What does Based Labs actually do?

Based Labs is a retention and conversion studio that also builds the software itself. I audit, build and consult on digital products — SaaS programs, mobile apps, marketing sites and onboarding flows — either from scratch or rebuilt from what already exists. Every recommendation is tied to one of seven peer-reviewed behavioural-science frameworks: Fogg's Behaviour Model, Self-Determination Theory, Completion Bias, Cialdini's Six Principles of Influence, Choice Architecture, Cognitive Load Theory and the Peak-End Rule. Not gut feel. Full reference at basedlabs.co.uk/frameworks.

Do you only fix existing products, or can you build from scratch?

Both. Most weeks I'm doing a mix — auditing one client's leaky app while building another's SaaS from a blank page. I've shipped full SaaS programs, iOS and Android apps and marketing sites end-to-end on a modern React, Next.js and Capacitor stack. The psychology layer is the same in either direction: design for behaviour first, then code.

How is Based different from a normal web agency?

Most agencies start with visuals or a template. Based starts with behaviour: why people drop, stall, churn or hesitate. Only once the behavioural model is clear does the technical rebuild begin — and it uses a modern React / Next.js / Capacitor stack, never WordPress or page-builder templates.

What is a Leak Audit and what do I get?

A Leak Audit is a one-week behavioural teardown of an existing site or app. You get a screen-by-screen friction log, an audit against seven behavioural-science frameworks, a prioritised fix list sorted by impact × effort, and a 60-minute walkthrough. Fixed price: £1,000.

Who are you built for?

Scottish founders and businesses, first. The mission is straightforward — help Scottish businesses build and keep customers. Based in Elgin, working across Scotland and the wider UK when there's a fit. Remote-first, so location within the country is never the blocker.

What tech stack do you use — and why not WordPress?

React, Next.js and Capacitor for cross-platform apps. WordPress and template builders trade short-term speed for long-term drag: slow page loads, plugin sprawl, fragile customisation and shallow behavioural control. A modern stack lets me design interactions around behavioural models down to the millisecond.

How fast can you deliver a Build?

Most Builds ship in 2–4 weeks. Landing pages and single onboarding flows sit at the fast end. Full SaaS programs and cross-platform apps run 4–8 weeks depending on scope. Rebuilds of existing products are quoted after a Leak Audit has mapped the behavioural problems.

What's the difference between retention engineering and CRO?

Conversion rate optimisation is about getting a user to do one thing once — click, sign up, buy. Retention engineering is about whether they come back tomorrow, and the day after that. Based does both, but retention is the harder problem and the one behavioural psychology is most useful for.

Ryan Geldart is the founder of Based Labs. He designs and engineers retention-focused products using behavioural psychology and a modern web stack. He is based in Elgin, Scotland, and is focused on helping Scottish businesses grow. Contact: ryan@basedlabs.co.uk.

Why is my app losing users in the first week?

Most week-one app churn comes from one of three things: an onboarding flow that demands too much before showing value; a missing or mistimed prompt at the moment a user might come back; or visual cues that signal 'not for me' to your actual audience. The fix isn't more push notifications — it's mapping where motivation, ability and prompt break down (Fogg's Behaviour Model). A Leak Audit identifies exactly which screen is the leak.

Why are users abandoning my signup form?

Signup abandonment is rarely about field count. It's about the perceived 'cost' the user is paying versus the value they're being shown. Long forms work when value is clear; short forms fail when motivation is weak. The fix is auditing the form against Fogg's Motivation × Ability × Prompt equation — and often, removing one specific friction screen rather than chopping fields.

How do I fix high churn in my SaaS?

SaaS churn breaks into three phases: activation churn (week one — they never got value), usage churn (months one to three — value faded), commitment churn (month four onwards — better alternative emerged). Each needs a different intervention. Behavioural retention work targets the first two by designing for relatedness, completion bias and variable rewards. The third is a product-market-fit problem.

Why are users dropping off during onboarding?

Onboarding drop-off almost always tracks Fogg's Behaviour Model: somewhere between 'arrived' and 'activated', the user lost motivation, hit an ability blocker, or didn't get the right prompt. Counting screens won't fix it — counting drop points by step will. A Leak Audit produces this map screen-by-screen.

How do I improve activation rate on my product?

Activation rate is mostly a Completion Bias problem. People who feel they've started something are pulled toward finishing it. The trick is designing the first-session experience as an explicit progress sequence — even when the underlying steps don't strictly require one. A multi-screen onboarding flow with a visible counter ('2 of 9') is one example. There are others.

Why is my conversion rate so low?

Low conversion is almost never one thing. It's usually three to five small frictions stacking together — each tiny on its own, lethal in combination. The Leak Audit's job is to find them all in one week and rank them by impact × effort, so you fix the ones that matter and ignore the noise. Often a single button-copy change moves the number more than a redesign.

How do I reduce mobile app churn?

Mobile churn is usually relatedness or variable-reward starvation. Single-player apps lose to apps where users feel witnessed, tracked, or part of something. Adding social mechanics is one fix. Adding unpredictable reward feedback (without dark patterns) is another. The starting point is a behavioural audit of what your current loop actually trains the user to do.

What causes users to leave a website without converting?

Three categories: they don't understand the value within five seconds (motivation problem), they understand but it feels too hard to act (ability problem), or there's no clear next step (prompt problem). Fogg's Behaviour Model maps directly onto these. The fix is auditing your above-the-fold copy and primary CTA against all three — not redesigning the page.

→ Frameworks · 02 of 07

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Self-Determination Theory

Self-Determination Theory (Deci & Ryan) for product retention. Why autonomy, competence and relatedness determine whether users come back. Primary source, when to apply, how Based Labs uses it.

Primary source

Edward Deci & Richard Ryan, 1985. The most-cited theory in motivation psychology — used across education, sport, healthcare and product design.

What it is

Three psychological needs determine whether motivation lasts: autonomy (control over the choice), competence (feeling capable), and relatedness (not being alone). When any of the three is starved, sustained behaviour collapses.

When to use it

Retention work. Anything that needs to bring users back tomorrow, not just convert them today.

How I actually apply it

I audit retention loops by asking: where does this strip the user's autonomy (forced popups, unskippable steps), undermine their competence (jargon, unclear feedback), or isolate them (no community signal)? Then design those out.

Want this applied to your product?

A Leak Audit takes one week and produces a prioritised fix list with every recommendation tied to a named framework — including this one. Fixed price: £1,000.

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