The mistakes that turn a pricing page into a dead end

This page is read more carefully than any other on your site, which means its errors are punished more than errors anywhere else. Most of them are quick to fix.

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The common failures are: packages that differ only by numbers, features listed with no outcome, prices that are out of date, costs revealed late, no proof beside the numbers, a form as the only possible action, and apologetic language about price. Each has a straightforward fix.

Options that differ only by number

Three columns headed with sizes and prices, filled with feature lists, force the reader to work out which one they are. Most will not do that work, and the default resolution is to pick the cheapest or leave.

The fix is to lead each option with who it suits and what outcome it produces, then list what is included underneath.

Features with no outcome attached

Long lists of what is included describe activity rather than result. The buyer cannot tell which items matter, so they compare counts, which favours whoever writes the longest list rather than whoever does the best work.

Group the list and say what each group achieves. Fewer items, each meaning something, beats a longer list nobody reads.

Out-of-date prices

A stale figure forces an unpleasant choice: honour it or explain that your own website is wrong. Both are worse than the alternative, which is publishing something you can maintain.

If prices move often, publish the drivers rather than the numbers, and review whatever you do publish whenever your costs change.

Costs revealed late

Additional charges that appear only after somebody commits convert an enquiry into resentment, and increasingly into a public review.

Put the extras on the page: travel, materials, out-of-hours rates, whatever applies. Buyers accept legitimate additional costs; they do not accept discovering them at the end.

  • State travel or call-out charges plainly.
  • Say what materials are and are not included.
  • Name any minimum charge.
  • Explain what happens if the job takes longer than expected.
  • Say whether tax is included in the figures shown.

Nothing but a form at the end

Somebody who has read a pricing page carefully is close to acting, and offering only a form loses the share of people who would rather speak to somebody.

Give a tappable number alongside the form, and say what happens after either. This costs nothing and recovers the callers, who in many businesses are the better enquiries.

Apologetic language

Phrases like we know this is an investment or we appreciate this may seem like a lot teach the reader that even you think the price is high. Confidence is not arrogance; it is simply stating the price and what it buys.

Explain, do not apologise. The explanation is what justifies the number, and an apology quietly concedes that it cannot be justified.

How Licheo checks a pricing page

We look for these specific failures because they recur everywhere: options that differ only by number, features without outcomes, stale figures, hidden extras, no proof beside the price, no phone option, and apologetic wording.

Then we check the whole page on a phone, since pricing tables are where mobile layouts most often fall apart.

Part of a larger guide

This page is one part of The pricing page. The other parts:

Questions people ask

What is the most common pricing page mistake?
Options that differ only by numbers and feature lists, which force the reader to work out which one they are. Most will not, and the usual resolution is the cheapest option or none at all.
Should I list every feature included?
Group them and say what each group achieves. Long undifferentiated lists describe activity rather than result and favour whoever writes the most items rather than whoever does the best work.
Where should I mention extra charges?
On the page, plainly: travel, materials, out-of-hours rates, minimums, and whether tax is included. Buyers accept legitimate extras and do not accept discovering them after committing.
Is a contact form enough at the end of a pricing page?
No. Somebody who has read this page carefully is close to acting, and a share of them would rather speak to a person. Add a tappable number and say what happens after each option.
How should I word a high price?
Explain it rather than apologising for it. Phrases acknowledging that it may seem like a lot teach the reader that even you think so, which makes the objection harder rather than easier to answer.

Fix the page people read most carefully

We check for the failures that recur everywhere, then test the whole page on a phone where pricing tables usually break.

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