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How to optimize your pricing page to drive more conversions

Your pricing page is one of the most important touchpoints on your website. It's the final stop for potential customers before they subscribe to your service and a crucial element that shapes their opinion of your product's value. 

But a lackluster and poorly structured pricing page can result in missed market opportunities and confused customers, leading to decreased conversions and revenue.

So how does pricing page optimization work and what are some practical ways to get started?

Last updated

26 Apr 2023

Reading time

8 min

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This article gives you nine strategies to create a better pricing page and improve the experience of potential customers—leading to higher conversion rates, increased customer satisfaction, and enhanced brand perception.

Boost pricing page conversions with Hotjar

Use Hotjar to understand where customers get frustrated or confused on your pricing page—and then fix it for them.

9 ways to improve your pricing page in 2023

Knowing the fundamentals of a strong pricing page is critical for winning over potential customers. Here are nine ways to get started.

1. Assess current user behavior

When it comes to creating a pricing page that resonates better with your website visitors, it's crucial to first examine what they’re doing on your current page—and why—to understand what's working and what you need to improve.

Analyzing pre-existing customer behavior helps you:

  • Validate assumptions: combining quantitative and qualitative user data (the what and the why) allows you to confirm hypotheses and prioritize high-yield solutions

  • Identify hidden pain points: observing how customers currently engage with your pricing page reveals which elements are prompting them to exit

How to evaluate existing user behavior on your pricing page:

  • Dig into the numbers: use a tool like Google Analytics (or the Hotjar Dashboard) to get quantitative insights about your users and their behavior, like session duration and bounce rate, to confirm they’re struggling or not engaging with your page

  • Observe user actions: use behavioral analytics tools, like heatmaps and session recordings to pinpoint specific steps that frustrate your customers 

  • Collect feedback: add a feedback widget to your pricing page and conduct customer interviews to uncover deeper user pain points and motivations

💡Pro tip: use Hotjar Recordings to visualize user flows on your pricing page, from visitor to paying customer—and see exactly what people do right before they drop off or sign up. You can even filter recordings for rage clicks and u-turns to quickly find and fix issues, like website bugs or broken links.

Recordings show you playbacks of user sessions on your pricing page, so you can determine which elements are confusing people

2. Streamline page design

Optimizing your pricing page design—UI design, user experience (UX) design, web design, and graphic design—significantly impacts visitors' decisions to buy a product. In fact, one study reported that optimizing UX design alone led to a 400% increase in conversions.

Enhancing page design encourages customers to convert and:

  • Improves scannability: visual aids like icons, charts, and graphs make it easier for customers to find the information they need

  • Decreases loading time: an estimated 40% of consumers leave a website if it doesn't load within three seconds

How to optimize your pricing page's design:

  • Ensure mobile-friendliness: confirm your page can adapt to any screen size or format with tools like Test Sigma, Lambda Test, and Responsinator

  • Highlight popular plans: prevent decision fatigue by visually guiding your target audience toward plans that align with their goals

  •  Use high-quality images: avoid pixelated images by using tools, like Canva, PhotoShop, or Kranken.io, to adjust and compress images without losing quality

#Mailchimp's pricing page visually directs customers to their standard plan with a blue header
Mailchimp's pricing page visually directs customers to their standard plan with a blue header

💡Pro tip: get instant user input on your pricing page's design with Hotjar's concept testing feature. By adding your different designs as images to surveys, you can ask users which version they prefer and avoid spending time on A/B tests.

Concept testing quickly reinforces design decisions by asking users which version they like the most

3. Use clear and engaging language

Clear and compelling copy is a crucial (yet frequently overlooked) component of an effective pricing page. In fact, the SaaS DNA project found that ease of understanding is one of the most crucial elements in getting website visitors to convert. 

Strong copy leads to more conversions because it: 

  • Encourages action: using persuasive copy like ‘Get started today’ or ‘Sign up now’ motivates visitors to take a desired action, like clicking on your CTA 

  • Enhances SEO: using simple terms users frequently search for in your copy results in a higher search engine results page (SERP) ranking, leading to increased page traffic and higher-quality leads

  • Improves product transparency: clear text reduces confusion by telling customers exactly what they're paying for and guiding them to the pricing option that best suits their needs

How to optimize your pricing page copy:

  • Maximize keywords: optimize your text in content headers, meta tags, and URLs using tools like SEMrush to improve search engine rankings and make it easy for new users to understand what your website’s about

  • Avoid jargon: your pricing page is not the place for complex terminology, which may confuse or intimidate customers. Use clear, to-the-point language that your target audience understands.

