Hard vs Soft Signup Wall: Mobile App A/B Test Example

Funnel drop-off at the registration screen, survey answers from people who wanted to look around without an account, or a pile of registration support requests suggest the wall's design is shaping sign-up; the test also helps if you have not yet decided how strict the wall should be. If the soft wall does better, guests register at the trigger after trying the product; if the hard wall does better, early sign-ups also complete the first meaningful action. Settle the guest scope, the registration trigger and how guest data moves into the account first, or the test measures a half-built flow rather than two walls.

Registration rate

Measure registration per eligible assigned user over the same period for each registration wall.

Also track

• First post-registration action rateCompare completion of a predefined first meaningful action over the same follow-up period.
• Guest-to-member conversionReport this within the guest experience as a diagnostic; there is no directly comparable control event.
• Support contact rateTrack sign-in or account-related support requests.
• Seven-day active rateCompare all eligible assigned users over the same seven-day window, not only those who register.

• Registration wallCompare mandatory registration at entry with registration after a predefined guest experience.
• Guest scopeSet guest features and the later registration trigger before launch.
• Sign-in methodsKeep the same account and social sign-in options.
• Guest entryMake the guest path clearly visible in the soft-wall arm.
• EligibilityInclude users without an account and review eligible returning users separately.

1. 1Compare the registration rate across all eligible assigned users in both arms, using one fixed follow-up period. More registrations do not count as a win if the first post-registration action rate or the seven-day active rate falls. Guest-to-member conversion exists only in the soft-wall arm, so report it as a diagnostic, not as a comparison between arms.
2. 2Do not generalize beyond this guest scope and this registration trigger; if you change the guest scope along with the wall, you cannot tell where the difference came from. Review eligible returning users separately, and track sign-in and account support requests in both arms.
3. 3If work done in guest mode is not merged into the account at registration, or critical data is lost, the soft-wall result does not reflect the real experience. If support requests mention lost data, fix the flow before you read the result.
4. 4If the two registration rates end up close, the walls may be reaching similar levels by different routes, early with the hard wall and later with the soft one. Do not shorten the follow-up period; check the gap between the two registration rates with the A/B test significance calculator and make the call together with first actions and active use.