One of the most difficult aspects of deep experimentation ― which requires a full stack solution and server-side testing ― is laying a solid foundation for success. In this webinar, you'll learn best practices for going beyond client-side testing, and implementing a full stack experimentation strategy to drive results on the entire customer journey.
2. ● The presentation deck and recording will
be available to you after the webinar.
● Feel free to ask questions during the
presentation, using the Question panel.
Housekeeping
3. Dennis Pavlina, WiderFunnel Strategist
● Oversees experimentation strategy
for some of WiderFunnel’s most
notable full stack clients
● Guest lectures at local design and
tech institution, RED Academy
Your Presenters
Thomas Davis, WiderFunnel Developer
● The go-to guy for server-side
experiment development
● Instructor and mentor at local coding
bootcamp, Lighthouse Labs
4. ● Why adopt server-side testing?
● Laying the foundation for server-side testing
● Technical best practices
● Fostering server-side testing long-term
What We’ll Cover
10. The Possibilities of Server-Side
● Improved user experience
● Ability to open up testing to back-end changes
● Feature testing
● Faster implementation of winning variations
13. Server-Side Experiment Example: Trial
durations
Identifying whether more
users sign up when given a
7 day trial versus 14 days or
30 days.
14. Evaluating Opportunities for Server-Side
Accessibility Depth Goals Channels
WYSIWYG vs. Dev team Styling vs. Functionality Engagement vs. LTV Web vs. Multi-Channel
16. Define your success metrics: Identify new goals
Server-Side
● Rate of visitors who complete all onboarding steps
● Rate of visitors who convert to paid signup within 24 hours
● Rate of visitors who follow 5 or more people during onboarding
Client-Side
● Signups
● Blog subscriptions
● Visits to key pages
20. ● Eliminate the difficulty of integration
● Principle of “separation of concerns”
● Easily testable
● Doesn’t intrude on feature builds
It’s all about Middleware
21. Activate the experiment
Monkey Patch the res.send
method
Serve the correct variation
Original Route method remains
untouched
22. ● Moves targeting to the Optimizely tool / Optimization specialist
● Can target anything from pages to device types
● Experiments become more dynamic (Not hardcoded)
Targeting through Attributes
23. Find the current page, return as
an object
Send attributes and return the
correct variation
24. Working with SPA’s
● Use getVariation() to get users into variation without tracking them
● Route to activate user later / Front End JS SDK
https://www.myawesomesite.com/activate?test=wf_test&user=xxxxxxxxxxx
● Create top level A/B testing components if using React or Vue
25. ● Setup all global events first (i.e. page visits, revenue tracking)
● May need a ‘AJAXable’ route for UI component goals /
Alternatively use the client-side JS SDK
● Make naming conventions specific and namespaced
products-index/add-to-cart-cta
Custom Event Set up
26. ● Have a roadmap for the installation process
● Use cookies or webhooks when dealing with page caching reverse
proxies
● Random string vs. database user ID to identify the Optimizely user
● Test Driven Development (TDD)
Tips and “Got ya’s”
27. Get Optimizely X Full Stack
Get the Resources You Need
Gather and educate the right talent
Coordinate the effort via dedicated team leaders or an agency partner
28. Identify the Best First Experiments
Hypotheses Potential Importance Ease PIE Score
Hypothesis #1
Web analytics
Heuristic analysis
Voice of customer
Cost
Traffic volume
ROI
Technical
“Political”
8 7 7 7.3
29. Hypothesis 2
Displaying a free trial countdown timer on the dashboard will increase the rate of
users who convert to a paid account.
Identify the Best First Experiments
Hypothesis 1
Removing all optional steps from the onboarding flow will increase the rate of users
who convert to a paid account.
Hypothesis 3
Automatically filling in location-specific information in the paid signup form fields will
increase the rate of users who convert to a free account.
30. Identify the Best First Experiments
Hypotheses Potential Importance Ease PIE Score
Remove optional steps
Countdown timer
Pre-filled form fields
8 9 9 8.7
6 8 8 7.3
6 8 5 6.3
33. Work to establish a “We should test that” culture:
● Dedicated brainstorming sessions
● Regular lunch and learns
● Company-wide results/insights updates
Experimentation Culture