Nothing Takes the Place of Planning

In the advertising world the term split-testing is originated and often used on the web to test subtle differences in your web pages.

When you consider doing a test, wouldn’t it be wiser to spend some time in truly thinking about the test you want to run?

Before you run a split test of 3 different button colors red/green/lime, wouldn’t it be wise to invest some time in planning?

Better yet, if you run the test, do you really know how to interpret the difference between let’s say the red results vs. the green and lime results?

To experiment with different sections on your test page you would change the page elements that potentially have an impact on your visitors as copy, layout, colors, button shapes…

However, whether you make big changes or small ones, there seem to be two camps on this subject.

One side, which I tend towards, believes in starting small.

That way, if you do find that your test copy outperforms the original one (or vise-versa) you’ll have some idea of why and accordingly you will be able to plan more educated tests in the future.

The colors as green and lime are so closely related to really know how one differs from the other… wouldn’t it be better you test green vis-à-vis red?

Might it not be better to test red vs. green and then test forest green vs. lime green?

And there is the other side too.

To get more bang for your buck and your time – you should make big changes!

I can’t completely deny the logic behind these claims. As I see it, it often boils down to what your needs are; what you need to accomplish or how long you have to accomplish it.

If you deal with a stable site that does pretty well, you may want to stick to an evolutionary process of incremental changes, whilst in case of the site that needs a major overhaul it may require more radical methods.

I know how tempting it can be to peek at the data every chance you get.

But… Don’t!

Bias is a powerful force, and it’s best to let the test run its course and not interpret the data until you’re done.

It happens too often that people start to see the results trending the way they’d like and they decide they’ve got enough information. And as a result they cut the experiment off too early… without significant results to base their further tests on.

Another no-no – doing changes during the test! No matter how small the changes seem, even if you make a mistake in the testing procedure (that would bias the results), start over, as painful as that may be.

In our early example, a test to determine what button color performs better, what will happen if you add a shape a third variable, and add even a fourth variable – 3D shading?

What is the appropriate order to run the tests? Would you be better off testing the major factors affecting the button color and shape first and only then considering the expected minor effect of shading?

Wouldn’t it be suspicious if reported results showed that 3D shading had a huge impact on one combination of color and shape but little impact on its component pieces, especially if a smaller test of color vs. shape showed a different combination winner?

Use your own knowledge of your business to inform your testing. Even a little bit information can help you carry out more helpful test.

Can you make your tests worthy of testing by valuing your own resources and your own ability to know what’s right for your business?

Can you use your own knowledge of your business for better planning your tests and not just throwing everything up against the testing wall and see what sticks?

Nothing Takes the Place of Planning!

The best way to learn is to test, to experiment… but how you learn to test effectively?

…By spending some time in thinking about the test you want to run… spending some time in planning.

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