Pedometer++ · B2C · step counter app
Make the paywall look like a plain Apple settings screen
Beat more custom designs 'by quite a long shot'; worked again for a second app
What they did
What happened
In their words
Jonathan Parra - I made 4,000 app paywalls and learned this
Joseph ChoiIt's just good branding, I guess. I I do like when like UIs use like familiar interface elements. It just makes it feel a little bit more trustworthy. But yeah, okay, that's cool. Are there any um like really big apps that use this? I think you mentioned one of them.
Jonathan ParraMojo uh uses this uh this style a lot. Um to go back to something you mentioned earlier, I would not discount also creating a SwiftUI-looking paywall. Um I actually uh I worked on a couple paywalls for Pedometer++, and uh their design system just follows the typical SwiftUI uh designs, so they they really didn't customize uh the app too much and made it look like a very Apple-esque app.
Jonathan ParraAnd so, when designing their paywall, it had to look very Apple-esque. And I I was like, "There's no way this is going to work. There's no way it's going to do good." And I tried to also create other variants that were a little bit more designed and uh just a little bit more custom outside of the SwiftUI uh uh style, and it actually The The SwiftUI style actually outperformed everything by quite a long shot.
Jonathan ParraSo I'm not And that could be because, you know, the rest of the app was already in that kind of design, so it it wasn't a big change uh in what the user was kind of expecting in the paywall. Um but I I have done that twice, actually. And so I I did try it with another app, uh and uh I was surprised by the results that the SwiftUI-looking app actually does perform fairly well. Uh so I I would recommend also trying something uh uh with just Apple's Swift design language.
Joseph ChoiYeah. Could you show an example of that?
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More from this episode
- Shorten plan names, add 'No commitment, cancel anytime', and label the button 'Continue'+10% conversion over the wordier paywall
- Cut the monthly plan; offer annual plus a weekly plan with 3 free daysBig conversion jump per the slide; exact number not read out
- Put 'No commitment, cancel anytime' on almost every paywallSmall but steady conversion bump, per the guest
- Show two plans, hide the rest behind 'View all plans', preselect annualGuest's standard setup; no numbers given
- When users close the paywall, show cheaper plans, then a 33%-off yearly dealNo result given; guest's go-to for apps that already test a lot
- For week- or month-long programs, show step by step how users will changeWorks across categories for journey-style apps, per the guest; no numbers
- Keep one-time offers at 25-33% off; save big sales for Black Friday
- Swap the feature table for 'Try it for 50% off' and a big screenshot+111% conversion; revenue per user also rose
- Make the paywall button about 65 points tall, with big text and an arrowGuest says bigger buttons and the arrow bump conversions; no numbers
- Start with a one-page paywall: headline, bullet list, reviews, buttonOne of the few layouts that performs well across categories, per the guest
- Test paywall design and plan mix first; leave price tests for laterGuest says design tests give the most mileage; no numbers
- Put a short video of the app in use on the paywallWon its A/B test; no numbers given
- Give the top plan a dark, premium look that switches when users pick itMore users chose the top plan; no numbers
- Show the free trial as a timeline: today, day-5 reminder, day-7 billingStill a very high performer after years of copying, per the guest
- Charge about $20 a month for an AI chat app tuned to one nicheUsers pay for it, per the guest; no revenue shared
Tags: ios, native-design, swiftui, design-consistency