Understanding friction in conversion
Each click or field you ask for is another point where someone can give up.
Friction is anything that slows, confuses or stops a user from completing what they came to do. In CRO we talk about it the way a mechanic talks about drag, as the force working against motion.
Some friction is necessary. A password field is friction, but removing it breaks security. A terms-of-service checkbox is friction, but removing it breaks consent. What you’re looking for is the friction that serves neither the user nor the business.
Usually friction is a hundred small things adding up. A form asking for a phone number when the product is a downloadable ebook. An error message that doesn’t say which field failed. A checkout that makes you create an account before buying. A page that takes three seconds to load instead of one. Five paragraphs of copy where two would do. Each one is a small tax on the user’s patience. None of them is fatal on its own, but together they add up to a decision to leave.
Reducing friction ethically means removing obstacles that serve no purpose, without tricking people into acting against their interests. The question to ask about every element on your page is: does this help the user do what they want, or does it help us? If it only helps us, like a required registration or a forced newsletter signup, remove it. If it helps the user, like a clear confirmation step or a visible cart total, keep it and make it easy.
The manipulative version strips out real safeguards, or adds false urgency and artificial friction for the user to escape. Countdown timers on products that aren’t time-limited. An unsubscribe link hidden three menus deep. That’s friction used as a weapon, where the user’s confusion is what makes it work.
Build the shortest path to what the user came to do, then get out of their way.
Put it to work
Walk your highest-value journey as a first-time user and list every click, field and wait. Mark each one necessary or avoidable.
There is no right answer. Write yours first, then compare.
Sources
Shoshin is written by Another Web is Possible. Lessons are licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.Our promise.