Optimizing the pricing page and signup flow for a B2C product

Role: Sole Product Designer, with 1 CEO & 1 engineer

Context

A B2C housing webpage platform helps young renters in big cities find apartments and flatmates. The app is free to use, with a paid premium plan for people who want an edge. The audience is aged 18 to 35, price sensitive, and mostly on their phones.

Problem

Many people signed up, but only a few upgraded to premium. The client saw this in his data. It came down to two connected problems.

First, the pricing page did not make a case for premium. It showed three plans with the same list of features, and the free plan was nowhere to be seen. So people could not tell what they would get for their money.

Second, new users never met the premium offer when they signed up. By the time they knew the app, they were used to the free version and had never made a conscious choice about upgrading.

Constraints

• Solo and lean: One designer, one CEO, one engineer.

• Limited UI: Had to use existing components.

• Price sensitive users: The offer had to feel low risk.

Solution & Key Decision

I solved the problems in order: first how premium is shown, then where people see it.

• Decision 1: show the free plan next to premium: Putting both side by side makes people compare what they get for free with what they unlock. The value becomes clear and not abstract.

• Decision 2: name concrete benefits: Instead of the same vague list on every plan, premium now says what it does for renters, such as seeing new apartments first and messaging landlords directly.

• Decision 3: one toggle instead of three cards: A switch between weekly, monthly and three months replaced the three plan cards, which removes clutter. The weekly option lowers the feeling of commitment for people who watch their money.

• Decision 4: show premium during signup: I put the pricing choice on the same screen as the registration form. People meet the offer when they are most motivated, before they get used to the free version. A person who chooses the free plan on purpose knows what they are missing.

Key Screens

• Pricing page / before: three plans with identical features and no free plan.

• Pricing page / after: free and premium side by side, with a duration toggle.

• Signup / one step: the registration form on the left, and the free and premium plans on the right. The chosen solution.

• Signup / two step: step 1 is the registration form with a Next button, step 2 asks whether the person wants premium and shows both plans.

• Signup / three step: housing preferences, personal details and a profile photo, ending on a “Your profile is ready” screen. Every step can be skipped for now.

Process

The client shared conversion insights from his analytics, and we agreed on scope and goals quickly. For each part, I looked at how similar freemium products handle pricing and signup, and then made proposals for his feedback. For the signup I explored three concepts: one step, two steps and a longer profile flow. The two step version showed the plans only after the form, which adds a step before people see the offer. The profile flow had four screens and asked for personal details, including income, before people had any reason to trust the app, even though each step could be skipped. The one step version was the fastest, and it puts the offer in front of everyone, so we chose it.

Outcome

• Clearer choice: People can see what is free, what premium adds and what it costs.

• More interaction: The client saw more use of the upgrade flow after the pricing change.

• Better conversion: The client reported improved conversion behavior.

• Seen by everyone: For the first time, every new user meets the premium offer when signing up.

Learnings

Conversion is a journey problem, not a single page fix. The pricing page gave users a clear reason to consider upgrading, and the signup made sure they thought about it at the right moment. Fixing only one of them would have left half of the problem open.

What I would do differently today

• Measure from day one: Agree on the conversion numbers with the client before launch, so the result can be shown in figures.

• Test the options: Run the pricing page and the signup versions against each other with real users, instead of choosing based on feedback and best practice.

• Explore faster: Use Claude to compare many freemium pricing pages in a short time, and Figma Make to prototype the signup variations for mobile.

Note: This case has been anonymized to protect client confidentiality.