BUSINESS
TEST, TEST, TEST.
Website user testing has become an invaluable
tool in solving the mysteries of how your
customers interact with your website. There are
several qualitative and quantitative methods
when it comes to user testing. Qualitative
methods include advisory boards, focus groups,
field research and observation to name a few.
Quantitative methods include online surveys,
benchmarking, heat mapping, card sorting and
my favorite, mu ltivariate testing.
Multivariate testing, or A/B testing, allows you
to split up your site users into multiple groups
and then determine which of these groups
performed better to complete the given task.
As an example, say you wanted to see how
customers would react to a price per square
foot increase. You could potentially set up a
test within the contact area located on the same
page as your estimate calculator. You would then
measure how many jobs you received from the
new calculator page vs. the old calculator page
over a predetermined time frame. If you found
that increasing your price performed better or
equal to that of your old pricing calculator, then
you could in turn feel safe to move forward
with the price increase throughout your entire
business model.
With all of this said, it’s important to keep one
thing in mind. Who is the website made for?
You, or your customers?
If you would like to create your own testing
environment and have Google Analytics
installed, here is a fantastic article related to
setting up A/B testing in 10 minutes with Google
Analytics.
For questions about this article or anything else
website related, please contact me at:
[email protected]
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