Your Ultimate Marketing Glossary

What is Client-Side Testing?

Client-side testing is basically a creative method to optimize websites. Think of it like those quick tweaks made to a website, but these changes appear quickly on the users' browser in real-time. Also, these changes happen at the same time the website loads on the users' end. So tools like JavaScript and other front-end technologies like CSS help in modifying texts, layouts, or images on the website. Unique and creative methods like A/B testing or multivariate testing are used through these tools. It's like experimenting on a website in the users' browsers to see what works best, and you don't have to make permanent changes to your website’s core setup. 

Let's take an example of a marketer who tests two different headlines on a webpage. He segments the audience into two groups: group A and group B. Now, he uses JavaScript to show one headline to group A and the other headline to group B. This way, they can track which headline generated more clicks or engaged more visitors. It's a creative way to see what works best with your audience and what interests them to engage with your website. The good news is these changes do not affect your website's server side at all. 

Advantages of Client-Side Testing

In today's digital world, client-side testing is a popular testing method that has many advantages. Note some of the following:

1. Ease of Deployment: It's easy to test out and experiment with. Product managers and designers don't have to wait on big groups like IT teams and developers to make these changes. Since these tweaks are not permanent, they can easily test ideas and see what works best on the website. 
2. Faster Iterations: You can make quick changes to the website. And since tools like JavaScript and testing platforms are used, the website server or core remains the same. You can try new ideas, test them out and even make quick adjustments without any server delays. 
3. Enhanced Creativity: Marketers can easily test out different layouts, fonts, and images and be creative without having to worry about all those server technicalities. 
4. Wide Compatibility: One great benefit of client-side testing is its adaptability in all modern servers. Let's say some of your customers use a computer, but the others use a phone, the changes you test will remain the same for both. So, no matter what device they use, it's compatible with all servers. 
5. Real-Time Results: Businesses use real-time results to optimize their websites. So, these changes are seen in the users’ browsers the moment they happen. Businesses can make quick adjustments at the same time too, if needed. 
6. No Need for Infrastructure Changes:  These changes happen on the users' browsers directly. You don't even need to make changes to the website's entire server and the core infrastructure if the website remains the same. 

The Lifecycle of a Client-Side Testing Process

Client-side testing is like a recipe with steps. Firstly, you plan the experiments, see what works best. Then, let your users interact, then lastly you check the results to see if it needs any adjustments: 

1. Define Goals: Try to define what your goal is. What do you want to achieve with the testing?  Do you want to keep customers on your site a little longer? Or perhaps you want them to sign up or buy a certain product. Clear goals help in making you see if the test worked. 
2. Hypothesis Creation: Try to make an educated guess by keeping your users' behavior in mind. Think of a possibility that can happen, like changing the CTA button will result in more people clicking on it, which is a guess. 
3. Test Design: Different testing platforms like Google Optimize, Optimizely, or VWO are available for making attractive designs of the webpage. See what works best when you change the layout or text or when you swap images. Look for the best results. 
4. Implementation: Now put it to the test. Use a testing platform or JavaScript for a smooth experiment. Also, make sure that these changes are visible only to certain people. Pick your target audience by checking where they are or from which device they accessed your website.
5. Launch the Experiment: This is the phase where you finally run your test. Keep your focus on things like how many clicks are generated, how many conversions are made, or how many sign-ups are done. 
6. Analyze Results: After you have performed the test, it's time to compare the two versions. See which one outperformed the other. Also, make sure your results are accurate. 
7. Implement Changes: Now choose the version that performed better. You can make those changes permanent if you think it gave you what you wanted. 
8. Iterate: Now, you can repeat the process by using the results from the tests to try out your new ideas. This is a great way to keep optimizing your website. 

Difference Between Client-Side Testing and Server-Side Testing

Both these testing methods aim at one thing: to make the experience better for the users. However, they are slightly different in the way they work:

Nowadays, businesses try to take advantage of both of these techniques as they are equally effective in their respective areas. It depends on what businesses need and what their websites demand. 

Why Use Client-Side Testing?

To answer this simply: it's a creative testing method that allows different teams to experiment with their unique ideas. One doesn't need to bother the IT teams or the developers to make those core changes. It's a perfect way to innovate and optimize your websites. 

Here are a few reasons why client-side testing is used: 

• Flexibility: Here, the freedom lies in your hands—you can experiment with the layouts, swap images, or try different design elements to suit your audience. 
• Speed of Implementation: The best part about client-side testing is that the non-technical teams, like UX or marketing, can make changes independently. They don't have to go through lengthy processes like waiting for the developers to first make changes. 
• Actionable Insights: Picture this: a business looking into how its users are interacting with their website. They use the client-side testing that equips them with the knowledge on how to make their website better. 
• Lower Risk: Another plus side is the lower risk factor involved in client-side testing. Simply because these changes are not made to the server of the website, the website's core functionality doesn't get affected at all. 

Summary

To sum it up, think of client-side testing as a creative yet fast method to see changes on your website in real time. Businesses apply experimental changes to their website layouts, or CTA’s or visual designs, but they do not touch the server of the website. This means that the changes are not permanent, it all happen directly in the users' browser. This testing method is also packed with benefits, like it has flexibility, it's a creative approach, it has a faster deployment rate, and many more advantages. Moreover, compared with the server-side testing, it's a bit different but these two testing methods simply complement eachother. Since the end goal of both these testing methods is ‘website optimization.’