DNS is the internet’s phone book, and every website uses it. You used it to load this page. DNSimple is one of the best DNS providers & domain registrars out there, making an arcane, acronym-infested horrorshow more legible and understandable to folks like you & me.

As Draft Revise’s first-ever client, DNSimple worked with us for two and a half years(!) on 20 successful tests(!!), even tackling two full redesigns in the process(!!!). In the first month alone, we improved new account signups by 18 percent.

Here’s how DNSimple looked when we first worked together:

Here’s how it looked when we parted ways:

We eventually parted ways when I had taught them everything they need to know about A/B testing, handing off the process to their design director. In CEO Anthony Eden’s words:

When I heard about Draft Revise, I was excited but skeptical. It turns out that Nick really knows his craft and was able to do significant incremental improvements, constantly testing, validating and improving our conversion rates.

We’re honored and grateful to have Anthony and DNSimple take a chance on our business so many years ago, and we’re blown away that we had been able to cultivate a great relationship for so long.

What we did for DNSimple

First, we picked all the low-hanging fruit. Having never been optimized before, I went into their Google Analytics, ran heat maps across their funnel, and figured out what to improve. That gave us a lot of great ideas for our first couple rounds of tests.

Over the coming months, we not only kept running A/B tests: I also directed design for all of DNSimple’s marketing funnel. I took ownership of any new proposed changes, prioritized them in our overall A/B testing plan, and put them into practice on GitHub.

When we reached diminishing returns, it was time to redesign – twice. The first time we redesigned, I helped DNSimple hire a graphic designer and project managed the whole process. The second time, we redesigned the site in-house. Both redesigns were tested against the previous design when they were finished, to understand our new baseline of conversion rate – and any corresponding changes in customer behavior.

After the second redesign, DNSimple wanted to take their A/B testing practice in-house. We spent our final few weeks together learning about everything we had done over the past 2.5 years, and teaching DNSimple’s designers how to use Visual Website Optimizer to make tests themselves.

For example

Our first set of A/B tests focused on their pitch. We wanted to elaborate on the outcomes DNSimple hoped to have for their customers: ease of configuration, fewer hours spent administering, and peace of mind.

These changes resulted in an immediate 18% lift to DNSimple’s conversion rate.

Are you a growing software business?

If you make over 500 revenue-generating signups every month, you should definitely be A/B testing. As our longest-term client ever, DNSimple taught us a lot about how to test for software businesses: not only what works and what doesn’t, but also a holistic process for continuing to grow a software business.

If you operate in high enough volume to get a significant ROI from A/B testing, reach out and apply for Draft Revise today.

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