What a fake door measures
Intent at the moment of choice. A visitor who clicks “Start Pro” on a pricing page, or types an email into a login form, made a decision they’d make for a real product. That click is the number you came for. Everything after it is about treating that person well.
Three rules for an honest fake door
- Tell the truth right after the click. The next thing the visitor sees says the product isn’t built yet and that they haven’t been charged. Not three screens later, and not in small print.
- Never take a password. A fake login form can count the attempt without keeping anything: the password field has no name, so the browser never sends it. Then show a plain “unknown email or password”, or send them to your real login page.
- Ask before emailing. If they leave an email, the form says who will write to them and links a privacy policy. People who only tried to log in never land on your list.
These are the rules Hunchwire’s own forms follow, and the reason the people you test on stay future customers instead of burned leads.
Kinds of fake doors
- Plan and buy buttons. Real prices on a pricing page; count clicks on each plan. Shows which price people reach for.
- Sign-up that leads to a waitlist. “Create account” opens a page that says you’re early and asks for an email.
- A log-in form. The strongest signal: they believe the product exists and want back in.
- A feature button in a product you already run. Count clicks on “Export to Excel” before you build it.
Steps
- Pick the one decision you’re testing: is it wanted, which price, which pitch.
- Put the door where the real one would be, with the words the real one would use.
- Write the reveal. For example: “You’re early. Invoice Chaser isn’t built yet, and you haven’t been charged. Leave your email and we’ll tell you when it’s ready.”
- Tag each traffic source, so you can read each channel apart.
- Read two numbers: how many clicked the door, and how many of those left an email after the reveal. The second one tells you whether honesty cost you anything. Usually it costs little.
When not to use a fake door
- When the click costs the visitor something real. Urgent needs, health, money owed: a dead end there hurts someone.
- To take money. Collecting payment for something that doesn’t exist is a pre-order, not a fake door. It needs a delivery date and a refund promise.
- Over and over on the same paying customers. One fake door in your product is research. Five is a product that doesn’t work.
Questions
Is a fake door test ethical?
Yes, when the visitor learns the truth right after the click, isn’t charged, and chooses whether to leave an email. Measuring a click harms no one; misleading the person who made it does.
Does a fake login form store passwords?
It shouldn’t, and Hunchwire’s never does: the password field has no name, so the browser never sends it, and the email isn’t kept either. Each attempt is counted as a click.
Do fake doors hurt a brand?
Rarely, when the reveal is immediate and friendly. People who see “you’re early” tend to join the waitlist; what hurts is a dead end with no explanation.
What should the reveal message say?
That the product isn’t built yet, that they haven’t been charged, and what happens if they leave an email. One or two sentences.