Creating a Test

Video Overview

Chrome Extension

If you haven't already, install the PageTest Chrome Extension to get started.

The Chrome Extension allows you to select content on your website, directly in the browser. You will then be given your AI content test suggestions, which you can then choose which ones you'd like to test and what is the test goal success metric.

Once you have the extension installed, be sure to pin the extension in your browser for easier access.

Next you need to log in to the extension with your existing PageTest credentials. If you don't have a PageTest account yet, you can register for free here.

Testing a Page

Once logged in you will have a few choices, the primary one being Test this Page, before selecting this option, first navigate in the browser to the page you want to test.

Also make sure that if you have any admin backend CMS access, eg WordPress backend, that you are logged out of that. You should be viewing the page you want to test as a normal visitor, so no in the editor.

Once you select Test this Page a modal screen will appear, showing any previous tests created on the page, or blank if non found.

Selecting the Content to Test

Clicking the Add New Test button will start the process of creating a new content test, these can be any text content on your page, eg headers, CTAs, button text etc.

First you must select the content that you want to test, as you move your cursor around the page, you will see each content element on the page is selectable.

Once you click on an element, the Test Details screen will be shown.

The Test Details screen will initially show the currently selected content to test, as well as the HTML path of the content.

If you wish to change the selected test content, simply click the HTML path to initiate the selection process again.

Test Content Variants

By default the PageTest AI will return 10 content suggestions to test, which will be automatically selected, you can deselect any item by simply clicking the item. Or if you wish to tweak the text, click the pencil icon to change.

Use the Refresh unselected option to replace the unselected content with new suggestions from the AI.

NB: this will not effect your select content test options.

If you have you content tests you'd like to test, not provided by the AI, then select Add custom suggestion to enter some test content manually.

Test Goals

PageTest presently offers three distinct ways to identify success of test content.

Time on Page

As the name suggests, for this goal type, we simply measure then time on page for each visitor to the page for each test variant, and judge the winner on which content has the longest time on page.

Click Element

For this goal type, once selected you will be prompted to select another element on the page, this time only clickable elements can be chosen, eg links or buttons.

As with selecting page content to test, you can click the HTML path of the selected element to reselect a different click element.

Visit URL

With this option you can select a different page on the website, other than the page being tested, as the indictor of success. This could be something like a thank you, or registration page.

Test Priority

The priority of a test is important if you have more than one test live on a specific page. The higher the priority the more this test will be biased to new visitors to that page.

Leaving all tests the same priority will ensure an even split of visitors between each of the tests.

For example, if you're testing the main header text and the sign-up button text on the homepage of your website and setting the header text to priority 5 and button text to priority 1, the header test will receive 5 times the amount of visitors as the button test.

NB: Irrespective of how many tests are created on a page, each unique visitor will only see one test, maintaining a golden rule of testing, to only test one thing at once.