DISQUS

Marriage Help Man · 8 months ago

I've also been setting up some Word Press blogs and wishing I knew how to customize it more. I hate the default template. But it's free software so complaining is a little tacky on my part. I try to stick with what's clean and simple as you have done with this blog. I wish I could do the more complex things that you talked about in this article. I'm getting there!

Bukugan · 8 months ago

I agree with him about the templete and i do the same wish i new how to customize it a bit more. Through time im sure ill find out how to work them a bit more.

Word Search Puzzle · 8 months ago

I have never heard of Thematic before. I will give it a try.

SEO Blog Malta · 8 months ago

I had loads of problems selecting themes for my blog too. The free ones are just not good enough, which you need to pay for premium ones before being able to test them as you've done here. Thanks for the tips though, will check them out.

Alex Schleber · 8 months ago

Hi Andy, is the blog back in operation again? If so, glad to have you back.

Just checked by your Twitter profile and saw the tweet for the new post. Good stuff, hope I'll get time to try it out. Just retweeted this too. Cheers!

AndyBeard · 8 months ago

The plan is to have a lot more posts, though going to be working on backend stuff a little until middle of next week

Chelle · 8 months ago

I recently just switched over to thematic and a customized child theme called Commune. I now have a seo optimized site with auto resize pictures, no need for custom fields, no includes files to screw around with...I love it! And will likely be switching more and more sites to thematic soon.

Mikael @ Retire Rich · 8 months ago

I must admit that I didn't even understand half of what you just said but since I have long been wondering why nobody had done anything to use Google optimizer for split testing in WP now I think I know why... very few people know how to do that.

Timon Weller · 8 months ago

I am tired of the standard themes as well.. and that video demonstration helped heaps, I have always wondered about this google service. Thanks..
Also do you recommend the thematic theme..?

Dean Lee · 7 months ago

Yes, i totally agree with Timon - the video helped a lot. However, i'm not too sure about the thematic theme - it seems fairly complex. Thanks anyway for the post!

Kevin Sandridge · 8 months ago

Andy - split testing is something I need t learn more about. Google's tool for this seems very helpful, and your video puts things into a bit clearer perspective or me. Thanks!

Decorative Pillows · 8 months ago

Thanks for posting your experience with testing landing pages on blogs. It can take so much time to customize a blog and then if you want to change things up, you have to start all over again. I'm still using blogger because it seems more straightforward to update themes, but it's obviously a lot less flexible in the long run than wordpress. One of these days I will have to bite the bullet and invest some time with wordpress -- I imagine that the results will be well worth it once all is said and done.

Craig Stouffer · 8 months ago

Great points. Split testing / A/B or multi-variant testing should be considered for any marketing program - whether it be for landing pages / website or email marketing. Here's an educational Webinar on using split testing / multi-variant testing to improve email results:

http://www.pinpointe.com/resources/webinar-spli...

Melayu Boleh · 8 months ago

i agree with you about template because design can intract visitor to stay on your website or blog

Martin · 8 months ago

Great Post! It was really very informative.

Nice video aswell.

Mark Verbiest · 8 months ago

I would recommend thematic - easy to implement and mantain.

Teresa · 8 months ago

Andy thanks for sharing this information, and thanks for the video, I am a big fan of the video demonstration. I am a visual person, helps to see it.

Thanks,
Teresa

Mike Jones · 8 months ago

I have been playing with thematic and it took me a few times to get the hang of it but it is a very good "must have". I used it to make a few themes and during tests so far so good.

Chat emoticons · 8 months ago

I'm not sure thematic is the best choice - it's too fiddly for me :(

Joel McLaughlin · 8 months ago

Great post, I am excited to check out that php plugin. Good post

Matt @Website Design · 8 months ago

Wow... that made my brain hurt but once I've re-read it a couple of times I think I'll just about get it. I can see the benefit of using different themes on the same blog but tbh just HOW you do that and then measure the benefit had always puzzled me a little. This seems like a plan that could work well.

Albert · 8 months ago

Thanks for the plugin. I will be sure to check it out Andy.

seosoeasy · 8 months ago

Thanks for sharing this article which was really informative to me and at same time helpful too.Iam aware of some new features by reading your article.Excellent posts!

