B2B SaaS companies are always on the lookout for ways to gain an edge over their competitors. One area that's often overlooked but can make a major difference in attracting and converting potential customers is the self-serve pricing page.
In this article, we'll discuss the importance of designing a user-friendly and effective self-serve SaaS pricing page. We'll share five key recommendations including guidance on pricing models and pricing plan, along with common mistakes to avoid, and the best pricing page examples you can learn from.
Why Pricing Pages Matter
In our experience, many startups don't put a lot of thought into their pricing page design. Pricing pages make a massive difference, especially for companies that leverage Product Led Growth (PLG). Simple changes to your pricing page design can lead to significant improvements in conversion rates, user experience, and ultimately, your bottom line. In an era where vertical SaaS dominates and incremental improvements are vital to staying ahead of the competition, investing time and effort into optimizing your pricing page can be a game-changer.
How to Approach Pricing Pages
So how exactly do you go about designing your pricing page to ensure it's actually aiding in your growth? There are lots of different ways to do it right, so the good news is, you don't have to follow one single approach or formula.
The Golden Rule: Communication
But there is one general guideline we've seen that works across the board in our experience: It must communicate the value of your product, cater to your different customer segments, and make it easy for users to understand and compare pricing options. When you follow this basic premise, creating an effective pricing page is actually not as hard as it seems.
Are There Cases When Pricing Pages Aren't a Good Idea?
Enterprise-focused SaaS
Obviously pricing pages are only meant for self-serve/PLG use cases. If you're really prioritizing a sales-led/enterprise approach, and or if the pricing model is such that you typically have negotiation, you'll need to rethink this aspect before diving in to pricing pages
Hard-to-configure product
If your product can't easily be broken down into logical "chunks" -- this may be the case if it's an all-or-nothing platform -- it might be hard to configure a version of your product that works for downmarket customers.
Pro tip! This doesn't have to be a dealbreaker.
Wingback can
help you make your product more configurable and easy to segment and deploy into self-serve.
Learn how. Heavy learning curve product
If your product typically requires a lot of hand-holding to get used to -- maybe you typically have a few onboarding sessions and help the customers get set up -- this doesn't scale for self-serve. Your product will need to be configured in a way that users can sign up and begin using it with very limited supervision or support, and be able to troubleshoot with just a help desk forum, FAQ page or chatbot.
5 Tips for Better Pricing Pages
Here are some of our pricing page best practices to set you on the right track.
1 Align Your Pricing Structure with Ideal Customer Profiles (ICPs)
When designing your pricing page, it's crucial to ensure that your pricing structure aligns with the preferences and needs of your target customer segments or ICPs. This means creating pricing tiers that cater to the specific requirements of your most important customer profiles, rather than simply offering "Good, Better, Best" options. By aligning your pricing tiers with your ICPs, you'll create a more effective and customer-focused pricing page.
How to do it: Write down each of your ICPs or target customer segments, and then assign what features and amounts of your current product each ICP would reasonable need.
Pro tip! Think of a bell curve: don't worry too much about the upper and lower 10% of your customers in each tier; focus on what the middle 80% of customers in this segment would need.
2 Communicate the Value of Your Product
A successful pricing page should effectively communicate the value your product provides to potential customers. Users should feel that the value they receive from your product exceeds the cost. By clearly conveying the value behind your product, you'll make it easier for potential customers to understand why they should choose your SaaS solution.
How to do it: To achieve this, highlight the key features and benefits of each pricing tier, and use social proof, testimonials, or case studies to demonstrate the value your product has delivered to other customers.
3 Keep It Simple and Easy to Understand
An effective pricing page should be simple and easy to understand, even if your product is complex and offers various pricing options. Provide the option for users to dive into more detailed information if they want to explore further, but ensure that the main elements of your pricing page remain clear and straightforward. This allows users to quickly grasp the overall structure of your pricing model without feeling overwhelmed.
How to do it: Consider displaying a condensed version of your pricing page at the top, highlighting the main features and differences between pricing tiers, and then link or have an expandable way for users to dive into the details later.
4 Use Clear and Concise Pricing Page Copy
The copy on your pricing page should be clear, concise, and easy to read. Remember, your pricing page serves as a communication tool, and its effectiveness will be significantly enhanced if it successfully conveys the value behind your product in a way that's easy for users to understand.
How to do it: Avoid using jargon or technical terms that may confuse potential customers. Instead, use simple language that accurately describes the features and benefits of each pricing tier.
5 Use a Comparison Table for Easy Decision-Making
A comparison table can be a great way to help potential customers understand the differences between your pricing plans and make it easy to compare options and choose the plan that best suits their needs. Additionally, consider highlighting your most popular plan or the plan that offers the best value to guide potential customers towards the option that's most likely to meet their needs and expectations.
How to do it: Clearly present the features, benefits, and prices of each pricing tier in a side-by-side format, and use a visual highlight like bolded text, bright colors, a vibrant border, etc to make the most compelling offer stand out.
