You know that your website serves many purposes. One of those is to showcase your business and the solution or service it provides to customers. Another is to give your customers an easy way to reach you in the form of a phone call, email, form submission, or online purchase.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re worried that your website may be standing in the way of successfully making this connection with your audience, then it\u2019s time you took a look into the underlying cause and devise a solution.<\/p>\n
![\"A\/B](\"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/testing-control-variation.png\")
What Is A\/B Testing?<\/h2>\n
Supposing your website is causing you stress, you could leave it be and try to compensate from its lack of performance by investing in other ways to target new and existing customers. That wouldn\u2019t make much sense though. Your website is the online face of your business. You need it to perform just as well as anyone else who works for your company.<\/p>\n
You can\u2019t assume that because you love your website and you think it looks great that your online visitors feel the same way. More importantly, a nice-looking website is only part of what\u2019s needed here. It needs to be easy to navigate, have a logical flow, and clearly explain what you do and what you offer. No matter how excited you are about your website, if it\u2019s not performing well or you want it to do even more, it\u2019s time to make a change.<\/p>\n
According to Merriam-Webster\u2019s dictionary<\/a>, the Scientific Method is defined as:<\/p>\n A\/B testing is exactly that. It\u2019s a digital version of the Scientific Method whereby a website\u2019s design, layout, copy, and\/or functionality can be tested without permanently altering the makeup of the site. By establishing very specific variations on pages of your website, you can study the resulting differences in behavior of your visitors and consequently make well-informed decisions regarding what improvements are needed.<\/p>\n There are a number of approaches to consider when conducting A\/B testing:<\/p>\n Whether this is your first time with A\/B testing or if you already have experience in this, split testing is the optimal choice. It ensures a level of simplicity and focus that allows you to work with a control (your original design) and a variation (your new design). By testing two very clear differences among your audience, you can identify changes in behavior (if any) as it relates to that one element.<\/p>\n It\u2019s important to remember that while you may have a good understanding of your audience as a customer, you may not totally understand what they want or need from the online experience. Rather than try and make that decision on your own, A\/B testing can help you gain those insights. With carefully measured steps and results, you don\u2019t have to worry about whether you\u2019ve made the right call or not\u2014the data will let you know what to do.<\/p>\n Now that you know what A\/B testing is, it\u2019s important to consider the \u201cwhen\u201d of the thing.<\/p>\n Most people probably assume that A\/B testing is meant solely for websites that are underperforming. While A\/B testing may be one solution for that, it won\u2019t always be the case. If oversized images are bogging down your site\u2019s loading time or if you have broken forms and incorrect contact information keeping visitors from reaching you, there is no amount of A\/B testing that is going to fix those problems. Remember that you need to employ the use of the right tools for the right problems.<\/p>\n When it comes to A\/B testing, there are a number of scenarios where you may need it:<\/p>\n Ultimately, the choice of which elements to test will fall to you. You\u2019re looking to make changes to your website for a reason, so you must have a gut feeling that something isn\u2019t working the way you need it to. Based on where the problem lies\u2014a high bounce rate on a specific page, a lack of conversions on a certain form, confused messages from visitors who can\u2019t find something\u2014you can then make a determination of where the test should occur.<\/p>\n Once you\u2019ve got the page figured out, you\u2019ll need to determine which element you want to rework. It could be something like one of the following:<\/p>\n And within those elements, it could be any number of issues causing disinterested visitors:<\/p>\n You may want to step things up a notch with more advanced test<\/p>\n Overall, you really won\u2019t know what could affect your user’s experience until you get started with the process.<\/p>\n An A\/B test runs just like the Scientific Method: research, hypothesize, test, monitor. So if you haven\u2019t taken high school chemistry (or it’s been a while) here is a recap of all the steps you\u2019ll need in your testing procedure:<\/p>\n The first place to start is by asking yourself questions: Why do you want to A\/B test? Have you identified a problem page or process on your website? Why do you think visitors aren\u2019t responding well to that page or process? How do you think it should be updated?<\/p>\n While it\u2019s important to ask these questions and to know why you want to do this, you also need to conduct some research to find out a bit more about what\u2019s going on.<\/p>\n Once you\u2019ve identified a problem area on your website (or an area that you think could perform even better than it already does), you need a goal. When your team updates this page, what is the end result you want to see? More conversions? Longer time on the page? More visits to a different page that shoots off from this one? Without a clear and achievable goal, you won\u2019t be able to verify whether the test worked or not.<\/p>\n You\u2019ve identified your goal, so now you need a hypothesis.<\/p>\n Which elements on this page could stand to be updated?\u00a0What sort of change could you make to each of those elements?\u00a0What result would you expect to see with each of these variations?\u00a0Why? Jot down your expectations for analysis later.<\/p>\n You\u2019ve compiled a list of elements on your web page that could potentially affect audience reception or behavior, so it\u2019s now up to you to choose one element to focus on for this test. Perhaps it\u2019s the color of the call-to-action button that just doesn\u2019t stand out enough. Perhaps the form is in a weird spot that people don\u2019t think to scroll to. Perhaps the headline at the top of the page is turning people off. Use what you know to identify the variable and determine how you will alter it.<\/p>\n A\/B tests cannot run indefinitely. The point of these is to test a variation, monitor the reaction, and take action.