Mobile A/B Testing at Quora
Article Summary
Tommy MacWilliam from Quora reveals how they A/B test mobile UX without waiting weeks for App Store approval. The secret? A hybrid architecture that lets them iterate at web speed.
Quora built their iOS and Android apps using embedded webviews alongside native code, creating a system where most UI changes can be deployed server-side. This hybrid approach means they can test everything from login screens to complex navigation flows without submitting new app versions.
Key Takeaways
- Entire login screen is a webview: fully A/B testable without releases
- Native components include JavaScript hooks for text and behavior changes
- Even native buttons can trigger different actions via server-side updates
- Launched Write Page feature by changing tab bar text without app update
Quora can modify the vast majority of their mobile UI elements without App Store releases by combining webviews with JavaScript-controllable native components.
About This Article
Quora's mobile team faced a real bottleneck. App Store and Play Store reviews were slowing down their ability to test UX changes on iOS and Android. They couldn't iterate quickly on their feed, navigation, and content features.
Tommy MacWilliam's team built a hybrid system that embedded webviews throughout the app and added JavaScript hooks to native components. This let them deploy UI changes from the server without releasing a new client version.
Quora could now test complex flows like the Your Content feature and update native tab bar text instantly. What used to take weeks of waiting for approval now happened in days, letting them move much faster on product work.