Tonya Golden — Conversion Optimization Trainer

◦ THE BACKSTORY ◦

A PATH FROM DESIGN,
TO CODE, TO DATA

WHERE IT STARTED: DESIGN

My path began in design, learning how to think about layout, color, and user experience long before I ever wrote a line of code.

SELF-TAUGHT IN FRONT-END DEV

I taught myself front-end development so I could build the things I was designing, and it grew into a genuine love for writing code.

INTO CRO & DATA ANALYSIS

That path led me into conversion rate optimization and A/B testing, where I became fluent in data analysis and using real user behavior to guide decisions.

I started out in design, learning how to craft interfaces that felt intuitive and looked great. From there I taught myself front-end development so I could build the things I was designing, and it quickly grew into a genuine love for writing code. That love led me to start college and graduate with an Associate’s Degree in Computer Science. From there I began my career doing front-end development work. Eventually I was moved into a CRO specialist role at my current company, where I became familiar with data analysis, experiment design, and using real user behavior to inform every decision. Today I bring all three together, design, development, and data, to build interfaces that are as intuitive as they are effective.

2018

ESTABLISHED IN

113+

EXPERIMENTS RAN

12+

INTERFACES BUILT

▸ STAT SHEET

SKILLS & MOVES

TOP SKILLS

WEB DESIGNLV.95

FRONT-END DEVLV.88

A/B EXPERIMENTSLV.99

ANALYTICSLV.92

UI DESIGNLV.90

CRO STRATEGYLV.97

FULL SKILL SET

UI/UX DESIGN

UI DESIGNVISUAL DESIGNDESIGN SYSTEMSWIREFRAMINGUSER FLOWSPROTOTYPINGUSABILITY TESTING

FRONT-END DEVELOPMENT

REACTTYPESCRIPTJAVASCRIPT (ES6+)HTML & CSSTAILWIND CSSRESPONSIVE DESIGN

PRODUCT & GROWTH

A/B TESTINGEXPERIMENT DESIGNCONVERSION RATE OPTIMIZATIONFUNNEL ANALYSIS

ANALYTICS

DATA ANALYSISKPI TRACKINGDASHBOARDINGCOHORT ANALYSISATTRIBUTION MODELINGSEGMENTATIONSTATISTICAL SIGNIFICANCE TESTING

TOOLS

FIGMAGITVITEWORDPRESSGOOGLE ANALYTICSSALESFORCEDATORAMAVWOHOTJARVS CODEPOSTHOG

AI & AUTOMATION

CHATGPTCLAUDE CODECLAUDE DESIGNLOVABLEMANUS

▸ GYM BADGES EARNED

THE JOURNEY SO FAR

ELITE INSURANCE PARTNERS

FEB 2021 – PRESENT · INSURANCE

3 PROMOTIONS

TECHNICAL PERFORMANCE STRATEGISTCURRENT

JUL 2025 – PRESENT

Designed, launched, and analyzed more than 100 A/B tests across seven web properties serving over 1 million monthly visitors.
Drove optimization for digital funnels generating approximately 30,000 leads per month.
Increased lead-to-policy conversion from 5.8% to 6.9% through implementation and testing of a post-conversion video experience.
Improved form conversion rate by 3.48% by optimizing lead capture field placement and user flow.

MARKETING SUPERVISOR

JUL 2024 – JUL 2025

Managed and mentored a team of 10–15 marketing professionals, providing coaching, performance feedback, and guidance on project execution and priorities.
Led weekly project status meetings to track progress, identify roadblocks, and develop solutions to keep initiatives on schedule.
Owned project prioritization, roadmap planning, and resource allocation for the marketing department, setting timelines and monitoring deliverables to keep initiatives on goal and on schedule.
Presented project updates and strategic recommendations to the Director of Marketing weekly and executive leadership biweekly.

