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A/B testing doesn't necessarily mean "test two subtle shades of the same thing." For a great example, see the Highrise A/B test: http://37signals.com/svn/posts/

A/B testing doesn't necessarily mean "test two subtle shades of the same thing." For a great example, see the Highrise A/B test: http://37signals.com/svn/posts/2991-behind-the-scenes-ab-testing-part-3-final http://37signals.com/svn/posts/2991-behind-the-scenes-ab-tes... This is a good example that disproves many of the false premises mentioned in the OP, as the clear winner of the A/B tests was a bold dynamic design with lots of character, that was completely different from the original designs.

anywhichway 13y ago
Great example to bring into the conversation. One complexity to consider is that the long form versus the smiling person may have retained completely different user demographic. To me, the smiling person may represents an easy, idiot proof service with customer support, but may be lacking more advanced technical features, which is fine if you are set up to cater to that demo. Technical services like Github may suffer from increased sign ups from the wrong demo if it means their forums are swamped with beginner level questions that they aren't equipped to hand hold.