  • Use heatmaps: analyze engagement zones on heatmaps to see what copy users engage with the most

  • Use copy support tools: use software like Grammarly, Hemingway Editor, and Readable to improve clarity for your target audience

#The Hemingway Editor is a writing app that highlights complex sentences and common writing errors, making it easier to draft clear, concise copy
The Hemingway Editor is a writing app that highlights complex sentences and common writing errors, making it easier to draft clear, concise copy

💡Pro tip: optimize your copy with customer insights from survey responses.

Another way to write clear and engaging content is to ask people who converted what value they get from your product, so you can use the words of happy customers to create compelling copy for potential new ones.

For example, leading independent navigation company TomTom used Hotjar Surveys to ask satisfied customers why they made a purchase—and then turned those survey responses into copy for landing pages. 

As a result, the team at TomTom increased their landing page conversion rate by 49%.

4. Anticipate customer questions

Even the most expertly designed pricing pages may leave some customers with questions. 

Being ready with answers—or providing ways for users to ask you for further clarifications—helps you capture unsure leads and: 

  • Expedites purchase decisions: clarifying common product questions empowers customers to make buying decisions quickly

  • Quells skepticism: showing you understand customer concerns and are willing to address them builds user empathy and minimizes fears 

  • Builds a community: actively engaging with potential customers helps you build a community of loyal, returning customers who spread positive word of mouth

How to address customer questions on your pricing page:

  • Provide purchase FAQs: collaborate with your customer service team to identify and address common purchasing concerns people have

  • Include social media links: link your social media accounts to your pricing page to further legitimize your business and offer additional contact routes

  • Integrate a live chat: answer customer questions in real time with software tools like Intercom, Hubspot, and LiveChat

Asana's pricing page uses a chatbot to triage prospective customer inquiries, either by directing them to purchase resources or connecting them directly with customer support

5. Limit pricing options

Offering users too many product pricing options can lead to analysis paralysis.

Limiting the number of options available—and tailoring your offerings to specific customer segments—creates a more personalized, streamlined experience and:

  • Increases clarity: fewer pricing options mean that customers quickly understand what their options are and how they differ

  • Improves upselling opportunities: limiting pricing options helps you identify opportunities to offer relevant, target add-ons or upgrades to your existing customers

How to streamline your pricing options:

  • Utilize user personas: build pricing options that address specific user personas to ensure your pricing is tailored to your target audience

  • Monitor pricing trends: track competitor pricing trends with tools like Crayon or Competitors.app to stay informed about market changes and test new bundling options or subscription models

💡Pro tip: get real buyers' thoughts on your pricing options with Hotjar's pricing plan feedback survey.

Picking the right price can be overwhelming, as internal opinions and profit margin analysis can overshadow the most important voice out there: your customers. 

Use Hotjar's pricing survey to learn what customers really think about your rates, identify issues, and improve your page to convince shoppers to convert.

Find the sweet spot price for your product or service—not too high, not too low—with Hotjar's pricing survey template

6. Create a sense of urgency

Fostering a sense of urgency amongst customers by utilizing scarcity and fear-of-missing-out (FOMO) marketing tactics is a psychological principle that motivates customers to take action quickly. 

When executed strategically, creating a sense of urgency on your pricing page helps you:

  • Increase perceived value: products are psychologically more valuable to customers when you promote them as rare or exclusive 

  • Build word of mouth: limited-time offers encourages customers to share your product with family and friends, generating buzz and increasing brand awareness

How to foster a sense of urgency on your pricing page:

  • Low availability notifications: display notifications when a product is low in stock or about to sell out to create a sense of scarcity and drive sales velocity

  • Limited-time offers: offer time-sensitive discounts to encourage customers to purchase before the offer expires

Spotify's pricing page applies scarcity marketing techniques with a limited-time offer (Source: Spotify)

❗Caveat: we love a good discount just as much as the next person. Just be sure to use urgency and scarcity tactics responsibly and ethically, as overuse or manipulation could lead to brand damage. For example: 

  • Ensure time-limited offers or promotions are genuine and transparent

  • Avoid using pressure tactics to create a false sense of urgency

  • Ensure your product pricing and availability align with actual product demand

Not sure where to get started? Use customer feedback to inform your promotions and ensure they resonate with your target audience.

