A beginners guide to A/B testing your website

For digital marketers looking to enhance conversion rates, A/B testing allows you to make informed decisions on your strategy.

But what is A/B testing? How will it benefit your business website?

Testing your website before it goes live should go without saying. As with product testing, you need to know if there are any issues that appear with consumer use.

You should already have some idea of how much traffic your website should expect to receive. One of the worst things that can happen to your site if for it to crash due to high traffic. It is unlikely that customers will return to a previously crashed site. If they are unable to purchase what they are looking for due to a technical issue they will find what they need elsewhere. This is why you need to fully test your website.

Another reason to perform A/B testing is to discover what features work best on your business website. Converting web traffic to sales can be a difficult proposition. Using a variety for analytics on your two different testing sites will give you a clear idea of the best features to use. In many ways your site always has scope to develop and improve.

Understanding the reasons behind why a certain test performed better than another is exactly why you need these tests. Send your website out to a tester with fresh eyes. They can potentially see the flaws that a developer will not be able to see.

If your test clearly does not work, do not be afraid to return to the old website. The worst thing you can do is persist with an idea that does not improve what you already have. The ability to step back is just as important and the ability to change.

Further reading: A/B testing step by step

Here, VWO run through the fundamentals of running a successful A/B testing experiment.