Changing your homepage call-to-action (CTA) from “Sign up for free” to “Trial for free” can create a surprisingly strong impact on conversions. The difference lies in how each phrase makes visitors feel.
“Sign up” sounds like work: forms, passwords, commitment. “Trial” sounds like opportunity: a chance to explore something valuable. This shift changes the emotional starting point of your users: from effort to reward.
This experiment tests whether visitors respond better to a CTA that focuses on trying rather than joining. It’s grounded in behavioral psychology: framing, fluency, and motivation. Using GemX, you can easily test both versions, measure real results, and find out which message truly drives action.
The Core Idea: Why CTA Wording Matters
Your homepage CTA might be the smallest element on the page, but it’s also the powerful. It’s the moment where interest becomes action, or hesitation.
Design, layout, and visuals all matter, but the words you use on the button set the emotional tone of the experience. Language can be the difference between curiosity and commitment.
“Sign up for free” is one of the most common SaaS CTAs in the world. But it has hidden friction. It suggests effort, a process that takes time and mental energy. “Trial for free,” on the other hand, puts focus on the reward, getting hands-on experience with the product right away.
That single word swap changes what visitors think you’re offering:
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“Sign up” = Do something first.
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“Trial” = Get something first.
This use case is about finding out which message encourages more people to take that first step.
The Psychology Behind It
Even small language changes can affect user behavior in measurable ways. This test works because of how people process decisions and rewards.
Here are the key psychological concepts behind it:
1. Framing Effect
People respond differently depending on how choices are presented. “Sign up for free” frames the action as a task you have to complete. “Trial for free” frames it as a benefit you get to enjoy.
The offer is the same — $0 — but the mental framing changes from effort to reward.
2. Cognitive Fluency
Humans prefer actions that feel easy. “Sign up” reminds users of effort: forms, confirmation emails, passwords. “Trial” feels lighter, it sounds like immediate access.
That small difference can reduce hesitation in the decision moment.
3. Goal Gradient Effect
People are more motivated when they feel closer to a goal. “Trial for free” makes the experience feel like it’s already started, users imagine themselves inside the product. “Sign up” feels like a barrier before the experience begins.
The closer people feel to the reward, the more likely they are to take action.
4. Endowment Effect
When users start a “trial,” they feel partial ownership of the product, even before paying. Losing that access later feels like a loss, which can actually increase willingness to buy.
In short, wording shapes emotion, and emotion shapes conversion.
When to Run This Test?
This test works best for SaaS homepages or landing pages where the primary goal is to drive product signups or trial starts. You should consider it if:
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Your homepage gets steady traffic (10K+ visitors/month).
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You already offer both a free plan and a free trial of premium features.
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You’ve noticed visitors hesitate at the CTA. For example, strong traffic but low signup clicks.
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You want to test if your current wording is underselling the value of your product.
Avoid running this test if:
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Your backend doesn’t clearly separate “free plan” and “free trial.” If users feel misled, trust will drop immediately.
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You don’t have enough traffic for valid results (microcopy tests need large samples).
Hypothesis and Experiment Design
Hypothesis Formation
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IF we change the homepage CTA from “Sign up for free” to “Trial for free,”
THEN more visitors will click the CTA and start a trial,
BECAUSE the new wording highlights immediate access and value instead of a task, reducing hesitation and making the offer more exciting. |
Structuring the Test
Page to Test: The homepage hero section where the primary CTA lives.
Keep everything else (headline, layout, color, button size) exactly the same. You want to isolate only one variable: the CTA text.
Variants:
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Control: "Sign up for free" (current)
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Variant A: "Trial for free"
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(Optional) Variant B: "Start free trial" — a slightly more directive phrasing worth testing later.
Traffic Allocation: Evenly split traffic between variants (50/50 or 34/33/33). Random assignment is key to fair results.
Primary Metric: Conversion rate.
