I stumbled on a bit of dilemma in a client project.

Their pricing page (software company) is broken and research confirmed it. The problem? They have a lot of products and each product has 6 or 7 tiers. Which makes it confusing for users to understand.

Fact is, it’s mostly my client’s fault.

When looking at a pricing table from a usability standpoint, it’s important to always consider what’s strictly necessary and what’s not. And also how users are supposed to consume it to compare the different plans.

The issue here is that although the products are different and it’s correct to separate them, each tier only differs in 2 factors: price and usage limit. The client made it 100x more complex by showing all the features included in each plan in a huge table.

Right if each tier had very different features, but here there’s nothing really to consider apart from those 2 factors.

So how can we simplify it? Using a slider that visitors can move left or right. No scrolling to compare (since all features are included in all plans there’s nothing really to compare), no massive amounts of vertical space taken.

True, users wouldn’t be able to click on an advanced tier right away like they did before, they would have to slide to it. But the guidance would make up for the overwhelm and confusion.

This brings up a good consideration when it comes to user experience.

Do you allow users complete freedom or do you limit them?

I always loved how companies like Apple can be so deliberate in “limiting” their products. The result is often users’ frustration in the short term, but loyalty in the long term. It’s like they’re saying “We know what’s right for you, take it and trust us”.

Compare for example iOS with Android. Limited, but super easy to use, vs completely free (and hackable). Ok, I’m biased here…

But this is a choice any business owner has to make at some point. Whether you sell software, services or physical products.

What amount of freedom and flexibility do you want your customers to have? And what’s right for them to truly enjoy it?

Like they say, “kill your darlings”.

If you need help understanding what users really want, get in touch.

Cheers,

Chris

How to let your customers decide

I stumbled on a bit of dilemma in a client project. Their pricing page (software company)

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