Paywall Blindness: Why Many Paywalls Fail – and How to Do It Better (Part 1)

Paywalls are meant to help secure digital business models. But one crucial problem is often overlooked: many paywalls are simply ignored. It's a phenomenon that could be described as “paywall blindness” – much like the well-known issue of banner blindness.

The extent of this problem is difficult to assess from the outside, but Upscore data reveals a sobering reality. According to our benchmarking (October 2024), based on data from 31 regional publishers, there are, on median, just 1.6 clicks per 1,000 paywall impressions. That’s 1.6 per mille – shockingly low.

For comparison: the best-performing publishers achieve 5.2 clicks per 1,000 impressions – more than three times as many, resulting in significantly better chances of winning new subscribers.

So what are these “top performers” doing differently?

Four Success Factors for Effective Paywalls

Clear success factors can be identified from the data and best practices:

1. Clarity and Simplicity

The best paywalls are visually clean and intuitively understandable. A cluttered or confusing layout causes users to drop off quickly. Graphic elements should raise no questions.

2. Clear Messaging

The value proposition must be crystal clear. Why should the user pay? What benefits does a premium subscription offer? Confusion or vague language significantly reduce conversion rates.

3. No Distractions

Mixing multiple offers – like print subscriptions, e-papers, or special deals – can overwhelm users. Successful paywalls focus on a single product and a single message. The goal here is clear: convert users into premium subscribers, nothing else.

4. Frequent Adjustments

Paywalls that vary in design and messaging remain more visible and engaging. A different color, for instance, can work wonders (temporarily!). Important: these changes should be easy to implement and shouldn’t require large-scale IT projects. Upscore’s dynamic paywall provides the necessary flexibility here.

Paywalls as a Dynamic Process

The key takeaway: a paywall is not a static element. It must be seen as an ongoing process. Only through continuous testing, learning, and refining can its full potential be unlocked. The most successful publishers recognize this and are constantly evolving their paywalls.

Conclusion: Paywall Blindness Can Be Prevented

The challenge of paywall blindness can be solved – but only if publishers are willing to address it systematically. It’s not just about having a paywall, but about actively optimizing it and placing the user at the center of the strategy.

A paywall is not a project with a fixed end point (“We have a paywall now and it works technically”). A paywall is an ongoing task: it needs to be changed, tested, and optimized again and again.

Joachim Dreykluft is Head of Data & AI Strategy at Upscore.