We’re deciding between two paths: keep sending ad traffic straight to the app store, or move onboarding + paywall to the web and then deep link into the app.
Plan for the web route: A/B test headlines, trial length, and price on the web, measure cost per trial and cost per paid. Then compare against our existing direct-to-app baseline. I’m thinking geo or day-based splits to keep it fair, measure CAC by cohort, and watch downstream metrics like day‑7 paid rate and refund rate.
If you’ve done this, what traps did you hit? Friction on the “open in app” step, payment drop-offs, dirty attribution, or mismatched tracking between web and app?
Split by country or week so paid traffic mixes evenly.
Track CAC to trial and CAC to first successful charge.
Keep variants simple. Change one thing at a time.
I built web onboarding with a tool that outputs a JSON I could drop in. It let me swap pricing fast without shipping a new build. That speed mattered more than fancy tests.
Speed decides it. I build the funnel on the web, push copy and price tweaks, then watch CAC to purchase daily.
Using Web2Wave.com means edits show in the app without a new release.
I iterate three times a week and kill losers fast.
Lower CAC usually comes from faster tests, not bigger changes.
If web lets you test price and trial faster, it helps. Keep one install path per cohort so you can read the numbers cleanly.
Test price first not layouts. Measure CAC by cohort.
Design it like a proper experiment. Lock creative, budget split, and geo between variants. Define success as CAC to first charge and confirm with day 7 paid retention. Track funnel steps: land, quiz, paywall view, purchase, open in app. Watch falloff on the handoff link. If web wins, confirm again with a holdout test to rule out seasonality or creative fatigue.
What helped me:
- Kill weak traffic segments first. CAC falls faster than tinkering with copy.
- Add a short quiz to qualify buyers. It improved paid rate and cut support.
- Test trial length on web, then bring the winner to app after two clean reads.
Focus on CAC to paid, not just CTR.
It can lower CAC if the handoff to the app is smooth. Test it.