When the user wants to create or optimize in-app paywalls, upgrade screens, upsell modals, or feature gates. Also use when the user mentions "paywall," "upgrade screen," "upgrade modal," "upsell," "feature gate," "convert free to paid," "freemium conversion," "trial expiration screen," "limit reached screen," "plan upgrade prompt," or "in-app pricing." Distinct from public pricing pages (see page-cro) — this skill focuses on in-product upgrade moments where the user has already experienced value.
75
70%
Does it follow best practices?
Impact
Pending
No eval scenarios have been run
Passed
No known issues
Optimize this skill with Tessl
npx tessl skill review --optimize ./config/claude/skills/paywall-upgrade-cro/SKILL.mdQuality
Discovery
89%Based on the skill's description, can an agent find and select it at the right time? Clear, specific descriptions lead to better discovery.
This is a strong skill description with excellent trigger term coverage and clear disambiguation from related skills. Its main weakness is that the 'what' portion could be more specific about the concrete actions or outputs the skill produces beyond 'create or optimize.' The completeness and distinctiveness are both well-handled.
Suggestions
Expand the capability description with more specific concrete actions, e.g., 'design paywall layouts, write conversion-focused copy, structure feature comparison tables, create trial expiration flows' to improve specificity.
| Dimension | Reasoning | Score |
|---|---|---|
Specificity | The description names the domain (in-app paywalls, upgrade screens) and some actions ('create or optimize'), but doesn't list multiple specific concrete actions like 'design paywall layouts, write conversion copy, implement feature gates, create trial expiration flows.' | 2 / 3 |
Completeness | Clearly answers both 'what' (create or optimize in-app paywalls, upgrade screens, upsell modals, feature gates) and 'when' with an explicit 'Use when' clause listing numerous trigger terms. Also includes a helpful disambiguation note distinguishing from page-cro. | 3 / 3 |
Trigger Term Quality | Excellent coverage of natural trigger terms users would say: 'paywall,' 'upgrade screen,' 'upgrade modal,' 'upsell,' 'feature gate,' 'convert free to paid,' 'freemium conversion,' 'trial expiration screen,' 'limit reached screen,' 'plan upgrade prompt,' 'in-app pricing.' These are highly natural and comprehensive. | 3 / 3 |
Distinctiveness Conflict Risk | Explicitly distinguishes itself from the 'page-cro' skill for public pricing pages, and carves out a clear niche focused on 'in-product upgrade moments where the user has already experienced value.' The trigger terms are specific enough to avoid conflicts. | 3 / 3 |
Total | 11 / 12 Passed |
Implementation
50%Reviews the quality of instructions and guidance provided to agents. Good implementation is clear, handles edge cases, and produces reliable results.
This skill provides a comprehensive overview of paywall and upgrade screen CRO with useful wireframe templates and good coverage of trigger points and timing. However, it leans toward general UX advice that Claude likely already knows, lacks truly executable/concrete examples (specific copy, code snippets), and could benefit from a clearer step-by-step workflow with validation checkpoints. The content would be stronger if trimmed and restructured with more actionable specifics.
Suggestions
Replace general UX principles (e.g., 'Respect the No,' 'don't trap or pressure') with specific, novel guidance Claude wouldn't already know — such as concrete copy formulas, conversion benchmarks, or specific implementation patterns.
Add a clear numbered workflow for creating a paywall from scratch (e.g., 1. Identify trigger → 2. Draft copy using template → 3. Build component → 4. Verify dismiss flow works → 5. Set up tracking), with explicit validation steps.
Convert wireframe templates into more actionable formats — either real HTML/React component snippets or fill-in-the-blank copy templates with concrete examples filled in.
Move detailed sections (paywall types, anti-patterns, A/B testing metrics) into reference files and keep SKILL.md as a concise overview with clear pointers.
| Dimension | Reasoning | Score |
|---|---|---|
Conciseness | The skill is reasonably organized but includes some unnecessary framing ('You are an expert...') and content that Claude already knows (general UX principles like 'don't trap or pressure'). Several sections like 'Core Principles' and 'Anti-Patterns' state obvious UX best practices that don't add unique value. Could be tightened by ~30%. | 2 / 3 |
Actionability | The wireframe-style templates for feature lock, usage limit, and trial expiration paywalls provide semi-concrete guidance, but they're pseudocode/wireframes rather than executable code or copy-paste-ready components. The advice is largely directional ('show what the feature does,' 'clear explanation') rather than providing specific copy formulas, HTML/CSS snippets, or concrete implementation patterns. | 2 / 3 |
Workflow Clarity | There's a logical sequence from assessment → principles → trigger points → components → optimization → testing, but the workflow for actually creating a paywall is implicit rather than explicit. There are no validation checkpoints (e.g., 'verify the paywall renders correctly,' 'test the dismiss flow'). The A/B testing section lists what to test but doesn't sequence how to set up and validate experiments. | 2 / 3 |
Progressive Disclosure | There's one reference to an external file (references/experiments.md) and cross-references to related skills, which is good. However, the main file is quite long (~180 lines of content) with sections like the detailed paywall types and anti-patterns that could be split into reference files. The structure is flat with many sections at the same level rather than a clear overview-to-detail hierarchy. | 2 / 3 |
Total | 8 / 12 Passed |
Validation
90%Checks the skill against the spec for correct structure and formatting. All validation checks must pass before discovery and implementation can be scored.
Validation — 10 / 11 Passed
Validation for skill structure
| Criteria | Description | Result |
|---|---|---|
frontmatter_unknown_keys | Unknown frontmatter key(s) found; consider removing or moving to metadata | Warning |
Total | 10 / 11 Passed | |
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Table of Contents
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