🧩 The Challenge
We had one goal: to make mobile apps more engaging and keep users longer than the mobile web. **Get more people to download the QuillBot app for their phones.**
| W1 retention: 31% vs. 16% on mobile web
The app had a higher conversion rate for premium users.
We saw an opportunity to participate in a global event and do a promotion in a friendly, approachable, and humane manner.
✨ The Insight
We didn't want people to think we were trying to sell them something.
We wanted them to think that we were helping them.
What competition are up too
Reddit
After a few interactions, Reddit gently nudges users to install apps with a "Continue in App" sheet. The user is pushed but never forced, and the app's benefits are framed around "speed and personalization."IMDb
The mobile site for IMDb loads quickly and has a "smart banner CTA" that works with how people use it—no popups or hard blocks. Just a steady, well-placed request.Duolingo
Duolingo gently pushes users to the app by limiting access to web features but always explains why and what's better on the app instead of making them feel bad.
We got rid of full-screen ads and pop-ups and instead put in a lightweight, embedded upsell sheet that was calm and contextual and fit right in with the flow
🧠 UX Laws That Shaped Our Approach
We referenced Miller's Law and Fitt's Law.
Users felt in control but guided because they could use both the mobile app and the browser. We also kept the CTA's in ergonomical easy zones on the phone.
🎨 Seamless design
We found that when you "treat the upsell like part of the product," users see it as a natural next step, just like on Reddit, IMDb, and other sites.
🚀 The Outcome
~ 550% increase in mobile app installs (iOS & Android)
~ 23% more users purchased premium via mobile
🤝 Improved user trust (fewer rage quits, more follow-through)
💡 Takeaway: Design with Logic
To design for growth, you don't have to yell. It means being there **exactly when the user needs you** and giving them a nudge that feels helpful, not pushy.
| Don't interrupt the journey. Integrate into it.
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