Device Targeting: Run across all devices, but monitor mobile performance separately. On mobile, even a one-word change can alter readability and conversion flow.
Case Study: Going — How a Three-Word Change Doubled Conversions
Brand: Going (formerly Scott’s Cheap Flights)
Industry: Online travel deals
Challenge: Despite having compelling deals, Going struggled to convert visitors into paying subscribers. Their homepage CTA — “Sign up for free” — wasn’t inspiring action.
Solution: The team used Unbounce to run an A/B test between:
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Variant A: “Sign up for free”
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Variant B: “Trial for free”
By reframing the action as a reward instead of a task, they aimed to make the premium plan feel more accessible.
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Result: The “Trial for free” version led to a 104% increase in trial starts month-over-month, outperforming every previous acquisition channel, including paid ads.
This case proves how language alone — not layout or design — can redefine user motivation and drive business outcomes.
How to Set Up This Test in GemX?
GemX makes running this kind of test incredibly fast, no code, no manual tracking, no developer help. You can create your variants visually, assign traffic, and start tracking conversions in just a few minutes.
Step 1: Select Your Control Template
Your Control version (Version A) is the page visitors currently see.
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Open GemX > Experiments > Create new experiment.
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Choose Template Testing.
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Under Control Template, select the existing homepage or landing page where your CTA.
Step 2: Select Variant Template
GemX supports both Shopify native pages and GemPages-built pages, so your setup will differ slightly depending on your store’s setup:
If You’re Using Another Page Builder (not GemPages) or Native Shopify Pages
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Prepare both versions manually (A: control, B: variant)
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Publish both templates in your Shopify store.
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Go back to GemX > Select Variant Template and choose your Version B page from the list.
If You’re Using GemPages
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Click Create Variant Based on Control.
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GemX automatically duplicates your control template, and you’ll be redirected to the GemPages Editor.
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Locate your CTA button and edit the text from “Sign up for free” to “Trial for free”.
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Save your page and return to GemX.
Step 3: Configure Advanced Experiment Settings
Once both templates are ready, move to advanced settings in GemX.
Here, you’ll define the logic behind your test: what success means, who will see which version, and under what conditions.
Each choice affects the accuracy and interpretability of your experiment.
1. Winning Metric
This metric determines how GemX identifies the winning variant.
Recommended: Conversion Rate
Reason: For this CTA wording test, your primary goal is to measure how effectively each message drives user action (i.e., clicks or trial starts).
"Conversion Rate" captures that intent shift precisely. It measures the proportion of visitors who complete the desired action, without being diluted by downstream behaviors like purchases or revenue.
Tracking “Revenue per Visitor” or “AOV” can be added later in a follow-up experiment once you’ve validated which message converts better at the top of the funnel. For microcopy tests like this, conversion rate is the cleanest, most sensitive metric.
2. Device Targeting
You can choose which device types the experiment runs on.
Recommended: All Devices
Reason: Language perception and CTA intent are universal. Running the test across desktop, tablet, and mobile ensures a representative dataset and prevents biased results.
Even if mobile and desktop users behave differently, GemX automatically segments your analytics by device, allowing you to analyze post-test which platform showed the highest lift.
Example: If “Trial for free” performs 10% better on mobile but stays equal on desktop, you’ll know exactly where to prioritize the change.
3. Visitor Type
Choose which group of visitors will see your variants.
Recommended: All Visitors
Reason: Your homepage CTA is a primary conversion driver for both new and returning audiences.
Restricting to one group (like new visitors only) can slow down your test and limit insight.
By including all visitors, you’ll not only reach statistical significance faster but also discover behavior differences:
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New visitors may prefer “Trial for free” because it feels lower-risk.
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Returning visitors might respond equally to both.
Later, you can segment results by audience type to see which message resonates best.
4. Traffic Source
Define where your test traffic comes from.
