Responsive Web Growth Experimentation • 2023
I drove business growth by redesigning Gusto’s signup funnel, introducing a password-free lead form, tailoring content to user needs, and optimizing the funnel through phased A/B testing. These changes increased lead conversion, improved Sales handoff, and strengthened our MQL pipeline.
This work reinforced the value of lean UX and thoughtful testing. Even with limited resources, I was able to deliver measurable growth by aligning stakeholders, using CMS tools effectively, and designing experiences that met users where they were.
Role
Senior Product Designer
Timeframe
~3 months
Team
Product Manager
Head of Web Marketing
Software Engineers (2)
Site Reach
~200k organic
Bridge the gap between account creation and payroll initiation to increase organic visits converting to quality leads, that actually run payroll?
Design hypothesis:
If we reduce friction upfront and give users more context before asking them to commit, more of them will convert—either as leads or full signups.
I partnered with my PM to rethink the early shopping journey. Instead of forcing account creation, we tested lower-friction paths that aligned better with how small business owners actually make decisions.
Key design goals:
Capture interest with low-commitment CTAs
Let users explore the product without pressure
Support Sales with better-qualified leads
Make conversion feel natural—not forced
But progress required tradeoffs.
I faced pushback, ran scrappy A/B tests, and worked around tight constraints. So I pitched a phased approach focused on lightweight, high-impact UX changes based on behavioral insights.
My 4-step solution:
Split intent with dual CTAs
Add password-free lead form pre-sign up
Only show content the user asked for
Replace content with an interactive Sales demo
My Figma if you want to peruse around my process!
my process
Problem:
Most visitors dropped off before creating an account. We needed a way to let them explore without committing upfront.
What I did:
I introduced a new primary CTA, “How Gusto Works," so users could self-educate or connect with Sales before signing up. Meanwhile, high-intent users still had access to the traditional “Create Account” path.
How the new flow worked:
Users selected only the features they cared about
Submitted lead info (no password required)
Saw personalized product content based on intent
Then chose to sign up, talk to Sales, or just keep exploring
Why it worked:
This lowered friction, helped Sales capture more leads, and met users where they were in their decision-making journey, so that when they were instructed to create an account, they were more confident in their decision.
I built the flow using CMS components for speed and worked closely with Sales, PMM, and Brand to align content and messaging across the funnel.
Control
Variation
What users saw after clicking "How Gusto Works"
Mobile
Desktop
What they saw after clicking "Let's go"
At the end of the series, if they were ready to create their account, all they had to do was create a password. Everything else was already filled in.
Mobile
Desktop
I worked with Sales to define better qualifying questions and used Workbench components to keep it fast and scalable.
Control
Variation
I then expanded the flow to the global navigation, changing that CTA with the new “How Gusto Works” flow, increasing traffic to the journey by 80% and driving more high-quality leads.
Control
Variation
Adding friction to account creation while lowering the barrier to becoming a lead proved more effective than combining lead capture and account creation into one step. From our last round of testing, we saw:
visits converting to leads
increase in account creations
new businesses running payroll each month
More examples of design that drives results.
