Let’s work on the assumption that you’re happy with your current website. The framework is sturdy, the design is clean, it’s completely responsive, and it attracts a steady flow of monthly clientele. Things are going well, and you wouldn’t consider it wise to rock the boat. But you can’t shake the feeling that there’s room for improvement.
Posit this: you could benefit from subtle changes to design strategy. Something as small as the “Book Now” button being displayed on the home page, rather than buried in a drop-down menu. Or perhaps links to special offers would yield a higher click thru rate (CTR) if page design were to strategically guide the visitor’s eye. Think use of colours and shapes, causing their eye-line to zero in.
At The Brand Mix, we’re all for continual growth and ongoing improvement. So, we say, go for it! But do it in a clever way. This is where A/B Split Testing comes into play. With this strategy, the risk is virtually non-existent, the cost is low, and the return on investment is high.
Split Testing allows you to test two (A/B) – or four (A/B/C/D) – variations of a single campaign to determine which design performs better. Change a single variable across two web pages that link to the same landing page. A “Book Now” button in red versus a “Book Now” button in green, for example. Test the pages on two separate audiences of similar size over a significant enough period for the reading to be accurate. From there, it’s easy to deduce which page design performs better.
Benefits of updating design in step with popularity include increased traffic, higher conversion rate, and where payment pages are concerned, a decrease in shopping cart abandonment. According to MightyCall, somewhere between 40% and 75% of site visitors abandon a website with items in their cart. This could be down to something as simple as shipping costs being displayed after the item has been added to their “must buy” list. Don’t let this happen with your hotel vouchers. (Don’t have vouchers in place? Here’s why you should.)
Keep a close eye on your analytics, put goal-orientated strategies into place, and remedy web design in accordance with Split Test findings. It could be the difference between a booking and a bounce. Need help with those new and improved strategies? At The Brand Mix, we’re experts on all things interwebby! Contact us for more information.
