Does a progress bar with a percentage lift lead form completion?
The lead form marked progress with small stepping stones. We tested 3 new progress displays. A progress bar showing the percentage complete won, lifting conversion 25.7% over 37 days.
Won Responsive 37 days Called at 90%
The hypothesis
By showing visitors how far through the form they are, we will keep them motivated to finish, resulting in more completed lead forms.
The form ran over several steps, and the only sign of progress was a row of small stepping stones. Usability research on progress indicators says people stay with a task longer when they can see how much is left.
We tested 3 ways to make progress clearer: motion, a number, and bigger markers.
What we changed
We tested 3 new ways to show progress through the form.
Var A replaced the stepping stones with an animated progress bar. Var B used a progress bar that showed the percentage complete. Var C kept the stepping stones but made them larger. The questions and steps stayed the same in every version.
- Stepping stones replaced with a progress bar
- Bar animates as it fills
- Stepping stones replaced with a progress bar
- Percentage complete shown on the bar
- Existing stepping stones made larger
The result
The percentage progress bar lifted conversion 25.7%.
Var B, the progress bar with a percentage, reached our confidence bar and beat the control by 25.7% over 37 days. We then made the percentage bar part of the control and every variation in the next round of tests on this funnel.
What we took from it
A number made progress feel concrete on this form.
All 3 variations made progress easier to see, but only the version with a number pulled ahead. A percentage tells visitors exactly how close they are to the end, which motion or bigger markers do not. On this funnel, that clarity kept people going.