How moving your email sign up box from the menu to the header on your website affects email sign up rate
The Heritage Foundation
Founded in 1973, The Heritage Foundation is a research and educational institution—a think tank—whose mission is to formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense.
Experiment Summary
Timeframe: 09/27/2023 - 10/20/2023
The Daily Signal is supported by the resources and intellectual firepower of The Heritage Foundation—a dedicated team of experienced journalists to cover the news and more than 100 policy experts who can quickly help put issues in perspective.
TDS had two areas on their homepage where users could sign up to receive news updates—one in the drop down menu on the header and one in the footer.
We assumed that the email sign up box in the drop down menu would be difficult for users to find which means they were likely missing many opportunities to get new subscribers. They wanted to test moving the email sign up box from the drop-down menu to the header to see if it increased sign up rate.
Research Question
We believe that making the email sign-up box easier to find for potential subscribers of the Daily Signal will achieve a higher email sign up rate because it increases visibility and reduces the number of steps it takes to sign up.
Design
Results
| Treatment Name | Conv. Rate | Relative Difference | Confidence | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C: | Control | 0.16% | ||
| T1: | Email Signup Form in Header | 0.56% | 255.1% | 100.0% |
This experiment has a required sample size of 1,687 in order to be valid. Since the experiment had a total sample size of 22,695, and the level of confidence is above 95% the experiment results are valid.
Flux Metrics Affected
The Flux Metrics analyze the three primary metrics that affect revenue (traffic, conversion rate, and average gift). This experiment produced the following results:
0% increase in traffic
× 255.1% increase in conversion rate
× 0% increase in average gift
Key Learnings
The key learning from this experiment is that moving the email sign-up box from the drop-down menu to the header significantly increased the sign-up rate for the Daily Signal. The treatment group saw a 255.1% increase in email acquisition compared to the control group, with a 100.0% statistical level of confidence.
This indicates that making the sign-up box more prominent and easily accessible can have a positive impact on user engagement and conversion. It reduces the number of steps required for users to sign up and increases the visibility of the sign-up option.
In future experimentation, it would be beneficial to continue testing different variations of the sign-up box placement and design to further optimize the conversion rate. Additionally, considering other factors such as the messaging and incentives offered to users can also be explored to maximize the effectiveness of the sign-up process.
Overall, this experiment highlights the importance of user experience and ease of navigation in driving conversions. By making the sign-up process more intuitive and accessible, organizations can increase their email subscriber base and ultimately enhance their reach and impact.