We are continuing our exploration of video from Smashing Conferences this year with two videos that explore the impact of third party scripts. These scripts can add functionality, and give us valuable information, but what do they cost?

These two talks will help you to assess the third party scripts you might be considering adding to a site, and to be able to advise your clients or team members when the request comes in to add yet another script to a global include file!

Name That Script!

Recorded at the SmashingConf in San Francisco earlier this year, Trent Walton asks how can we objectively measure the value of third party scripts for advertising, A/B testing, or analytics? We need to consider their impact on web performance, user experience, as well as understand if they really help our business goals.

A/B Testing, Ads and Other Third Party Tags

At the SmashingConf in London, Andy Davies approached the same subject from a technical angle, showing us the impact that “just a snippet of JavaScript” can have.

Enjoyed watching these talks? There are many more SmashingConf videos on Vimeo. We’re also getting ready for the upcoming SmashingConf in New York — see you there? ????

(ra)