Good morning 👋
Last week, I stated that re-designing Appy Weather’s Store screen to accommodate a new (and most expensive) subscription tier has probably been my toughest ever design assignment. Getting this right will be extremely rewarding, literally speaking. But if I mess it up, the consequences are potentially severe.
When I introduced Pro back in July, users not only had to decide whether to subscribe, but what to: Plus or Pro. In addition, I decided because Pro is more than twice as expensive as Plus, it makes sense to offer it as a monthly subscription too i.e. another decision for prospective Pro customers.
Fast forward to today, adding a third subscription tier above Pro (a product name that suggests it’s the most premium but is not any more) makes what was already not a straightforward decision a difficult one. In a worst-case scenario due to the number of options to pick from, there’s a genuine possibility that overwhelmed users will simply walk away from a purchase.
Here are some of the questions I’ve been asking myself to formulate a design whose minimum objective is to ensure users don’t feel overwhelmed and primary to provide an experience with an optimal conversion rate:
Should the three subscription tiers be presented simultaneously? Or for you to need to navigate somehow between them?
If the latter, then what should the default subscription tier you land on be? And how do I make sure that it’s clear to the user that there are other subscription tiers to consider?
Regardless of approach taken above, should the buttons to purchase monthly or yearly subscriptions be side-by-side? Or should there be a way to switch between the two?
If the latter, should it default to the monthly or yearly plan?
How do I make users feel they’re getting increased value by going yearly? An obvious way is to explicitly state the percentage in savings, but would they feel this more if the default plan was monthly i.e. they see the monthly premium first, and so at that point the $9.99/year for Pro, for example, would feel like a much better deal than if it was presented first/independently.
How do I clarify to existing subscribers that they’ll only pay the difference when they upgrade for the first year only?
They may more likely press to upgrade if the price listed for all subscription tiers reflected the difference, but this then adds another step to the purchasing flow whereby I need to clarify that this price is for the first year only before they confirm. The alternative is to place a message somewhere on the screen about this instead i.e. not interrupt the purchase flow but then this is more likely to be missed.
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. There are more fundamental questions that need answering too.
Who do I present each of the subscription tiers for? Or should I not bother, and simply make it about feature upgrades instead – this makes it much easier for me, but I have a feeling would be a less effective approach.
What should the most premium subscription tier keep as exclusives? I’d need to hit a sweet spot so there’s enough value to justify upgrading to it, but at the same time doesn’t make existing Pro users feel they’re getting a bad deal. Same goes with pricing. What is the price that doubles as acceptable enough for it to attract a niche base as well as make the already relatively expensive Pro seem like an even better deal.
What do I call it so that it sounds obviously more premium than “Pro”? Most services name their third subscription tier “Enterprise” but that wouldn’t work here.
I could go on and on :)
So yeah, this hasn’t been easy. That said, I feel like I’m getting close to a design that acknowledges, if not addresses, all of the points above.
In an ideal world, I’ll have multiple versions of the screen working with A/B testing determining which to prioritise. I could even get it to call my web server to determine which screen to go with, so that I can update on-the-fly without needing to publish an update. One day!
Of course, when this eventually drops, there will naturally be users who will immediately conclude I’ve inconsiderately and impulsively dropped a new subscription option that makes their existing subscription feel like worse value because I’m a greedy developer running a scam 😂 Unfortunately, not everyone is subscribed to this newsletter. Fortunately, I’ve mostly considerate users, so I don’t fear there will be many in this camp. But I’m not taking any chances either, so I’m making an active effort to ensure all existing subscription tiers offer better and more than they are today after the changes. That said, when you’re subscribed to the most expensive subscription tier, and it’s called Pro, I understand if there’s an expectation that you’ll benefit from all improvements to come. That’s where the messaging/transparency needs to be spot on.
I would say I’m now between 1-2 weeks away from getting this update out to the world. I’m entering the more fun part of its development: less grunt work, more polish i.e. I can finally start seeing it all come together.
Have a great Sunday!
Best,
Bardi