Chris Lang · 8 months ago

Split testing is key. Every commercial you see has already been tested to death or is a testing campaign. I get my best ad copy lines watching highly tested commercials. As usual Andy is right on.

@Matt @Website Design, most of Andy's posts make my head hurt. LOL

Chris Lang
@iamchrislang

Darlington Web Design · 8 months ago

Thaks for the article, I agree that the default themes aren't great. I'd not heard of the split testing before either so I'll check that out!

SEO Darlington

Tony @ sports betti · 8 months ago

Thanks for sharing this article. I am going to give this plug in a try.

Tony

Chris Lang · 8 months ago

It's about time you got back to work, the Internet was a less interesting place with out you blogging.

I started a Google beta test and it asked me my preferred sites. This is the list it offered.

Add - google.com Add - digg.com Add - w3schools.com Add - facebook.com Add - seobook.com Add - andybeard.eu Add - addons.mozilla.org (that's all G suggested BTW)

There in the list was andybeard.eu and low and behold you are back. Pretty weird even for my level of conspiracy theory.

bisnis internet · 8 months ago

i haven't use thematic, it's likes hybrid theme concept, there is child theme, but thematic is very clean, i like it, thanks.

Den Nicholson · 8 months ago

Thanks Andy, this was very informative, I have always wanted to split test but I'm a very impatient person. I am definitely going to give this a go

msdanielle (danielle) · 8 months ago

HowTo: Wordpress Multivariate Split Testing w Google Website Optimizer by @andybeard - http://andybeard.eu/2009/04/multivariate.html w video

Jorge Delgado · 8 months ago

Nice php plugin!

THanks
Jorge

Quentin · 8 months ago

I love the Thematic theme you used however recently I have been using Artisteer to make my own customized themes which has resulted in not only themes that are my own creation but an unlimited way to customize them the way I want.

Que

AndyBeard · 7 months ago

I have been tempted to look at Artisteer a number of times, but to be honest I have never liked the look of the code created. I actually have a number to convert over to Thematic.

Motivator · 7 months ago

I have to play a bit with that PHP plugin, the rest is for me to test. Nice tips tough.

Sam · 7 months ago

Google Website Optimizer really is fantastic! If you are looking for something that is simple to use and do not have much in the way to split-test, then it is definitely a great option. I have been personally using it for quite some time and I really enjoy it!

I have tried other PHP-based scripts and products as well, but I really like Google Website Optimizer. Plus, you can't beat the price!

Techachino · 7 months ago

Thanks for introducing me to Thematic. I will definitely give it a shot. The example child themes look refreshingly different from the commercial themes I am used to seeing. I love it.

T Phillips · 7 months ago

I haven't given Thematic a good look at yet either. Most of my blogs are niche oriented so the same theme all the way through hasn't posed any problem for me, pus I design my own headers.

That said it could be nice to be able to switch it up a bit. It's definitely worth a look see, with so many people blogging online it's important to stay ahead of the pack and keep things fresh and interesting.

Green Marketing · 7 months ago

Andy,

Thanks for the excellent article! I just setup 4 WP blogs that are attached to e-commerce solutions and this will surely help. Thanks!

sleigh beds · 7 months ago

i really curious about how it works.thanx for solve my prob

ohmelayu · 7 months ago

ehm. i guess i will give a try first. Never heard something like this before. Really new to me to do that split testing.

nancy workfromhome business · 7 months ago

I hate this, I was always afraid of PHP and could not even read the code, so till now i am using a ready mad Theme. i will give it a try now who knows!

mirror bingo · 7 months ago

Nice article for sharing, It was really very informative. I am agree with you about template because design can interact visitor to stay on. Nice tips stay continue.

Free iPhone · 7 months ago

Interesting post mate, I will give this a try, nice to read a good flowing post though on the net, not many good writers now days!

Make money online · 7 months ago

Great post, I do enjoy your template, its really unique and stands out in the make money online field, but im not sure how hard it would get when it comes to customizing - i know close to nnoyhing when it comes to programming.

My blog uses the "Minima" template right from blogger. If you check it out you can see that it's pretty customized, please tell me what you think Andy!

