rose 4.0% and revenue per visitor fell 1.3%. The other measures we tracked were down across the board, so we paused the test after 9 days rather than let it run longer.
The desktop version ran 16 days. More visitors answered the first question there, but many dropped off in the steps that followed.
What we would do next
Show visitors how long the form is before they start.
The multi-step form gave mobile visitors no cue about how many steps were left. A progress bar or a line of copy about what comes next would set that expectation. Later tests came back to small steps with a different opening question.