Katie’s Cards has had a big picture of the company’s founder Katie Davis on its homepage since it’s launch.

But in 2012, the site’s marketing team decided to test two new homepage designs, each highlighting the brand and benefits of subscribing.

The original homepage had a conversion rate of 1.47%. “Homepage 1” had a 0.82% conversion rate, while “Homepage 2” had a 2.75% conversion rate, increasing the site’s overall conversion rate by nearly 50%!

We were particularly impressed that the company ran the test for four months to make sure their response rates weren’t due to seasonal factors. And these results are quite counterintuitive — often a big photo can make customers feel they have a more personal relationship with a brand. Once again, test, test, and then test some more to know what works best for converting your site’s visitors into paying subscribers!