Resources & Tools for CRO
With a handful of years of CRO experience under my belt, I thought I would publish a list of tools that have helped me serve my clients well.
A/B Testing Tools
These tools are often client-specific; however, many agencies with CRO services have partnerships with these platforms that may make it easier if your business does not have access to an A/B testing platform.
VWO – offers a free tier for up to 50,000 monthly tracked users.
Plerdy – offers free and lower-priced options for small businesses.
Screen Recording & Heatmapping Tools (Client-Specific)
Hotjar is the most commonly used platform for screen recordings and heatmapping. The features available for each client will depend on their specific account level.
FullStory features a lot of audience segmentation and filtering tools. These can help narrow the search scope through screen recordings and heatmaps.
Mouseflow is very similar to Hotjar in terms of platform interface and how insights are collected. The features available for each client will depend on their specific account level.
In addition to offering a Web Experimentation tool for A/B Testing, VWO also offers a standalone Behavior Analytics platform that rivals the major competitors.
User Research & Survey Platforms
Lyssna (Previously Called Usability Hub)
Lyssna offers many user survey templates that can be used to evaluate sentiment, preference, and user impressions of static elements and videos. I have primarily used Lyssna for design preference, 5-second tests, and general-purpose surveys based on the research questions that need to be addressed.
Optimal Workshop provides other user-testing exercises that will glean micro-conversion insights. Workflows like card sorting, tree testing, and first-click testing are examples of experiments for which users may be recruited.
UserTesting is a platform for numerous types of user research projects. I have primarily used UserTesting for usability tests when there is a need for highly specialized participants.
Google Forms can capture simple survey information from participants when there is a limited client budget. Google Forms can be offered as a substitute for other preferred survey tools and is primarily used for short surveys.
Pre & Post Test Analysis
This calculator is often used to determine the appropriate length of an AB test.
This calculator can be used for both pre-test and post-test analysis. This particular calculator is valuable when tests have multiple variations.
This calculator is a bit simpler than the CXL calculator but presents findings clearly and concisely. Use when you have only two variations.
Dynamic Yield Bayesian AB Testing Calculator
This calculator allows you to view if your test results are statistically significant using the Bayesian method and shows you the output in a visually appealing way (for screenshots)
Helpful Chrome Extensions
Accessibility Insights for Web
This tool enables us to look out for any web accessibility issues that we can surface with the client. We recommend running any findings by a development team to fully understand the ramifications for the website.
axe DevTools – Web Accessibility Testing
A more comprehensive accessibility tool.
An all-in-one tool that is useful for grabbing any page’s pixel color (hex or RGB code) for mockups or other brand-specific documentation. It can also generate CSS gradients or create a custom palette for any web page.
This tool identifies which fonts and font families are being used on websites.
GoFullPage – Full Page Screen Capture
This tool captures a screenshot of a full website page in your browser window.
Resizes your browser window to emulate various screen resolutions. Useful for testing responsiveness.
Blogs/Newsletters/Favorite Sites
LinkedIn Accounts
User Experience Guides
Psychological Triggers Cheatsheet by Get Uplift
A complete list of Cognitive Biases and unconscious triggers that affect a human decision-making process. This sheet can help you identify these to help aid design decision-making to improve conversion rates and increase ROI.
The 7 Principles of Conversion-Centered Design from Unbounce
While primarily aimed toward designers, this guide works well for CROs. This document holds the framework for building high-converting marketing campaigns and is a good guide for CRO Assessments and gathering potential test ideas.
Bayesian vs. Frequentist AB Testing: What’s the Difference by CXL
This article is handy when choosing an A/B testing tool and a testing methodology for your client.
10 Usability Heuristics for User Interface Design by Nielson Norman Group
Jakob Nielsen’s 10 general principles for thoughtful and useful interaction design.
Today’s top CRO experts have come together to teach you how to double your conversion rate. Access to this guide is not comprehensive unless you sign up, but the linked articles provide great beginner information.