Babbel | Growth | Q1 2025
Problem
The existing paywall failed to surface the most cost-effective plan, making it harder for Leads to make confident decisions.
Solution
Redesigned UI for the paywall including improvements in visual language, hierarchy and microinteractions.
Outcome
Results of an A/B test have shown a 16% uplift in revenue metrics and the feature was rolled out on both platforms (iOS and Android).
The design was also successfully tested within other paywalls in the app and became the default design across the Babbel app.
Role
Product Designer
Timeline
3 weeks
Team
1 Product Designer
1 Senior Product Manager
2 Senior iOS Engineers
2 Senior Android Engineers
Context
To improve revenue metrics, we explored ways to better guide Leads toward higher-value subscription plans.
This approach not only helps the business but also ensures that Leads choose the best value-for-money option.
We tested whether reordering plans and improving visual hierarchy could improve user decision-making and increase conversions.
Existing research
A few weeks before discovery began, we ran a short usability test on one of our paywall designs. From that test, I extracted a valuable insight that helped shape the direction of this project:
Constraints
Due to legal limitations and tight project timelines a complete redesign of the pricing cards was out of scope for this project.
The pricing cards are overloaded with information, which could confuse users. Adding clarity within the pricing card information hierarchy is something we decided to pick up as a separate experiment.
This reinforced the value of designing iteratively, even when ideal solutions are out of scope.
Plan order , visual hierarchy & microinteractions
After assessing the original paywall, we decided that the key goal for this experiment should be to make the 12-month plan the focal point of the screen.
16% revenue increase and a global rollout
The experiment has shown a 16% uplift in the key revenue metric, proving that making the high-value subscription plan more prominent can have a significant impact on the revenue.
The new paywall design has been rolled out by other teams across the product, generating a projected annual revenue increase of over 5 million euros.
Personal learnings
This project has taught me to think even more critically about challenging the status quo and pushing for UI changes despite short sprints.
The power of UI design
Within the Growth teams there might be a tendency to cut corners and prioritise shipping multiple revenue experiments quickly. This sometimes also makes us sacrifice small UX enhancements like microinteractions. This experiment taught me that it is worth it to take time and polish the way the information will be presented to the users.
Real-time engineering collaboration
It was a great pleasure to review the animations together with my team and see how a Figma prototype is translated into code. This collaboration helped me understand how to improve design handoff and clarify which information engineers need most.
Thank you for visiting 💖