How to Implement A/B Testing?

During project development, situations often arise where clients or the dev team have differing opinions about which functionality would be more or less effective for the user and the project.

To solve such problems there is A/B testing technology, which allows you to test and find the most appropriate and best option. 

The essence of A/B testing is simple: all users of a web product are divided into certain groups, and each group works with a different version of the site. However, each group has one common goal. This goal can be a simple click on a button, adding a product to the basket or making a purchase on the site.

In A/B testing, achieving the goal is crucial. Therefore, clearly defining the goal is essential, as it needs to be measurable and achievable within the test parameters. The ideal goal can be achieved within a single user session.

There are already a large number of different tools that allow you to run, modify behavior and track AB test goals. One of the most common tools was Google Optimize. But as it is no longer available as of September 30, 2023, marketers and website owners are left searching for a reliable A/B testing solution. VWO offers a similar suite of features, including intuitive test creation, audience segmentation, and goal tracking, allowing you to seamlessly continue your optimization efforts. 

So, to set up an AB test you need to:

1. Create a new A/B test in VWO or its analogue.
2. Specify the website URL where the A/B test will run and integrate the service's script. 
3. Specify the required target. By default, there are several goals, such as opening a certain page, clicking on a button or clicking on a certain link.
4. You can also create a custom goal that will trigger the required event on the client side. 

gtag('event', 'AB_TEST_EVENT', {...event_data});

5. Add the required variants A and B (there can be more than 2 variants) and make the necessary changes.
6. Specify the audience distribution between the specified variants.
7. Run A/B test.

After setting up your A/B test, you can use incognito mode to preview how the different variants will display to users.

In conclusion, A/B testing eliminates guesswork by providing data-driven insights. Define a goal, utilize a tool like VWO, and analyze user behavior to identify the most effective solution. This empowers you to make informed decisions and optimize your project for success.