<\/p>\n Depending on the amount of traffic to your website, you may want to allow the test to run for longer so you have enough activity to measure. Regardless of how long you feel<\/em> your test should run, start with a test duration calculator<\/a> to get started. This will help you determine where that sweet spot will be. Ending your test too early may lead to a lack of valuable stats. On the other hand, ending a test too late could be detrimental for a number of reasons. For one, the search engines may look unfavorably upon that (see more on that below). For another, if the variable was not a good pick, it may be the reason there are no results to work with and should be ended sooner rather than later.<\/p>\n When conducting a test, it\u2019s important to develop a hypothesis so you have a clear vision of what you think will happen. It\u2019s equally important to closely monitor the real results against the hypothesis in case there are severe deviations that require you to take action.<\/p>\n The next step is to create the variation on your page and track it.<\/p>\n For A\/B split testing, you\u2019ll need to create a duplication of your web page within WordPress and then apply the desired change to the new one. Your testing software or tool will then push part of your web traffic to the variation on a separate URL. The purpose of this test is to find out what these changes mean to visitors. In order to effectively test the reception of your page\u2019s change, the variation should only be sent to new visitors. You don\u2019t know if the alteration to your site will be a welcome addition, so it\u2019s safer to test this on new visitors who have no preconceived notions about your brand.<\/p>\n When adding new pages to your website or making any changes that affect the user experience, it\u2019s important to consult with Google<\/a>. A\/B testing can introduce some potential issues for you with the search engines, so keep the following in mind before proceeding with the setup and launch of your first test:<\/p>\n There are many tools you can use to help you set up and track the performance of your A\/B test (see below). These tools may not help you account for Google\u2019s tips though, so make sure these are built into your setup process so as not to run counter to what the search engines want.<\/p>\n Using your A\/B split testing tool, kick off your test. As with any true scientific test, consistency is key:<\/p>\n Once you\u2019ve kicked off your test, make sure to regularly monitor the results. A timeline is established, but that doesn\u2019t mean you need to wait until the very end of it to see how the page variations are performing (especially if something isn\u2019t working or stops working in the middle of the test).<\/p>\n Monitoring isn\u2019t just about logging into whatever tracking tool you\u2019ve signed up with. If you have a customer service or sales team in place who gave you feedback while doing your initial research, they should be able to tell you if they\u2019ve noticed any changes since the testing took place as well.<\/p>\n Once you have solid data to work with, take time to analyze it. What have you learned from the A\/B test? Which variation worked best? Can you tell why? Is this change something you can apply elsewhere on your website? Is there a different element on this page that may still be causing issues? Was the difference in performance between the variations worth making any changes at all?<\/p>\n The results of your A\/B test may be surprising. No matter how extreme or unexpected they may be, the results of the test–if conducted properly–don\u2019t lie. So if you\u2019re feeling wary about implementing a change that doesn\u2019t sit well with you personally but that was well-received by your audience, don\u2019t let your own aesthetic preferences get in the way. Remember that if the A\/B test result goes live and does not work in the long-run, you can always change it back or set up a new test to find a more successful variation.<\/p>\n Once you\u2019re comfortable with the process of A\/B split testing and have a clearly defined approach, plan on making this a regular part of your website maintenance. With each test you\u2019ll learn more about your audience and be able to more easily make decisions related to website and business improvements.<\/p>\n With a clearly defined approach and carefully measured results in hand, you should be able to more easily make decisions related to website improvements.<\/p>\n There are no hard and fast rules about which elements you need to update for greater traffic and better conversion rates. That determination will be yours to make based on the current state of your site, the feedback and insights you have into its performance, and your ultimate goal in A\/B testing.<\/p>\n While the choice to test a specific variable will depend on what\u2019s happening with your own website, that doesn\u2019t mean you can\u2019t look to others for inspiration on what has worked for them. Here are some well-documented cases of brands and people that have used A\/B testing to success on their website:<\/p>\n Once you\u2019ve got the motivation to conduct your own A\/B tests and have found some inspiration, it\u2019s time to start focusing on the specifics that can be done for your website.<\/p>\n Here are some test ideas to get you started:<\/p>\n For your first A\/B test, start out small and simple. Make sure your research and planning is guiding you toward the right hypotheses and testing variables before committing to more drastic or extensive updates. If you find that the suggestions or case studies above aren\u2019t applicable to your current situation or you simply want more help, feel free to check out Hubspot<\/a> or Wired<\/a> for more information<\/p>\n… Principles and procedures for the systematic pursuit of knowledge involving the recognition and formulation of a problem, the collection of data through observation and experiment, and the formulation and testing of hypotheses.<\/q><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
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When Should You Conduct A\/B Testing?<\/h2>\n
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![\"Obama](\"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/obama-testing-1.jpg\")
How Do You Conduct an A\/B Test?<\/h2>\n
#1: Research<\/h3>\n
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#2: Establish the Goal<\/h2>\n
#3: Hypothesize<\/h2>\n
#4: Choose One Variable<\/h2>\n
#5: Develop a Timeline<\/h3>\n
#6: Set Up<\/h3>\n
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#7: Run the Test<\/h3>\n
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#8: Monitor<\/h3>\n
#9: Take Action<\/h3>\n
![\"WWF](\"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/wwf-switzerland.jpg\")
What Should an A\/B Test Look Like?<\/h2>\n
Real-Life Examples<\/h3>\n
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A\/B Test Ideas<\/h3>\n
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![\"Optimizely](\"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Optimizely-600x171.png\")
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