Recommended: All Sources
Reason: Running the test across all acquisition channels — including organic, paid, email, and referral — gives you a broader behavioral baseline.
GemX automatically tags each visit by source, allowing you to view breakdowns later (e.g., “Paid Social visitors clicked 18% more on ‘Trial for free’”).
Limiting to one traffic type is useful for campaign-specific optimization, but for a homepage CTA, your goal is to optimize for all site traffic. Start broad, then refine.
5. Traffic Split
Decide how to divide users between your two versions.
Recommended: 50-50 split
Reason: An equal split ensures both pages receive comparable traffic volume and identical user diversity, which are critical for statistical accuracy.
Uneven splits (like 70/30) are typically used for high-risk tests or low-confidence experiments — but for microcopy, the risk is minimal and you want faster, cleaner results.
6. Market & Language
If your Shopify store supports multiple regions or languages, define which market this test will target.
Recommended: Run the test on your primary market and language only.
Reason: CTA language and emotion are culturally sensitive.
For example, “Trial” may sound appealing and low-barrier in English, but can feel temporary or transactional in another language.
Starting with one localized audience (e.g., United States – English) ensures your data reflects real user behavior, not translation bias.
Once you’ve configured these options, save your setup and launch the experiment.
Interpreting Results
Once your test reaches significance, the real work begins: understanding what the data means.
Is the Lift Worth It?
Imagine CTR rises from 3.0% to 3.45%, that’s +15%.
If your homepage gets 100K monthly visitors, that’s 450 more clicks.
If 10% of those trial users convert to paid customers, that’s 45 extra paid users per month.
Even small percentage gains can compound into meaningful revenue.
Break Down by Audience
Check if the result is consistent across traffic sources:
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Paid traffic might react more positively to “Trial,” since they’re actively comparing tools.
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Organic visitors might prefer “Sign up,” especially if they already trust your brand.
If differences exist, consider applying the winning variant selectively (e.g., for paid campaigns first).
Check Down-Funnel Quality
Sometimes a higher CTR brings more clicks but not more qualified users.
Did your trial-to-paid conversion rate stay stable?
Did session time or engagement drop?
If “Trial for free” increases curiosity but not actual intent, you may get more clicks but fewer loyal users. Always look at both short-term and long-term data.
Watch for Confusion
In some contexts, “Trial” can imply a time limit or a credit card requirement.
If users start asking “When does my trial end?” or “Is this really free?”, you may need to adjust your messaging (e.g., “Trial for free — no credit card required”).
Why GemX Is Perfect for This Kind of Test?
This “Sign up for free” vs. “Trial for free” experiment is small in scope but powerful in impact, and GemX was built precisely for this kind of test.
Here’s why:
1. No-Code Variant Creation
You can duplicate your homepage and edit the CTA text directly inside the GemX interface. No developer, no coding, no theme duplication. This allows you to test copy-driven changes in minutes rather than days.
2. Full Compatibility with Shopify and GemPages
GemX works seamlessly with both Shopify native templates and GemPages-built pages. Whether your homepage is theme-based or built in GemPages, GemX automatically pulls both templates into the selection list for easy setup.
3. Precise Targeting & Segmentation
You can control exactly who sees your variants — from all visitors to specific traffic sources or markets. For this test, focusing on new visitors from paid ads ensures your data reflects the true impact of language on cold audiences.
4. Reliable Statistical Confidence
GemX continuously monitors sample size and confidence level. Once your test reaches statistical significance, it automatically flags a winner, reducing the risk of false positives or premature conclusions.
5. Real-Time Insights, Clear Visuals
All your experiment data — CTR, conversions, lift percentage — updates in real time. You can easily visualize trends across device types or traffic segments without exporting data manually.
6. Scalable Testing Workflow
Once this microcopy test ends, you can duplicate its structure to test other parts of your funnel, pricing labels, feature descriptions, even headline variations, with one click. GemX keeps a history of all tests for ongoing optimization.
