Why A/B testing is also necessary for your website

what is a Website A/B test?

An A/B test includes 2 scenarios, which are compared to each other to test which of the two leads to a desirable result.

whereabouts are A/B tests used?

A/B tests (or A/Bs) are used in many different fields and are therefore not unique to digital environments. For example, an A/B test is used in the medical world to compare blood and DNA samples, or crash tests can compare the results of one variant of a seat belt with another to see which one is safest.

why is an A/B test necessary for websites?

Imagine 2 people visiting the website where you sell shoes at exactly the same time. Person A buys something and person B looks at 4 different shoes and then leaves. Person A clicked the buy now button at the top of the page; but Person B did not. Now, an urgent question may arise for you: “Does the 'buy now button' affect the purchase process or is there another reason why Person B didn't click?”

Two scenarios are now possible: either you just adjust the button and hope for the best; or you make the change on a separate page (variant B with a big blue button) and start an A/B test for a few weeks! So you check that what you think is true and read it based on the results. Of course, these impulsive adjustments are made regularly and that really doesn't have to be a mistake. If the button is light red and the text is orange, it becomes more likely that you can do an 'intervention' by improving readability. It's that simple too!

But of course, there is a very simple reason why it is necessary to use A/B tests: because through the A/B test, you can be sure that the change promotes results. This is because you checked the assumption and at the same time dealt with a possible solution numerically. With an A/B test, you can make your “gut-feeling” an even more powerful weapon, in the fight to achieve more goals.

A/B tests identify what works and what doesn't

The test therefore removes the assumption and identifies what works and what does not work. As attractive as it seems to just change everything, you're actually just betting on a better chance of success.

A/B tests make it easier to make choices

You no longer have to let that pressing question whether or not you should change the design depends on your own opinion and subjectivity. We are all human beings: you have a preference. But you are not the target group. The end user shows you what is desired with their behavior. So the A/B test actually takes the doubt out of the decision to change an element and makes your life easier.

Testing your website: how does that work?

Starting an A/B test partly depends on how flexible your website is and how many elements you want to test. After all, we also sometimes speak of an A/B/C/D test when, for example, 4 different variants are tested. Design and development flexibility are necessary for continuous growth and improvement. Above all, you don't want to spend too much time making the A/B test and therefore test very small subtle changes to prevent as much noise as possible.

An A/B test is set up by us for all our customers, on our own initiative. Without too much discussion. If the test is complete and successful, a suggestion will follow to make or stop an improvement. Supported by figures that are specific to the end user's target group. To do this, we present an overview of the results, explaining why we are making the suggestion. It is then up to the entrepreneur/owner of the website to make the decision and agree to make the change (s).

Testing your website for speed? You can read that here.