Outhouse › Dark Patterns › Pricing

Upgrade prompts

Buttons inviting the visitor to pay for features the page used to include.

Why it matters

A product that does everything has nothing left to sell. Leading products solve this by setting aside a few features, a little storage or the ability to undo, and placing a small, friendly Upgrade button beside every one of them, in a colour that suggests a gift.

The button is always visible, including to customers who have already upgraded, in case they would like to upgrade again.

How Outhouse measures it

Outhouse counts phrases such as upgrade to premium, try Pro free, get Plus, unlock premium features and available on Premium. Three or more scores in full.

This audit counts towards Dark Patterns, with a weight of 1. A category is 75% its two highest-scoring audits and 25% all of its audits, weighted, so a site is judged mostly on what it does most and partly on how many things it does.

How to improve your score

Install Shitely Pro. Available on selected plans. See all products.

Related audits

• Hidden fees and was-prices: Fees that appear late, and was prices that make today's price look like a saving.
• Trial and renewal traps: Trials and introductory offers that turn into payments unless the visitor remembers to stop them.
• Paid plans with ads: Subscription plans that are paid for and still show adverts.