How do we turn more visitors into users?

A case study of when I drove 38% growth in sign-up conversion rate for Atom Learning, UK's award-winning e-learning platform.

Company

Atom Learning

Role

Lead Designer

Areas

Website, Sign-up CRO

Project showcase laptop mockup

Background

Atom Learning, a UK-based e-learning platform, was facing a significant seasonal surge in website traffic. However, their conversion rate to free trial users was really low.

To consolidate and define the problem, I came up with initial questions and a plan to solve them using Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis.

Qualitative and quantitative approach to research.

Problem 1: Lack of value clarity

Hotjar recordings indicated that even visitors who converted had to spent considerable time browsing the website, a behaviour encouraged by the many links to other pages in the website. Conversion also tends to happen after visual demonstrations of the product.

Hotjar analysis on the home page.

Problem 2: Lack of context provided

Mixpanel analysis shows two unusually high churning points in two steps of the sign up process where we ask for credentials. I found out that users were hesitant due to lack of context of why they need to provide it.

On the other hand, the pricing page was actually where users had their a-ha moment about the product.

Mixpanel analysis on the home whole sign-up flow.

Planning for an A/B test

A workshop with other designers and a customer success team member helped me identify the most crucial pieces of content to be prioritised in the website.

  • Product screenshots.

  • Reviews.

  • Pricing plans.

In addition, since the pricing page has been where our users actually learned a lot about our product. I switched its position so it happens very early in the journey.

A (control) / B (treatment) test plan

A/B test plan on the sign-up flow.

A or B, who won?

Version B (treatment) won with a 12% higher sign-up rate than version A (control). I learned that I am seeing Hick's Law in action by minimising the number of elements the user has to go through in the landing page.

Hick's Law: The time it takes to make a decision increases with the number and complexity of choices.

—https://lawsofux.com/hicks-law/

Visual design and final result

After visual refinements, the overall project resulted in an approximate 38% growth in the sign-up rate compared to where we started. Following this success, we extended the redesign effort to the rest of the website.

The website after the visual design update.

The pricing plans.

Mini explorations that didn't make it.

Responsive design on all landing pages.