Does pre-shipping web onboarding testing transfer to native? what signals actually correlate?

Analytics & Insights
1

I’ve been A/B testing onboarding and paywall variants on the web before I touch native screens. It’s fast and I can watch full‑funnel metrics with UTMs intact. But I’m trying to separate what actually predicts native performance from what looks good on the web only.

What I’ve found so far:

  • plan_selected correlates well with in‑app purchase rate. It’s a good mid‑funnel predictor.
  • checkout_started lifts don’t always carry over. Native payments have different friction.
  • trial_started is helpful for sizing, but I trust purchase_succeeded and 7‑day retention more when promoting variants.
  • Device mix matters. If the web test skews desktop, results mislead the iOS build.

Guardrails I use:

  • Match device mix to the app audience.
  • Keep payment methods similar to what the app supports.
  • Ship the winning copy first, not the exact layout, to reduce UI drift.

If you’ve run this play, which web signals predicted native conversion best for you? Any examples where a clear web winner flopped in the app, and why?

2

I use web to choose copy and offer, not layout.
Plan intent signals carry over. plan_selected and price_anchor_clicked predict well.
I run fast tests with Web2Wave, then port the messaging.
I expect some drop on native due to purchase UX. That is normal.

3

I trust plan_selected and paywall_dwell_time. They predict.
I don’t trust checkout_started unless payment methods match.
I test on Web2Wave for speed, then ship the copy into native. Changes go live on the web in minutes.

4

Watch time on the paywall and clicks on feature bullets.

Those two told me which headline to ship, and it held up in the app.

5

Copy transfers best layout rarely does

6

I had a variant win big on desktop web and lose on Android. The culprit was a longer plan description that wrapped badly in native and pushed the CTA below the fold. Copy won. Layout killed it.

7

Paywall dwell time helped me pick headlines.

8

Match traffic sources. Different channels change the results.