It’s common that people like to do things in their own way. When it comes to web host shopping, some shoppers just like to use their own method to review hosting companies. Now I’m absolutely alright with readers that prefer to go with their own methodology; but it is important for me to inform you that certain review methods are just incorrect.
Affichage des articles dont le libellé est Test. Afficher tous les articles
Affichage des articles dont le libellé est Test. Afficher tous les articles
samedi 12 novembre 2016
Why ping test is not the right hosting review method?
The Infamous Ping Test
Some so call ‘tech shoppers’ like to act smart and run ping test on hosting provider’s website.
“This will show how fast the web host server is.” – that’s what my friend once told me. The ping test method is so popular that even experienced webmasters will think it actually works.
How to do a ping test?
A ping test is done when a short request is sent to the web server via your local machine. For example if I wish to ping-test Bluehost, I simply open my command prompt and hit ‘ping bluehost.com’. The ping results will come back in a time figures (normally in ‘ms’) to show how long it takes to get reply from the web server.
Why pinging the web host website will not work?
First of all a ping test is NEVER a good method to check on a web host server response rate. This is due to the fact that how well a web server response on a ping request depends on many factors that are not controlled by a web host (for example: distance between your computer and the servers).
Most importantly, you are (most of the time) hitting the wrong horse when you ping the web host’s website. Hosting providers are smart nowadays; they simply do not host their website on the same server as their customers. In fact, some web hosts even operate their websites on a different network system! Now tell me, how can you determine server response rate by pinging the web hosts’ websites?
How to check the speed of a web host?
If you would like to know how fast a web host is, the better way is to find a website that’s hosted on the web host instead of the web host’s website. Download a few files and wandering around the website should reveal what’s the web host response rate.
Another good way to check a server response rate is to run a website speed test online. Website speed test tools (like what you have on
Example of test results:
A few more words on website load time issue
Who’s responsible for a slow website?
A website’s response rate is dependent on many factors; including the hosting server CPU load, RAM usage, network speeds, and the web program’s efficiency. Do note that not every one of these factors are web host’s responsible.For instance, it’s the web owner’s responsibility to assure that his/her website is coded efficiently to avoid server resources wastage. Sometimes, it can be your ISP that’s responsible for the slow website.
How slow load time will affect your website?
Slow website load time is a problem that you cannot afford to overlook. A few critical consequences with slow website load time, including permanent lost of website traffics and increase of advertising cost are simply destructive.
Page 28 – Web Hosting Secret Revealed
A/B Testing: The Top Five Things to Test
Website usability and conversion testing is one of the easiest ways to improve the profitability of a site yet it’s often overlooked as many of us get too hung-up on driving the largest amount of traffic possible to our sites. Yet what’s the use of traffic if it doesn’t convert, after all for most us achieving conversions (be that sales, banner clicks, newsletter sign-ups, enquiry forms or affiliate product sales) is what pays the bills. A/B testing is one of the simplest ways to increase your conversion rate, this article looks at 5 of the top elements to test, if you need a generic overview of how this technique works there’s more here in this guide from
Marketers know that in an A/B test, just one element is changed for the duration of the test to achieve clean results against the control piece. If you change too many elements are once, you’re either straying into multivariate testing or you’re muddying the waters so much you won’t be able to get a clean result. Yet if you can only change one element, which element do you choose to get to the most profitable results quickly?
(Courtesy of Flickr User:
The Top Five Items to Change and Assess in an A/B Test
1. Creative
The creative element refers to the graphic design or layout of the piece. It may be as simple as changing the color (green to orange) or the font (Verdana to Times New Roman.) You can try changing one aspect of the overall appearance of the piece or the entire design.
2. Headlines
Headlines are the most important aspect of the copy, and testing several headlines often yields a quick bump in response and conversion rates. Try testing a question (How Happy Are You With Your Bank?), a benefit statement (Better Banking for Less – New Lower Monthly Fees) or a provocative statement (Most Banks Are Blah).
3. Call to Action
The call to action is the statement near the response mechanism that directly asks for the lead, sale or action step you want customers to take. Try tweaking the wording in one test, the placement in another. Sometimes the call to action is obscured by the graphic design or the wording is weak. A simple change has the potential to boost response rates with minimal changes to the overall piece. However, you won’t know until you test it!
4. Timing
Timing is often an overlooked aspect of A/B testing, but it can have a surprising impact on response rates. If you typically post to your blog in the morning, test the results of morning versus evening posts (there are automated features that let you write posts in advance and schedule the timing). If you typically send email marketing out on the first of the month, try the first Monday, or perhaps Tuesday. Maybe Wednesday is the best day for your customers because none of your competitors are sending out messages. The point is that timing is one aspect of your marketing efforts that’s typically inexpensive to change and may boost response rates. It’s worth testing.
5. Offer
What are you offering your customers? Are you trying to get them to sign up for a magazine, buy a book, order a free information kit or take some other action? Change the wording of the offer. If you give away a premium or a free shipping incentive, test one against the other. Does the premium generate a higher response rate or the free shipping incentive? Modest changes in how the offer description is worded may clarify the offer further or entice customers with more appealing language.
No matter which element you test, be sure to roll out your A/B test at the same time. Don’t send out your control first, then your test. Even the difference of a week or two between the pieces can alter the results so much as to make the test untenable. Change one variable per test for your A/B testing efforts, and be sure to have a clear-cut method of tracking the responses. Soon you should have enough data to tell which among your test piece is the clear winner.
Page 26 – Web Hosting Secret Revealed
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