CRO SPECIALIST

JAN 2022 – JUL 2024

Designed, implemented, and analyzed A/B tests focused on improving lead generation, conversion rates, and user engagement across company websites.
Leveraged VWO, Google Analytics, and behavioral data to identify optimization opportunities and develop test hypotheses.
Conducted funnel analysis and user journey reviews to uncover friction points and prioritize testing opportunities by potential business impact.
Created experiment plans, success metrics, and post-test analyses to communicate findings and recommendations to leadership.

WORDPRESS DEVELOPER

FEB 2021 – JAN 2022

Managed and maintained two WordPress websites, including a large-scale content and informational site serving consumers researching Medicare and insurance-related topics.
Developed and implemented website enhancements using HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and WordPress, including UI/UX design work such as wireframes and mockups to improve functionality, usability, and overall user experience.
Monitored website performance, identified technical issues, and performed routine maintenance, plugin updates, and QA testing to ensure site reliability, stability, and security.
Supported SEO initiatives through content updates, on-page optimization, site structure improvements, and technical enhancements.

BAKER WHITE INC.

MAY 2018 – MAY 2020 · E-LIQUID MANUFACTURING

DUAL ROLE

FRONT-END WEB DEVELOPER & GRAPHIC DESIGNER

MAY 2018 – MAY 2020

Developed and maintained multiple company websites using modern front-end technologies (HTML, CSS, JavaScript).
Implemented SEO strategies to improve search visibility and organic traffic.
Designed product labels and marketing graphics aligned with brand guidelines.
Managed website updates, performance improvements, and content implementation.

FREELANCE & CONTRACT WORK

2018 – PRESENT · INDEPENDENT

MULTIPLE CLIENTS

THE WREN'S HOLLOW: AUDIT, REDESIGN & DEVELOPMENT

JUL 17 – JUL 24, 2026

Audited a 7-page WordPress/WooCommerce author site for indie romance/fantasy writer Ali Wren, identifying visual hierarchy and branding gaps undercutting the identity of her two series, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot and The Veiled Prophecy.
Designed a plum-and-parchment visual system fit for a romance/dark-fantasy author brand, then built a custom WordPress theme reproducing it across every page.
Wired up WooCommerce for signed-copy sales, including cart and checkout, alongside dedicated pages for each book series, individual titles, events, and upcoming releases.
Delivered a site Ali can run herself, with a stronger visual identity, a working shop, and an events hub in place of the generic theme she started with.

▸ IT’S SUPER EFFECTIVE!

CASE STUDIES

TYPE 1 · WEB DESIGN / DEVELOPMENT

AUTHOR SITE · E-COMMERCESHIPPED

THE WREN'S HOLLOW

Rebuilt indie author Ali Wren's site on WordPress + WooCommerce, with a real shop, cart, and checkout.

WORDPRESSWOOCOMMERCEPHP

VIEW PROJECT ▸

REDESIGN · MARINE ARTSHIPPED

OVERBOARD ART

Rebuilt a marine artist's single-page site into a real portfolio that actually shows off the craftsmanship.

REACTTANSTACKTAILWIND

VIEW PROJECT ▸

TYPE 2 · A/B EXPERIMENTS

▸ CTA COLOR TEST

BUTTON COLOR CHANGE

● ORIGINAL

● VARIANT

Problem: While auditing competitor websites, I noticed many were using orange CTA buttons while we were using red. I wanted to test whether the color shift would lift our click rate.

Action: Ran an A/B test on the primary CTA, swapping the red button for an orange variant while keeping copy and placement identical.

Result: The orange variant outperformed the red control, lifting click rate from 43.61% to 44.26%, a small change with meaningful downstream impact at scale.

● ORIGINAL (RED): 43.61%

● VARIANT (ORANGE): 44.26%

44.26%

VARIANT CLICK RATE

VIEW EXPERIMENT ▸

▸ FUNNEL OPTIMIZATION

LIFECOMPARED THANK YOU VIDEO

● WINNING VARIANT

Problem: After a Thank You Video boosted performance in our Medicare flow, we wanted to validate the same play in our Life Insurance funnel to drive higher lead-to-policy conversion.

