The subscription model is one of the key ways that SaaS businesses have found to generate recurring revenue. But the way your subscription plan is presented on your website, both in terms of UI and copy should be treated with the utmost importance: without a good plan, it will be difficult (if not impossible) to convert visitors into paying customers. In this article we will discuss some of the best practices that can help you create a great subscription plan UI for your business.
A subscription plan is a recurring payment plan that allows customers to pay for a product or service over an extended period of time. The subscription business model is particularly popular amongst software developers and companies that supply digital content. Establishing a subscription model for your business is the first step in providing a recurring revenue stream. However, recurring revenues are not always the best option for all types of business. You will need to first determine how to structure your business before offering a subscription plan.
There are several benefits to using a subscription plan, including increased revenue, increased customer loyalty, and increased customer lifetime value. Subscription plans also increase predictability of revenue since the customer is paying on a set schedule.
There are several best practices for designing a subscription plan UI, including using clear and concise text, using easy-to-read fonts, and using color to highlight important information. Using these guidelines will help users to understand the plans and choose the right plan based on their needs.
Research shows that users are more likely to select a plan when it is highlighted with a simple color difference. You can use this trick to drive more users towards the plan that you would most like them to select.
To see more design examples from real companies, check out Glance. You can use the "One Plan Emphasized" filter to find companies that have emphasized a single plan on their pricing page.
Subscription services often offer discounted rates for customers who pay for a year upfront, so plan UIs should make it easy for users to decide whether to use the annual discount or pay month-to-month.
To see more examples, you can browse Glance using the "Monthly & Annual Pricing" filter.
One of the best practices for UI design is to use visuals to supplement the text. It is an easy way to add context, and it also makes the UI cleaner. If you are able to, definitely use visuals to help clarify how the subscription plan works. For example, use illustrations to show which size company each plan is best suited for.
There are a few common mistakes that companies make when it comes to subscription plan UIs. Make sure to avoid these pitfalls in order to create an interface that is user-friendly and easy to understand.
One of the biggest mistakes that subscription-based SaaS companies make is offering too many plans. If users are presented with too many options, they will get overwhelmed and will find it difficult to choose a plan that is right for them. The best way to provide enough options while keeping the process streamlined and simple is to offer fewer plans that are more tailored to specific needs.
Instead, Automate.io could divide the plans that are meant for personal use into one category and the plans meant for business use into a different category (like Calendly does).
Some buyers are looking for a specific set of features when making a purchasing decision. Therefore, it is tempting to list anything and everything that a buyer could possibly be interested in. However, listing too many features can overwhelm the buyer and make it difficult for them to make a decision.
Generally, about ten features per plan is the maximum to display on a plan card. If you find that you still need to go into more detail, you can add a dedicated feature comparison section to your pricing page that is separate from the plan cards.
