Tests and Experiments

Tests and Experiments serves you by testing various changes on your Website. It means that you don’t have to worry about incorrect changes, because you can test it here first, before you change them on the Website.

To define the changes, use the Variant Manager. Variant Manager lets you define the changes you will be testing.

You can display the Test Variant to every one of your visitors or define the number of visitors to which the Test Variant will be displayed or use the Conditions that a visitor must fulfil to display the Test Variant. In case you will be using the Conditions, you have to define them in the Conditions application. You also have to add a BizBox Tracking system to your Website, because this is the only way to evaluate the Conditions.

How to add a new Test and Experiment

Run the Tests and Experiments application and click the New button.

General tab

  • System Properties - Insert the Name (required) and Description (optional). Both internal, only for your own purposes and is never visible to visitors.

  • Validity is a selected period of time for that will be the test active. To activate the test, you have to set the Active button to YES. You can also (after you set it to YES) set the period of validity. To stop the currently running test before the period of validity ends (or is not set), just set the Active button to NO. If the Active button is set to NO, the test is always inactive, regardless of the period of validity.

  • Conditions sets the rules your visitors have to fulfil in order to display the test variant. If you don’t select any condition, the test variant will be displayed to everyone.

    • Max Visitors numerically define the maximum number of visitors to which will be the test variant displayed. This solution is suitable when the changes on your Website are extensive, so it can affect the normal activities on your Website.

    • Conditions have to be previously created and defined in the Conditions application. Here you select the ones you want to use for evaluation within this test.

    • Condition Conjunction - Option YES displays the test variant only if visitor fulfils all Conditions selected above at once. Option NO displays the test variant if the visitor fulfils at least one of the Conditions selected above.

Goals tab

To make your test measurable you have to set its Goals (actions that visitors should achieve). The results can be seen on the last Statistics tab. There are 3 types of Goals:

  • Visited Page - Select a Page (from your Page Tree) that visitor have to display to achieve the Goal.

  • New Order - The Goal is achieved when visitor became a customer (buys one of your Products)

  • Visited URL - Insert an URL address your visitor has to display to achieve this Goal. The URL must lead to some of your Pages.

Variants tab

Variants tab allows you to define the changes that will be used in this Test. If you did not create the Website Variants first, you can do it now by clicking the green plus button. For more about how to create a Website Variant see the Variant Manager help-site.

Name and Description of the Test Variant serve only for internal purposes and are never visible to visitors.

  • Proportion is a number that defines the percentage of visitors to which will be the test variant displayed. Remember about the Conditions you set in the General tab. Proportion affects only visitors that passed through the Conditions you selected on the General tab. You can’t use Proportion and Conditions together, in case you want to use Conditions fill them below.

  • Conditions allows you to select Conditions visitors must fulfil in order to display the test variant.

  • Condition Conjunction - Option YES displays the test variant only if visitor fulfils all Conditions selected above at once. Option NO displays the test variant if the visitor fulfils at least one of the Conditions selected above.

Included Pages tab

Included Pages allows you to set Pages on which will be the test active. In case you let this Data View blank, it will be active on all Pages.

Excluded Pages tab

Excluded Pages allows you to set Pages on which the test will be inactive. In case you leave this Data View blank, it will be active on all Pages.

Statistics tab

Statistics shows the results of the testing.

Variant Manager

Variant Manager allows you to define various variants of your Website. Variant Action is a specific change on the Page (or Website), that is connected to a Test displayed to the visitors. This means that you will not have to make changes to your Pages, you will just define the changes here as a Website Variant, which you will be displaying to your visitors. In case you use Conditions too, this can be displayed only to the defined selection of your visitors. You can typically make time-limited marketing actions (campaigns) or temporarily change your Website design (for example for holidays).

All variants you define here wont work by themselves, you have to use them within Tests and Experiments.

How to create a new Website Variant

  1. Run the Variant Manager application, click the New button and insert the Name and Description of it. Both are used only for internal purposes and are never visible to the visitor.

  2. Click the Actions tab and Add a new Action.

  3. Insert its Name.

  4. Select the Type of action. There are 4 types of actions you can freely combine to create the Website Variant:

    • Display or Hide Block - To use this type of action, you have to define the Blocks first. Block is a specified selection of content on your Page that you can hide or display. It means that you have to go to the Content tab on a particular Page settings and define the Blocks here. You wrap the content you want to mark as Block in these marks: <bb:block name=”New Block” visible=”false”><;/bb:block>. Instead of New Block you type the name of your Block and the visible attribute determines the visibility of the Block by default. These created Blocks can be used with the Display Block (displays the unvisible Block) and Hide Block (hides the visible Block) Website Variant Actions. You select it from the menu using the name you inserted in the Content tab of a particular Page.

    • Redirect - When a visitor displays a selected Page (Page Source), it will be automatically redirected to the selected Page (Page Target). Even the URL address will be changed, not only the content of the Page.

    • Replace Content - When visitor displays a selected Page (Page Source), its content will change automatically for the content of the selected Page (Page Target). Only the content will be changed, the URL address of the Page Source remains.

    • Template - Template changes the Template on your Website for the selected one.