Greg · 7 months ago

I have to agree that a lot of this goes over my head... I'd say there is a great market for someone who can simplify :)

Jose · 7 months ago

Hello!
Very nice post, its my first time in here, and I really liked it, im going to try the php plugin, thanks.

Francis Beltronics · 7 months ago

First off, your blog theme is one key to attract and make your visitor feel relax and cozy while reading your blogs. Great tips! I love how the way you explain it, makes it easier for us to understand.

Adam Pieniazek · 7 months ago

Big fan of the thematic theme base. Use it on a few of our sites. Never even heard of Google Website Optimizer before. Thanks for this post. It's wicked informative and useful.

Francis Beltronics · 7 months ago

I'm also into process of setting up my own WordPress blog but I have limited knowledge about customizing it more. I want to create my own WordPress theme but I don't know how to make it yet, for the meantime I'm just using the available templates in wordpress. I've also tried Thematic and been testing it for 2 weeks already. I guess I still have a long way to go before I finally learn how to make my own wordpress theme. I'm not sure if Thematic will work for me but I'm giving it a shot now.

Cheap Sunglasses · 7 months ago

I'm not a great fan of the themes, I'm not very familiar with PHP so I've been using the ready made themes as well. I think that some of them are designed very nicely, but they lack a lot of things that I would like to have on my site. I guess I'll just have to familiarize myself with PHP.

nice post.

-Nick

TomTom Deals · 7 months ago

I feel your initial pain! Wordpress is a great platform for developing websites, but short of Goolge Adsense it offers nothing to affiliates.

I had to go to the extreme hassle of creating multiple custom templates to pull in feeds and make my site affiliate friendly. It was worth the effort though because it converts well.

Abitur · 7 months ago

Nice plugin, I will try it. Very good and an easy to read article. I never heard about Split-testing bevor! Thanks a lot!
Abitur from Germany

LI Computer Repairs · 7 months ago

isnt the php plugin opening up the site to be more vulnerable?

JustinSMV · 7 months ago

A good template with good content will not hinder the importance of having a highly unique custom design. Thanks for pointing out Thematic will take a lookie over there.

nooraza · 7 months ago

Good plugin... but not just install, but I have to make sure I understand the reason behind it,.. thank you

MN Entertainers · 7 months ago

Awesome, I've been thinking about doing split testing on my site for a while now. Thanks man.

Detox King · 7 months ago

Hi Andy,

I completed a major multivariate test project with a large dating company as a client. I found the best tool was "Split Test Accelerator" and could easily be used with Wordpress. The tool does require a .php file and has a robust function set.

I did use the the Google website optimizer and found it a disaster when doing multivariate testing. This Google tool will only do A/B testing well.

-- Brian

richardabelson · 4 months ago

Detox King,

I am trying to figure out how to use STA with Wordpress and could use your help.. please email me!

Engagement Rings · 7 months ago

I think it’s going to be pretty useful too and if used well should increase ROI for websites as well as helping Google’s bank account grow a bit larger. Being able to test and measure more accurately is one of the things that sets apart business online and offline. Small businesses aren’t going to have the money to just throw marketing and advertising out there in the hopes that something works. While you can test things offline it doesn’t compare with how much more you can know about your visitors online. Testing if done properly and well can help small business owners to not only optimize their websites, but also their budgets as it’s much easier to find out what is and isn’t working.

Ignition Systems · 7 months ago

Such is the give and take with open source software. Everyone has the freedom of expression to implement their theme their own way. But theme option pages are the worst, some with those hidden gotchas that keep the theme from working right out of the proverbial box. I appreciate they've given some thought to a declarative way of driving their themes, but the theme needs to be ready to go without a lot of setup.

Alex · 7 months ago

Is cache MUST be off for perform the tests?

craigdesorcy · 5 months ago

Great post Andy.

I'm adding this post to easilyanswered.com

On Artisteer, I'm with you. I feel the code is bloated and not search engine friendly. I still use it but am now looking into Thematic.

Craig

thewayofmoney.com · 5 months ago

Thank you for this post, it's really helped me understand how I could use Google Optimizer with Wordpress.

I really appreciate all the time and effort you've put into letting us know about this.

Great content man :)

Clément Yeung

Free_Dating_Service · 4 months ago

Thanks for the info, I had no clue how to optimize my Wordpress blog.

Cheers!