One Field Replaces the Login Wall: We Rebuilt Our Wizard's Front Door

Last month we wrote about a wall in our own funnel. Cold traffic came to the Fashion Wizard. It saw one door: "Book a Demo." Almost nobody walked through it. And behind that page, the Wizard opened on a login screen. The full report is here.

We fixed the fashion journey first. It went live and took real traffic. This post is about what came next: we made that flow the default for the whole Wizard. Every business, not just fashion.

The new front door

The old landing page was one screen. Sign in with Google or email. Check a terms box. Then — maybe — see the product. Identity first. Value later.

The new one asks for one thing: your website. You type it in and the chat starts right away. No account. No email. No name. A side panel shows where past campaigns ran, so you can see what "open-web" means before you answer a single question.

Each change ties to a finding

Nothing here is taste. Each change answers a wall from the flight-one data:

The rule we kept

One line from last time: move the gate, don't shave the steps. We did not delete any step. We moved the email ask to where it makes sense — save or launch, when there is a finished plan to keep. The terms agreement still happens, at the moment it protects something real. Sign-in for returning users is one tap in the corner. It never blocks a first look.

What this doesn't prove

1. Live, not proven. The new default is days old. We claim no lift yet.
2. Upper-bound world. Our data includes our own team and dev traffic. So this post uses words, not raw user counts.
3. How it works, not proof of lift. At our scale we can check a path exists and watch its direction. We can't measure a sure lift.
4. Self-run, self-reported. We built the tool and we changed the door. The flight-one report carries the third-party DSP export; this read is ours.
5. The trade-off is open. Value-before-gate may trade lead volume for lead quality. Fewer emails, but each one sits behind finished work. The numbers will say which way it lands.

What we measure next

• End-gate conversion on the default flow. Plans finished vs emails captured at save/launch — measured on every business type now, not just fashion.
• Corner sign-in usage. How many returning users take the corner door back to their account.
• Vertical split. Fashion preset vs the generic preset — which businesses the one-field flow serves best.
• Resume behavior. Sessions that pause and come back, since an anonymous session can wait without losing work.

Conversion outcomes are tracked in our system; at this scale they're noise rather than signal, so we don't report them. We publish how it works either way, flops included.

If you're not us

The pattern holds. If your tool's first screen is a login form, strangers see a door with no room behind it. Show the product first. Ask for identity when there is something worth keeping. The Wizard does that now — one field in, a real plan out, email at the end.

That's what the Wizard does today. Enter your website. Get a real audience read and a real media plan from $500. No login until you want to keep it. Want to talk to a human? That door still exists.

Where should a first budget go? Our breakdown of CTV versus Meta ads for fashion brands covers what each channel proves at test size. The audience segment guide prices each choice.

Data sources

• GA4 event data for passionplusmedia.com (our own traffic included)
• Pontiac DSP campaign 14699
• Our own intake tables

Frequently asked questions

Do I need an account to try the Wizard?

No. Enter your website and the chat starts. An account only matters when you want to save or launch a plan. That is when we ask for your email.

When does the Wizard ask for my email?

At save or launch — when there is something finished worth keeping. Not at step zero. A gate with value behind it gets emails. A gate before any value does not.

Is this only for fashion brands?

No. Fashion was the pilot. The same one-field flow is now the default for every business type. Fashion stays as one preset inside it.

How is this different from the earlier change?

Last time we moved the gate on the fashion journey only. This time the new front door is the default for everyone who opens the Wizard. Sign-in for returning users lives in the corner now.