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Where to ask for payment in an onboarding flow for a SaaS product?
I'm building the onboarding flow for simpleotp.com right now, and as a part of that I need to collect some details before I can activate a given user's account, such as which domain name(s) they want to use + some other basic profile information. I also need to know which plan they'd like to sign up for and charge their card with stripe.
For people who have built flows like this before: is it better UX to ask for the payment before the basic profile information is filled out or afterward? I'm thinking to ask for the payment details as the first screen just to be upfront that this service costs money and get an answer to "do I have product market fit?" as fast as possible - but I'm a bit concerned that asking for payment first might be too jarring for the user and scare them away.
I can probably answer this question in a couple weeks time by A/B testing the order of onboarding screens (side note: which A/B testing services do you all prefer?), but I'd also like to know what you all have experienced to get to a decent design upfront. What has worked for you in terms of the order of these screens in the past? Thanks in advance!
For people who have built flows like this before: is it better UX to ask for the payment before the basic profile information is filled out or afterward? I'm thinking to ask for the payment details as the first screen just to be upfront that this service costs money and get an answer to "do I have product market fit?" as fast as possible - but I'm a bit concerned that asking for payment first might be too jarring for the user and scare them away.
I can probably answer this question in a couple weeks time by A/B testing the order of onboarding screens (side note: which A/B testing services do you all prefer?), but I'd also like to know what you all have experienced to get to a decent design upfront. What has worked for you in terms of the order of these screens in the past? Thanks in advance!
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First of all, this is a really cool project you're building here.
Caveat: I haven't built flows like this, BUT as a consumer, I prefer payment first, always. Just take my money, and we'll get to the info collecting later.
It depends what that info is, though. For example, if it's filling out basic bio information or info to make the product/service work, always after.
You do need them to tell you what kind of plan they want first and give them context about what's included and who it's for (like the usage), but your site now shows that clearly under the pricing tab. It's clear enough for even ME to understand (and I'm not a tech person at all), so that's pretty damn clear.
If someone switches the order, I usually get irritated and try to find a better solution (even if their service/product might actually be better).
If you think about it in terms of consumer psychology, it makes sense too.
Also, you want to be clear and upfront that your product costs money. By having them put in a bunch of info to onboard them, that doesn't come across as clear enough. It reminds me of those PDF fillers that say "edit your PDFs for free," and they do. But to ~download~ the edited PDF, you have to pay. I always feel cheated by those companies. (I get they need to make money, but just be transparent. If it's $10/month to get access, cool. Just say that.)
Thanks, that pretty much lines up with my gut as well. Hate signing up for a product that I thought was completely free only to get charged 20 steps into the process.
It's the worst. The thing is if they were just upfront about it, I probably would have paid, but I don't if they string me along.
Typically you want to be upfront about wanting money for the service so users aren’t surprised. But you want to pop the question after you get their contact info.
Those leads are gold for market research, product research, and possibly converting later. Most people won’t buy right away, but do intend to buy later unless they forget you exist.
Align what the customer wants with monetary commitment and you'll be fine.