Item: Optimizely Web Experimentation
Rating: 5
Author: Verified User

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use Optimizely Web Experimentation to launch different experiments in our site. We have different type of audiences, coming from different countries and we offer content on different languages. Also we offer two different kind of products, so for us is essential to know what is the best way to communicate the value we offer and to make as easy as possible to complete our funnels, where users need to enter and select data tos submit claims. Therefore AB testing is such a great tool to optimize every part of our funnel for each different segment of users. We are also divided into different product teams and squads, so we need a robust tool to support teamwork, and different types of testing, the ones with the wysiwyg editor to the ones implemented on the code by devs.

Pros and Cons

Project and experiment organization.
Flicker and loading time. It is fast.
Results engine is detailed, and allows to check results as the experiment goes.

Pricing model penalizes those just starting with experimentation.
High price and fees based on website traffic, not experiment impressions. so you are charged whether you experiment or not.
Integration with GA4 is subpar.
Documentation at times confusing, different products.
UX is confusing and too simple. It leads to errors by users. Lack of meganavs, too minimalistic, it becomes quite a frustration.
Not competitive pricing compared with other AB testing tools.

Return on Investment

Delivering features that had a positive impact in our metrics from experiments
Being able to shift to an experimentation mindset across all organization
Rolling out experimentation program across different teams

Scalability

Technically, the script performance is excellent, which allows to scale up experimentation without any performance impact. And to run multiple experiments at once at ease.
It allows as well organize by different projects, and different roles which fits well any big organization. Also integrates with JIRA to keep track of every experiment.

Optimizely Platform Scope

At the moment due to the pricing model, Optimizely Web Experimentation hasn't delivered all its value. Sadly, because usage is based on incoming traffic to our website (and not users bucketed to experiments like other tools), we had to install/uninstall the Optimizely main script on the website before and after the experiment. This has lead to a lot of friction by the developers and also distrust on experiments being measured correctly.

Alternatives Considered

Optimizely Feature Experimentation

Feature experimentation had some extra benefits, specially with segmentation, but pricing was prohibited. So we sticked with Optimizely Web Experimentation.

Key Insights

Do you think Optimizely Web Experimentation delivers good value for the price?

Are you happy with Optimizely Web Experimentation's feature set?

Did Optimizely Web Experimentation live up to sales and marketing promises?

I wasn't involved with the selection/purchase process

Did implementation of Optimizely Web Experimentation go as expected?

Would you buy Optimizely Web Experimentation again?

Other Software Used

Hotjar, Jira Software, Snowflake

Likelihood to Recommend

Optimizely Web Experimentation is appropriate if you have a big budget and your company is mature enough in experimentation to take all the advantage of a such an expensive price model.

If you are just starting into AB testing, or not enough budget, I do not recommend Optimizely Web Experimentation, as it becomes quite frustrating to manage usage limits and technical set up to avoid extra charges.

Not value for money

Overall Satisfaction with Optimizely Web Experimentation