It’s vital to update and test your website pages frequently on ecommerce sites in order to capture sales. Sure it takes time and a lot of tweaking, but the return can make a dramatic difference to sales so it’s an activity that is worthwhile.

What is A/B Testing?

A/B testing is basically having two different versions of the same web page live on your website. The purpose of this split testing is to enable you to see which design performs better in terms of conversions.  On an ecommerce website, the different versions of the web pages could be performed on product and category pages as well as landing pages and at the checkout, for example:

• Different layouts for the descriptions of a product
• Different call to action designs and locations on the page
• Testing alternative product image styles
• Adding guest checkouts verses a checkout page without the guest option
• Reworking copy on the pages
• With or without HD videos
• Testing out branding, colours, fonts and themes

Why A/B Testing is a Priority

A/B testing should be an ongoing project but there are times when it really makes sense to get the variant pages up and running sooner, rather than later. An example of this is when you’re considering introducing a new service, such as integrating PayPal Express Checkout.  Shoppers react differently to calls to action, so testing multiple styles out is the sensible way to go if you want to avoid abandoned baskets at the checkout.  Without tests, the basket abandonments would increase, damaging your bottom line and leaving you confused as to what’s gone wrong and where you can make improvements that could potentially save your business.

Small Changes Increase Sales

It’s amazing to think that simple changes on a page can increase add to basket levels and conversions so dramatically, but that’s often the case. The pages of your website might look pleasant enough, but without testing different versions of the same page you lose out on learning from real reactions of your visitors. Monitoring A/B testing gives you genuine insight into the behaviours of your customers and allows you to make changes that have been proven to increase your bottom line.

Testing and measuring the success of the tests is essential for all ecommerce websites and this is something we can do for you. Give us a call or email the office and ask us about A/B testing today.