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In the 11th issue of the paywall newsletter, you’ll find a paywall by Speech Blubs that ‘absolutely nails the paywall design’ along with some not-as-perfect paywalls that could win by adding more social proof, removing unnecessary information, and adding images.
… Volkan Taban, Co-founder and Growth Lead for Gamester Kids.
Speech Blubs absolutely nails the main principles for a great paywall design with:
I especially liked the idea of using a “free trial toggle” as a limited-time trial offer trigger after the second visit. It creates a great urgency to start the trial. (If I were in their shoes, I would probably also test limited-time price discounts.)
Here’s what I would test more to see if I can improve conversion (I’m sure the talented Speech Blubs team has already tested all these ideas, but hey, this is my take 🙂):
The paywall appears immediately after launching the app, without any onboarding process. This means that the lack of a clear value proposition and benefits can make it difficult for the users to make a purchase decision.
While the imagery of a little sleeping cutie melts my heart and showcases the main benefit of the app, I would still suggest testing the addition of more benefits and social proof to improve conversion.
The overall design and color scheme are appealing, but there are some dark patterns that can be improved for a better user experience.
Here are some suggestions:
This paywall seems to be a variation of the classic “Calm” paywall. While it includes the value proposition and features of the app, as well as options to log in or restore purchases and a close function, all of these are listed as bullet points.
I would suggest focusing on the benefits rather than trying to include all the content in bullet points and shortening the text to make it more readable. With so many bullet points and so much content, it may be hard to convince users.
Additionally, I recommend implementing the following changes:
The Blinkist-style paywall has become the industry standard and is known to increase conversion with transparency and clear messaging.
I like the clear design; however, the lack of imagery made this paywall less attractive to me, especially for a gamified learning application.
During the onboarding, right before the paywall, there is a popup stating the value proposition with appealing imagery, but I would suggest testing it on the paywall itself.
Plus, I found the size of the main button a bit smaller compared to the pricing options on top. At first glance, the focus is mostly on the pricing options rather than the main action button placed below. So, testing with a bigger button size and color and text variations might offer a better conversion, I suppose.
My last two cents would be on emphasizing the discount for the yearly subscription option. There is a huge discount for the yearly plan, but it’s not emphasized here. “Best Value” is not very convincing compared to “60% Discount”.
Here’s yet another example of a Blinkist-style paywall. In this example, the developer chose a 3-day trial option and presented it in the Blinkist way. However, in this case, the Day 2 trial reminder might be a bit late, given that the Appstore asks users to cancel the trial before the last 24 hours.
According to our tests, there is also a significant conversion change between 3 and 7-day trial lengths, so I would suggest testing the 7-day trial option as well for a better user experience and higher conversion.
The main focus of the paywall is on the free trial process, but the value proposition and benefits are not clearly highlighted. In the first bullet, it’s written that “Start your full access to all useful features,” but what are those useful features?
The top part of the paywall can be utilized better. I liked the social proof “Join 2 million users,” but still, the value proposition is a bit weak. I would suggest using the top area for value proposition and benefits.
They also used testimonials, but again, the testimonial text does not reveal much in terms of what to expect from the app.
Lastly, the close button placed on the top left of the paywall with low-contrast design is a bit misleading. I would suggest adding more contrast to decrease the drop-off and cancel rates.
There are no misleading elements and the content is clear and to the point. However, it appears that the developer could benefit from the help of a designer to make it even more attractive. At first glance, I thought I was looking at the Apple Notes UI.
Here are some suggestions to improve it:
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