5 Mistakes to Avoid
While creating an effective pricing page is essential, it's equally important to be aware of the common mistakes that can negatively impact your potential customers' experience. In this section, we'll outline some pitfalls to avoid when designing your self-serve pricing page.
1 Poor Mobile Experience
In a smartphone-first world, it's a non-negotiable to ensure that your pricing page is optimized for mobile devices. A poor mobile experience can lead to frustration and potentially drive potential customers away.
How to Avoid: Make sure your pricing page is responsive and provides a seamless experience across all devices, including smartphones and tablets. This will ensure that users can easily access and navigate your pricing page, regardless of the device they're using.
2 Overwhelming the Customer Visually
While it's essential to provide all the necessary information on your pricing page, you should avoid overwhelming users with too much visual clutter. A cluttered, visually overwhelming pricing page can be confusing and difficult to navigate, making it challenging for potential customers to find the information they need to make a decision.
How to Avoid: Use a clean, minimalist design that highlights the most important information and makes it easy for users to compare pricing options and features.
3 Lack of Clarity
A common mistake when designing a pricing page is not providing clear and concise information about your product's features and benefits. Potential customers should be able to quickly understand what they'll get with each pricing tier and how it will benefit them.
How to Avoid: Use simple language and straightforward descriptions to clearly communicate the value of each pricing option. If users can't quickly grasp the differences between your pricing tiers and the benefits they offer, they're less likely to convert.
4 Hiding Important Information
While it's important to keep your pricing page clean and uncluttered, you should also avoid hiding essential information behind multiple clicks or layers of navigation. Users should be able to easily find the information they need to make an informed decision without having to dig through multiple pages or sections.
How to Avoid: Make sure that key details, such as pricing, features, and benefits, are prominently displayed and easily accessible on your pricing page.
5 Ignoring User Feedback
One of the biggest mistakes you can make when designing your pricing page is ignoring feedback from your users. Regularly gathering feedback from your potential and existing customers can provide valuable insights into what's working well on your pricing page and what needs improvement.
How to Avoid: By incorporating user feedback into your design process, you can create a more effective and user-friendly pricing page that meets the needs and preferences of your target audience.
Examples: SaaS Companies with Great Pricing Pages
In this section, we'll take a look at three SaaS companies that have successfully implemented many of the tips and best practices discussed in this article. These examples showcase how effective pricing page design can drive conversions and contribute to overall business success.
Slack
Slack's pricing page is a great example of simplicity and clarity in design. The page features a clean layout with easy-to-understand pricing tiers and feature descriptions. Slack has effectively aligned its pricing structure with its target customer segments, offering a free tier for small teams and more advanced plans for larger organizations. Additionally, Slack highlights its most popular plan, making it easier for potential customers to choose the best option for their needs. The mobile responsiveness of the page ensures a seamless experience across devices, and the clear call-to-action buttons make it easy for users to select a plan and start using the product.
Trello
Trello's pricing page is another excellent example of a user-friendly design that effectively communicates the value of the product. The page features a visually appealing layout with clear and concise descriptions of each pricing tier's features and benefits. Trello also utilizes a comparison table, making it easy for users to understand the differences between the pricing options and choose the one that best suits their needs. By incorporating social proof through customer testimonials, Trello further reinforces the value of its product and builds trust with potential customers. The pricing page is also optimized for mobile devices, ensuring a great user experience across all platforms.
HubSpot
HubSpot's pricing page is a prime example of how to effectively showcase a complex product offering with multiple pricing tiers and plans. The page is visually clean and easy to navigate, with clear distinctions between the different product lines and pricing tiers. HubSpot uses a combination of feature-based and tiered pricing to cater to various customer segments, ensuring that potential customers can find a plan that fits their specific needs. The page also includes a handy FAQ section to address common questions and concerns, making it easier for users to make an informed decision. The mobile-responsive design ensures a seamless experience across all devices.
Final Thoughts
Designing an effective and high-converting self-serve pricing page is a crucial aspect of your B2B SaaS company's success. By incorporating the best practices and recommendations discussed in this article, such as aligning your pricing structure with your Ideal Customer Profiles, clearly communicating the value of your product, keeping your pricing page simple and easy to understand, using clear and concise copy, and offering a comparison table for easy decision-making, you can create a pricing page that drives conversions and supports your business growth.
Additionally, it's essential to avoid common mistakes when designing your pricing page, such as providing a poor mobile experience, overwhelming the customer visually, lacking clarity, hiding important information, and ignoring user feedback. By learning from the examples of successful SaaS companies like Slack, Trello, and HubSpot, you can ensure that your pricing page follows the best practices and avoids pitfalls that can hinder conversions.
Ready to launch your self-serve pricing pages?
Wingback can get you for 0 to 1 fast -- if you're looking to build your self-serve plans and deploy pricing pages quickly, let's chat.
