How do you compare and improve website variations?

1 Why test website variations?

Website variation testing helps you improve your user experience, increase your conversion rate, and achieve your business goals. By testing different elements of your website, such as headlines, images, colors, buttons, layouts, and copy, you can find out what works best for your target audience and what doesn't. You can also measure the impact of your changes on your key metrics, such as clicks, sign-ups, sales, or revenue.

2 How to create website variations?

There are different ways to create website variations, depending on your level of technical skill and budget. One of the easiest ways is to use a website variation testing tool, such as Google Optimize, Optimizely, or VWO. These tools allow you to create and edit website variations without coding, using a drag-and-drop interface. You can also use these tools to run and analyze your tests, and to implement the winning variations on your website.

Another way to create website variations is to use a code editor, such as Visual Studio Code, Sublime Text, or Atom. This way, you have more control and flexibility over your website variations, but you also need to have some coding knowledge and skills. You can use HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to modify your website elements, and then save your variations as separate files. You can also use a code editor to run and analyze your tests, using a testing framework, such as Google Analytics, or a third-party service, such as Splitbee or ABlyft.

3 How to compare website variations?

Once you have created your website variations, it's time to compare them and see which one performs better. This is done by running a website variation test, also known as A/B testing, multivariate testing, or split testing. This randomized experiment divides your website traffic into different groups and shows each group a different version of your website. Then, you can track and compare how each group behaves and converts on your website.

Before running a website variation test, you need to define your test parameters. This includes setting a goal for what you want to achieve with the test (e.g. increasing sign-ups or revenue), formulating a hypothesis about what will happen with the test (e.g. changing the headline will increase the click-through rate), determining the duration of the test (e.g. two weeks or until reaching statistical significance), choosing a sample size (e.g. 1,000 or 50% of traffic) and deciding on the number and types of variations to test (e.g. two, three, or four).

You can use a website variation testing tool or code editor to set up and run your test, as well as sample size calculator and statistical significance calculator to determine your test parameters and results.

4 How to improve website variations?

After running your website variation test, it is important to analyze the results and compare which variation performed better. You can use a website variation testing tool or a code editor to view the data, such as the test outcome, performance, and insights. The test outcome will reveal which variation achieved your test goal, such as increased sign-ups or sales. The performance will show how each variation performed on your key metrics, such as clicks and conversions. The insights will provide valuable information about what elements of your website influenced visitor behavior and preferences. Based on the results and insights, you can decide what to do next with your website variations. This could include implementing the winning variation on your website and monitoring its performance over time, running another test with the winning variation and a new one, running another test with a different element of your website, or discarding the losing variations and learning from mistakes.

5 How to optimize your website variation testing process?

Website variation testing is not a one-time activity, but a continuous process of improvement and learning. To optimize your website variation testing process, it's important to test one element at a time to isolate the effect of your changes and avoid confounding factors. Additionally, you should test significant and relevant changes that will make a meaningful impact on your website performance and user experience. It's also essential to have a clear goal, hypothesis, and metric to measure the success and progress of your tests. Furthermore, you should ensure that you have enough time and traffic to reach statistical significance and validity. Finally, it's important to test regularly and consistently to keep up with the needs and expectations of your visitors. By following these best practices, you can compare and improve your website variations more effectively and efficiently, thus achieving your digital strategy and conversion optimization goals.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?