Increasing web conversions by over 20%: less really is more

Posted on August 15, 2009 by Oliver Emberton

Simple changes and sound testing can massively improve your website’s effectiveness. Often the greatest benefits occur from simply removing unnecessary features.

A recent case study by Tim Ferriss shows how iterative improvements to a homepage made a big difference. We’ve summarised his article so you can see the remarkable benefits at a glance.

Case study: Gyminee

This is the original homepage of Gyminee, a premier diet and exercise tracking site:

Gyminee Original

In the first round of improvements, a large number of superfluous options were simply removed, particularly the options ‘below the fold’ (the part of the screen most users would see before scrolling down):

Gyminee A

The results? The simplified design improved conversion by an average of 20.45%.

In the second round, the new simplified design was ‘split tested’ against two new concepts. A split test (also known as an A/B test) is where two or more variations of a design are shown randomly to different members of your audience, and the performance of each is measured and compared. On the web, tools can automate this process, making it a hugely efficient way of optimising your webpages.

Concept B:

Gyminee B

Concept C:

Gyminee C

The final results may surprise you. Despite having less ‘polished’ designs and no “Take the tour” facility, both Concept B and Concept C outperformed the original. Concept B performed best: 16.2% better than the simplified original. Concept C was a slight improvement: 4.5%.

There could be many reasons why, but we suspect the removal of the “Take the tour” button was most significant. Interestingly, the latest version of their website is actually less effective than Concept B, despite looking more polished, and re-introduces this button.

What can we learn from this?

  • Regular experimentation and testing can deliver huge benefits
  • Removing unnecessary features can be a big win, and is easy to do
  • Testing may challenge your own assumptions about what really works

The original case study is well worth a read if you want to delve into the process in more detail.

What would a 20% increase in your conversions be worth to you?

  • http://blog.silktidestudios.com/2009/08/your-visitors-are-in-charge/ Silktide Studios blog » Blog Archive » Your visitors are in charge

    [...] You can’t control your visitors. But you can make the path you want them to take extraordinarily easy. Define your goals explicitly – “fill in the contact form”, “place an order” – and try to satisfy them yourself. Ideally, run a usability test. Measure the success of your goals, and optimise every step of them relentlessly. [...]

  • http://blog.silktidestudios.com/2009/09/7-mistakes-that-web-design-clients-make/ Get more from your website » Blog Archive » 7 Mistakes That Web Design Clients Make

    [...] It’s very easy to keep adding to a design, under the assumption that you’re improving it. In reality, everything you add is diluting the success of what is already there. We’ve seen websites massively improve their conversion, simply by removing features from their site. [...]

  • http://blog.silktidestudios.com/2009/10/welcome-text-is-not-welcome/ Get more from your website » Blog Archive » Welcome text is not welcome

    [...] Why is this such a bad thing? On the web, viewers are notoriously fickle and inattentive beasts. Their attention is at a premium, and you need to fight hard to retain it. The most effective way to do this is to convey more useful information in less space. [...]

  • http://blog.silktidestudios.com/2009/11/if-only-your-website-was-a-nightclub/ » If only your website was a nightclub

    [...] Thirdly, they assume their original design is set in stone, and are slow to adapt – or don’t adapt at all. The best websites are always improving, measuring everything and refining every slight detail constantly. For your nightclub, you might watch the queues around the bar, and adjust your staffing to match. Are you paying equivalent attention to where your visitors go on your site? Do you know the most and least effective pages, and what have you done to improve them? [...]