In ABConvert, some users don’t know how to check if the test works after setting it up. We offer several options to help the users confirm if a test is set up and running correctly.
In this article, we will introduce some general ways to help you verify your tests by preview and analytics.
How to preview the test
After setting up a test, you want to check if the test showed up correctly. There are 2 general ways to preview the test:
Way 1 - Use the Preview URL or Summary on the analytics page
After launching the test, you can click the test by going to the “Analytics” page. Then click the “Get Preview URL” or “Summary” to preview the test URL.
Price Test and Content Test in “Get Preview URL”
Shipping Test, URL Redirect Test, Template Test, Theme Test in “Summary”
You can also check out more detailed ways in different test types:
Preview in URL Redirect Test: 🔗 How to start a URL Redirect Test | ABConvert Help Centre
Preview in Price Test: How to start a price test | ABConvert Help Centre
Preview in Shipping Test: 🚀 Getting started with Shipping Tests | ABConvert Help Centre
Preview in Theme Test: How to create a theme test | ABConvert Help Centre
Preview in Template Test: How to create a template test | ABConvert Help Centre
If the pop-up model in the Template Test Setup is not correct, please try to use Way 2 to add preview numbers in the page URL to preview the test during setup.
Way 2 - Add ?preview=0 or ?preview=1 in the URL
Sometimes, the preview URL may show an unexpected preview. If you encounter this case, please don’t worry. This is another way to preview if the test is working and display the assigned variant. (0 to original, 1=test group 1, etc) We recommend you use this advanced option that shows the ongoing test.
For example, if I have a test to a product page at www.myshopifystore/product/A, I want to test my original page and duplicate page by different prices. I would type these in the URL bar to test my variants:
www.myshopifystore/product/A?preview=0 -> Original price
www.myshopifystore/product/A?preview=1 -> Test price 1
Way 3 - Advanced Options
Each test type may have more ways to preview a test by different factors like locations or new customers only. You can check out the below articles and learn how to preview the test:
Preview for selected countries in price test: How to run a price test only in the selected countries
Preview for new customers only: How to run price test only on new customer
Preview for Price Test + Shipping Test at the same time: 🚢 How to test product price + shipping at the same time
How to check analytics is working
After knowing the test is displaying correctly, users may want to ensure that the data is being collected accurately, like view, add to cart, checkout, and order. Here are the steps you can test for analytics:
Step 1 - Visit the test in an incognito browser
As you want to test if the analytics is working and collect data correctly, you can use an incognito browser to pretend you are a new customer and shop for your stores. The ABConvert script will collect data and record your events as you browse your website, then send the data to the analytics dashboard.
Step 2 - Refresh the Analytics Page to see if the event is recorded
After visiting the test, you can go back and refresh the Analytics Page to see if your event is recorded.
If you are wondering what data will be recorded, you can check out these articles to learn how ABConvert analytics works and how we track the data: