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What to Test — Experiment Ideas

The best first experiment is the one on your highest-traffic, highest-impact page. Here are the ideas that produce the most consistent lifts.

E-commerce stores​

Product pages​

  • Add to cart button — text ("Add to cart" vs "Add to bag" vs "Buy now"), size, and color
  • Hero image — product on white background vs product in lifestyle context
  • Product description — bullet list vs flowing paragraph vs accordion tabs
  • "Only X left in stock" urgency — show vs hide, placement above or below CTA
  • Reviews display — show star rating near the CTA vs only at bottom of page
  • Price display — crossed-out "compare at" price vs clean price only

Cart page​

  • Security badges — "Secure checkout" badge near the checkout button
  • Free shipping bar — "Add $12 more to unlock free shipping" progress indicator
  • Cross-sell placement — "Customers also bought" before vs after cart summary
  • Checkout CTA text — "Proceed to checkout" vs "Checkout securely" vs "Complete your order"

Homepage​

  • Hero headline — brand story vs top product vs sale/offer
  • Featured product — bestseller vs newest vs highest-margin
  • Social proof bar — review count + score near the top vs near the bottom

SaaS products​

Pricing page​

  • Annual vs monthly — show annual pricing by default vs monthly
  • Highlighted plan — mark your mid-tier as "Most Popular" and see if it shifts signups
  • CTA text — "Start free trial" vs "Get started free" vs "Try 14 days free"
  • Number of plans — 2 plans vs 3 plans (3 almost always wins due to the "compromise effect")
  • FAQ placement — put objection-handling FAQ below the pricing cards, not buried at the bottom

Homepage​

  • Hero headline framing — feature-focused ("Automate your workflow") vs outcome-focused ("Close more deals")
  • Social proof format — company logos vs review score ("4.9/5 from 2,300 reviews")
  • CTA placement — one CTA in the hero only vs multiple CTAs throughout the page
  • Demo video — autoplay muted demo in hero vs static screenshot

Signup/onboarding​

  • Form fields — full registration form vs "just email first" progressive disclosure
  • Trust signals — "No credit card required" below the signup button vs above
  • Post-signup redirect — send to welcome video vs send directly to product

Blogs & content sites​

Posts and articles​

  • Email capture placement — mid-article after 3rd paragraph vs end-of-article
  • Email capture offer — "Get weekly updates" vs "Get our free checklist" vs specific content upgrade
  • Sidebar vs inline — newsletter signup in sidebar vs inline within the article
  • Related content — algorithm-recommended vs manually curated next reads

Homepage​

  • Hero CTA — "Read the latest" vs "Browse by topic" vs newsletter signup
  • Content preview — show full excerpt vs just title + date
  • Category navigation — show topic tags prominently vs clean minimal nav

Landing pages (agencies, consultants, freelancers)​

Above the fold​

  • Headline — what you do ("Web design agency") vs result you deliver ("Websites that convert")
  • CTA — "Book a call" vs "See our work" vs "Get a free quote"
  • Hero image — team photo vs client results screenshot vs portfolio preview

Trust section​

  • Client logos — 6 logos in a row vs 3 logos with testimonial quotes
  • Case study placement — above the fold vs after the services section
  • CTA repetition — one CTA at top only vs repeat CTA after every section

Newsletters & subscription products​

  • Subject line formats — question vs statement vs list ("7 things...")
  • Pricing page — monthly vs annual default, how you show savings
  • Free vs paid content ratio — how much preview to give before the paywall
  • Referral offer — prominent in email footer vs own dedicated section

Universal high-impact tests (any site)​

These consistently produce meaningful results regardless of industry:

  1. CTA button color — high-contrast color vs matching-brand color
  2. CTA text specificity — vague ("Submit") vs specific ("Get my free report")
  3. Social proof near CTA — add review count or customer count next to your primary button
  4. Form length — remove one field from any form
  5. Headline benefit vs feature — describe the outcome, not the feature

How to pick your first test​

Ask yourself: "Which single change, if it doubled performance, would matter most to my business?"

That's your first experiment. Usually it's:

  • Your primary CTA button (highest traffic, direct business impact)
  • Your pricing page (highest revenue intent)
  • Your hero headline (sets the tone for every visitor)

Run your first experiment →