What is A/B testing?

A/B testing is a tool that website owners employ when they want to know which version of a website will perform better. For this test, half of the visitors to a website will see one version (version A) while the other half will see a different version (version B). This is what is known as a blind study. Participants do not know that they are part of a test. They give their honest feedback based on their experience and how they liked what they saw while spending time on the website.

How does A/B testing work?

The creator of a website will use A/B testing when they are thinking of making changes to their current website. Before making such changes though, they want to make sure the changes will be supported by those who visit. Version A of the website will be the original and version B will include changes. Changes can include colors, layout, font, and copy text. Other variables that can be testing with a blind study include product or service pricing, landing pages, and testimonials.

When running an A/B test, it is a good idea to work with only one changed variable at a time to see how it performs. If they entire website is changed, it’s difficult to know which variable was popular and which was disliked. If a website creator is thinking of changing the color scheme of their website, they should work with this variable first before moving on to test the next possible change.

Running two versions of the same website at the same time is an important part of A/B testing. If the two versions are run months apart, it’s difficult to know which changes were preferred. Each A/B test session should be given ample time to collect data. A large sample size will be more accurate than a small one.

How can results of A/B testing be determined?

In order to determine which version of a wesbite is preferred, a website owner may choose to run a poll or a survey in order to gather opinions of users. Questions about their experience, why they chose to click on a specific button, if their problem was solved by coming to the website, or something they may have improved on to make the website or experience better will provide good insight into visitors preferances.

With the results of these surveys and polls, a website owner can determine which changes are hits and which are misses.

Is there a way to compare data from A/B testing?

The results of A/B testing can be analyzed using a testing software that collects the data to present. This testing software will present the results of both version A and version B’s performance. This software will be able to tell a website owner if there was a large enough difference to warrant changing (or not changing) certain aspects of the website.

A/B testing is a great tool used by website owners who are considering making changes.