Action: Tested two Thank You Video variations on the LifeCompared confirmation page (one AI-generated and one featuring our director on camera), measuring downstream lead-to-policy.

Result: The director-led video won, lifting lead-to-policy from 5.8% to 6.9% and confirming that authentic, human-led video outperformed the AI alternative.

● ORIGINAL: 5.8%

● WINNING VARIANT: 6.9%

6.90%

LEAD-TO-POLICY

VIEW EXPERIMENT ▸

▸ EMAIL CAPTURE TEST

EMAIL FIELD PLACEMENT

● ORIGINAL

● VARIANT

Problem: Analytics showed a heavy drop-off on the final step where users were asked for name, phone, and email all at once; it felt like handing over everything in a single ask.

Action: Restructured the form by moving the email field to an earlier step, separating it from the phone field so the contact ask felt more progressive and less invasive.

Result: The repositioned email field reduced friction at the final step and lifted overall conversions by 3.48%.

● ORIGINAL: EMAIL ON FINAL STEP

● VARIANT: EMAIL MOVED EARLIER

+3.48%

CONVERSIONS

VIEW EXPERIMENT ▸

▸ CREATIVE TEST

MEDICARE THANK YOU VIDEO THUMBNAILS

● ORIGINAL

● VARIANT B

● VARIANT C

● VARIANT D

Problem: After launching the Medicare Thank You Video, watch rates were lower than expected; the default thumbnail wasn't compelling enough to pull users into the video.

Action: Designed and tested 3 new high-contrast thumbnail variations against the original, optimizing for visual interrupt and click-to-play intent.

Result: All 3 variations beat the control on lead-to-policy, with the winning thumbnail lifting LTP from 4.3% to 5.9%.

● ORIGINAL: 4.3%

● WINNING VARIANT: 5.9%

5.90%

LEAD-TO-POLICY

VIEW EXPERIMENT ▸

▸ THE TRAINER

DATA IS SUPER EFFECTIVE

I'm Tonya Golden, a front end developer and UI/UX designer who's spent 12+ years building interfaces people actually enjoy using. I design clean, accessible layouts and pair them with conversion rate optimization, running A/B tests to prove which experience truly performs best.

Think of me as your battle strategist: every layout is a matchup, every interaction a move, and the user experience always calls the shot.

Want to know what I’m like outside of work? Learn more about me here.

▸ CHOOSE YOUR MOVES

SERVICES

NORMAL

A/B & MULTIVARIATE TESTING

Rigorous, statistically-sound tests from hypothesis to readout.

ANALYTICS

MEASUREMENT & TRACKING

Clean analytics you can trust, wired to the metrics that matter.

FIRE

CRO AUDITS

A full teardown of your funnel with a prioritized win list.

PSYCHIC

UI DESIGN

Clean, on brand interfaces built to convert, not just to look good.

GRASS

LANDING PAGE OPTIMIZATION

High-converting pages built on evidence, not opinions.

ELECTRIC

FRONT END DEVELOPMENT

Fast, responsive sites built with clean, maintainable code.

▸ TRAINER REVIEWS

WHAT THE TEAM SAYS

★★★★★

“Tonya completely transformed my author website into a beautiful, polished, professional site that truly reflects my brand. She listened to my ideas and made the entire process stress-free. I'd absolutely recommend her for high-quality web design.”

— ALI WREN, AUTHOR

★★★★★

“I've partnered with Tonya for four years as our tech and marketing teams collaborated closely. She's incredibly organized, reliable, and brings clarity and structure to even the most complex projects. I'd highly recommend her to any team.”

— ALYSSA SCITES, PROJECT MANAGER

★★★★★

“Tonya led a wide range of CRO experiments for our team, using tools like VWO and PostHog to map funnel behavior and surface actionable insights. She doesn't just run tests, she synthesizes the data into clear reports that drive real product decisions.”

— JACOB CABRERA, FULL STACK ENGINEER

LEVEL UP
YOUR CONVERSION

A PATH FROM DESIGN,
TO CODE, TO DATA