Designers will spend three weeks tweaking the color of the recommended-tier card and ten seconds writing the button copy. Then they wonder why the page converts at 1.4 percent.
The buttons matter. Often more than the pricing structure above them. And the default copy that ships on every template is the worst possible version.
Why “Get started” loses
“Get started” is the default. It’s on every SaaS landing page. It’s the placeholder text in your design system. It feels safe.
It loses for three reasons:
It’s invisible. Visitors have seen “Get started” 4,000 times. Their eyes skip it. The button is a shape on the page, not a destination.
It doesn’t tell them what’s next. Click “Get started” and what happens? Form? Signup? Free trial? Pricing modal? The visitor doesn’t know, so they hesitate. Hesitation kills clicks.
It doesn’t match the tier. “Get started” on the cheapest tier and “Get started” on the $25k tier read the same. The visitor’s brain doesn’t get a signal that these are different commitments.
The fix is concrete verbs that name the next action.
The replacement framework
Every pricing tier CTA should answer one question: what happens in the next ten seconds after I click this?
Some examples that work:
- “Book a 20-min call” → calendar opens
- “Send your brief” → form opens
- “Get the proposal” → contact form opens
- “Start the project” → intake form opens
- “Talk to me about this” → email opens
- “Reserve your spot” → checkout opens
Each one tells the visitor exactly what’s about to happen. There’s no guessing. The click becomes a logical extension of the words.
Different copy per tier
Three tiers, three different buttons. Not three “Get started” buttons in different colors.
The reason: same button copy across tiers makes the tiers feel like color choices instead of real decisions. Different button copy reinforces that each tier is a different kind of engagement.
Here’s a working pattern for a three-tier service pricing page:
| Tier | Tier name | Button copy |
|---|---|---|
| Entry | ”Starter” | Send the brief |
| Middle (recommended) | “Standard” | Book a 30-min call |
| Top | ”Custom” | Let’s talk |
Each button matches the size of the decision. The starter is transactional, send a form, get a quote. The standard requires a conversation. The top tier is a relationship, so it gets relationship language.
You can flip this for different service shapes. The point is: the words on the button should escalate with the commitment level of the tier.
What to put on the recommended tier
The middle tier is usually the one you want most visitors to click. Its button should be the most action-forward and the easiest decision.
Strong middle-tier CTAs:
- “Book a 20-min call”
- “Start with the kickoff call”
- “Walk me through the project”
- “Get the proposal”
Weak middle-tier CTAs:
- “Get started” (too vague)
- “Choose this plan” (sounds like SaaS)
- “Select” (cold)
- “Sign up” (implies subscription you may not offer)
- “Buy now” (too transactional for services)
The recommended tier button should sound like the next step in a normal sales conversation, because it usually is.
What to put on the top tier
The top tier is the custom one. The enterprise one. The “let’s talk” one. Visitors who click it have a bigger budget and want to feel like they’re being treated as humans, not subscribers.
Strong top-tier CTAs:
- “Let’s talk about it”
- “Book a discovery call”
- “Talk to me directly”
- “Request a proposal”
Weak top-tier CTAs:
- “Contact sales” (you don’t have a sales team, you’re a freelancer)
- “Inquire” (cold, corporate, slightly hostile)
- “Get a quote” (sounds like a roofing company)
- “Schedule a demo” (you don’t have a demo)
The top tier button is a handshake offer. Word it like one.
What to put on the starter tier
The starter tier is the budget option. It’s there to keep visitors on the page who otherwise would have bounced. Its button should be low-friction and low-commitment.
Strong starter CTAs:
- “Send your brief”
- “Start small”
- “Get the project rolling”
- “Try a one-off”
Weak starter CTAs:
- “Get started” (default, invisible)
- “Free trial” (you don’t offer one)
- “Sign up” (services don’t sign up)
The starter button is the lowest-friction click on the page. Its job is to capture intent before the visitor closes the tab.
A few patterns that quietly hurt you
Two buttons on one tier. Designers sometimes add a primary and secondary button on a pricing card: “Book a call” plus “Learn more.” It dilutes the click. Pick one action per tier and commit.
Tiny buttons. Pricing tier buttons should be visually the largest element on the card other than the price. Small buttons signal small importance.
Same color for all three buttons. The recommended tier button should be the strongest visual contrast on the page. The other two should be slightly muted (outlined or secondary style). One primary, two secondaries.
Button copy that wraps to two lines on mobile. Test your CTAs at iPhone width. If they wrap, shorten them. “Book a 20-minute discovery call” wraps. “Book a call” doesn’t. The shorter version converts better anyway.
Curly quotes in button copy. Quotes get ugly on small buttons. Skip them. Use “Let’s talk” not the curly version.
A small test you can run this week
Pick your current pricing page. Note your current CTA copy on each tier. Note your current conversion rate from page view to click.
Change one tier’s button to a more concrete verb. Just one. Leave the others alone.
Run it for two weeks. Compare click rate on the changed tier versus the unchanged ones. If the change lifted clicks meaningfully (a few percentage points), apply the same logic to the other two tiers.
This is one of the cheapest tests you can run on a pricing page. The button is a single string of text. Changing it takes ten minutes. The lift, when it works, often outperforms a full pricing structure overhaul.
What the button is really doing
The pricing structure above the button does the qualifying. The button does the converting.
Visitors arrive on a pricing page already roughly knowing what they want to spend. They scan the tiers, eliminate two, and land on one. Then they look at the button. If the button feels obvious, they click. If the button feels vague or risky, they bounce and tell themselves they’ll come back later. They don’t come back.
The button is the moment of friction. Generic copy adds friction. Specific copy removes it.
That’s the whole game. Six or seven words on a button. Worth way more attention than they usually get.
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