Articles exploring friction through the lens of behavioral science and experimentation. Practical frameworks for growth leaders who measure in revenue, not vanity metrics.
4 articles
Modals between a CTA click and its destination get added to "capture the lead." The math almost always says they cost more than they capture. Here is the friction argument I make in every stakeholder review where the modal pattern comes up.
Sticky mobile CTAs are reflexively recommended in CRO advice. They help in some contexts and produce noise — or harm — in others. The factor that decides which case you're in is whether the friction the pattern removes actually exists on your page.
Time-on-page is one of the most-misread metrics in CRO. Faster sometimes means more friction (users gave up) and sometimes means less friction (users decided faster). The interpretation depends on what other metrics did.
Adding a trust badge or benefit callout sounds like a free win. The data shows the opposite as often as it shows a lift. The failure mode is consistent: a vague callout creates more friction than no callout. Here is the diagnostic that distinguishes a badge that wins from one that quietly hurts.