The diagnostic question for every form field, every click, every modal: does this friction add qualification value worth more than the conversion drop? Email + name has almost zero qualification value; asking these fields adds friction with no compensating signal. Company name + ICP-relevant role (CTO of fintech) has high qualification value; the same form length, different signal.
Friction also accumulates invisibly. A page with 3 popups, a chatbot, a sticky CTA, a banner, and a survey is hostile even if each element individually feels minor. The cumulative cognitive load drops conversion more than any single element.
For PLG products specifically, every friction point between landing-page click and activation is a leak. The math is brutal: a 4-step signup with 70% completion per step ends at 24% activation. Cutting to 2 steps at 90% each produces 81% activation — a 3× lift from removing friction.
How Lytms scores it
Lytms scores the Form Friction module on every landing page with a form. Counts fields, scores per-field qualification value, flags over-asking ("3 fields is the median for B2B SaaS demo requests; this page asks 8"). The CTA Architecture module flags hidden CTAs, weak labels, and competing CTAs that introduce decision friction.