Visually captivating paywall design is decorated with aesthetically appealing elements. But great paywall design blends this catch with user experience, usability, and functionality.

The Purchasely team of UX, UI, and growth experts has researched various subscription apps across verticals and noticed the paywall design patterns and elements used by the most forward-thinking subscription apps.

This article, 'Tip #3. Do more than meets the eye' features a section from the eBook 'Top 10 Paywall Design Tips: Lessons from winning subscription apps' that shares practical recommendations with matching examples to help readers design paywalls that convert users. 

Take a read at another featured section from the eBook, 'Tip #1. Know Your Users' to learn about how having the right set of user knowledge can help design a paywall that hits the bullseye.

Tip #3. Do more than meets the eye

Rationale

Paywall imageries, especially header or background images that take significant real estate, can be a double-edged sword.

Because we can process visual content 60,000 times faster than text, and 90% of information transmitted to the brain is visual, images can send a strong and immediate message about the app’s value proposition, influencing viewers’ impressions and judgments.

Depending on how you plan them, they can either make or break your users'
paywall experience and your app’s performance.

Solution

Videos don't disappoint

Delivering information through a video on your paywall is an excellent idea.

• Videos deliver information more effectively than texts. Viewers retain 95%
  of a video’s message as compared to 10% if reading it in text. (source: Forbes)
  
• Paywalls have limited space and video takes up a smaller real estate compared to the amount of information it carries.
• Videos generate more business opportunities. 84% of consumers have
  been convinced to buy a product or service after watching a brand’s video, and 78% of marketers say video has directly helped to increase sales. (source: Wyzowl)
  
  

Match images with what you are selling

Use images that are more than just pretty or intriguing. Not that there is anything bad about pretty or intriguing, if these are your only focus, you’d be wasting a considerable space of your paywall screen which if used wisely, could bring an additional storytelling opportunity.

A picture is worth a thousand words, so use images that represent your product goals and your target customers' needs.

Minimize distractions

The purpose of using images instead or in addition to the text is to deliver information as quickly as possible. Don’t overdesign or use images that require more than 2 seconds to understand their purpose.
Keep it simple and remove clutters around the main focal point.

Express emotions

Another benefit of communicating through images is that you can express emotions as much as you can deliver information.

You can use this aspect of your paywall to create an emotional bond with your users as well as to make them feel that there’s human attention behind the paywall.