7. Show social proof

Social proof refers to the psychological theory that people are more likely to conform to the actions and opinions of others when making decisions. 

Leverage social proof to your advantage, showcasing positive feedback from satisfied customers and highlighting the popularity of your product on your pricing page to:

  • Reinforce trust: seeing other people's positive experiences with your product or service alleviates new customer concerns and hesitations

  • Increase credibility: establishing your brand as trustworthy and reputable differentiates you from your competitors and increases perceived product value

How to demonstrate social proof on your pricing page:

  • Post trust seals: provide customers with peace of mind about the security and validity of your company by displaying reputable industry certifications like the SSL certificate, PCI DSS compliance, or Better Business Bureau accreditation 

  • Use social proof tools: use apps that display real-time sales and reviews, such as Nudgify, which have been shown to increase sign-ups by 15%

  • Highlight success stories: share testimonials or link to case studies from satisfied customers as evidence that your products are valuable and your company is dependable 

Freshdesk demonstrates social proof by highlighting awards and accolades (Source: Freshdesk)

💡Pro tip: use Hotjar Heatmaps to determine which social proof elements resonate with your target audience to win their trust quickly and effectively. 

Heatmaps let you visualize user behavior on your pricing page, depicting mouse clicks, scrolls, and movements, so you can see which social proof examples are most popular with customers—and which ones they ignore. 

Use heatmaps alone to observe current social proof performance, or combine them with your A/B test to compare the effectiveness of different elements and adjust their placement on your page accordingly.

Combining A/B testing with Hotjar Heatmaps enables you to test and visualize how users interact with different pricing page elements

8. Offer a free trial

Free trials are a low-commitment way to encourage customers to try your product and directly experience its value. And they work, with one study reporting that free trials account for 10% of sales. 

Free trials also help companies: 

  • Reduce user hesitation: customers may be reluctant to buy without first trying your product; a free trial reduces this perceived risk

  • Apply the endowment effect: behavioral economics show that once someone's 'owned' or 'experienced' something, they value it more and don't want it taken away

  • Get more user insights: free trials give you valuable insights into user behavior and usage patterns, allowing you to optimize your product and pricing strategy

How to incorporate free trials on your pricing page:

  • Remove credit card requirements: free trials that don’t require users to enter their credit card information to sign up boost the average visit-to-lead conversion rate by 8%

  • Limit data input: collect only essential information from people during the trial sign-up to get users inside the product as quickly as possible

#SaaS companies like Hotjar, Miro, and HubSpot offer free-forever subscription options and trials as a low-risk way for customers to get to know the product before purchasing
SaaS companies like Hotjar, Miro, and HubSpot offer free-forever subscription options and trials as a low-risk way for customers to get to know the product before purchasing

9. Monitor page performance 

You can’t just optimize your pricing page with the techniques above and hope for the best. You need to monitor your numbers, understand whether users react positively to your changes, and iterate where necessary.

Keeping a close eye on your pricing page’s performance helps you:

  • Validate page changes: tracking metrics like click-through-rate (CTR) or revenue helps you validate your ideas, which you can then replicate across your pages

  • Identify future opportunities: new changes may reveal new user behavior trends or preferences that can inform future optimizations

How to monitor ongoing page performance to drive conversions:

  • Evaluate the metrics: use a tool like the Hotjar Dashboard to see your user sentiment scores and engagement metrics over time with charts and graphs, so you can easily analyze the impact of your pricing page changes 

  • Observe user behavior: watch session recordings and analyze heatmaps to see how users react to your changes

  • Analyze user cohorts: filter session recordings by specific user segments, such as churning customers or big spenders, to hone in on user behavior and preferences

💡Pro tip: if it's still unclear why people aren't converting, get in touch with them directly by conducting user interviews.

Hotjar Engage helps you target and recruit the right users to quickly gain critical insights about what's working with your service or product, what's not, and ways to troubleshoot.

Hotjar Engage lets you talk to people who accurately reflect your target demographic

Optimize your pricing page by prioritizing the customer

Prioritizing the user experience is crucial in driving pricing page conversions—it ensures your page is intuitive and practical for the people who matter the most: your customers.

Continuously assessing user behavior allows you to quickly prioritize and execute data-driven optimizations that delight the customer, resulting in increased engagement, positive word of mouth, and, ultimately, higher conversion rates and business growth.

Transform your pricing page with Hotjar's powerful insights

Identify bugs, streamline the user flow, and optimize your design layout to convert customers.

FAQs about pricing page optimizations