Launch Your Test

Before launching your test, we recommend taking a few steps to make sure everything looks right. We'll cover these steps below.

Preview your test variant

Once you're happy with the changes that you want to test, you can preview these changes in Shoplift or in your browser in a new tab.

Previewing in Shoplift

If you are drafting a template test, Shoplift provides full-page previews for both of your test variants so you can see your changes at a glance. To enter preview, hover over either your original or variant and click "Compare view". To change your device view between desktop or mobile, click the device toggle.

Please note that Compare view is a visual preview only and not an interactive version of your website.

Previewing in browser

You can preview any test, whether it’s still in draft or already launched, directly in your browser.

To do this, hover over the preview image for your test and select “View in browser”. This opens the default page that Shopify serves for the theme, template, or URL you’re testing.

Switch between variants

When you're previewing in browser, you can switch between test variants. At the bottom of the preview window, you’ll see a toggle that lets you switch between:

• Original (A) – your current experience

• Variant (B) – your test experience

You can also navigate across your site while the preview is active to see how each page looks under the A or B variant. If testing a PDP template for example, you can now view any product under that A or B experience.

FAQ: Why do my edits show up on my original and variant previews?

If making edits to a template test in Shopify affected your original template, you likely made theme-level edits to your variant template. You should revert these edits and set up a new test by clicking "Test a theme or global element."

Exit preview

To return to your live site (outside of preview mode), simply select Exit in the preview toggle.

QA your test

• Using the Preview in Browser function, open your test variant in a new window.

• When previewing you will see the preview toggle at the bottom of the screen. You can switch between the A and B sides of the test using this toggle.

• If you are previewing a theme test, run through your entire website, from homepage to checkout, to ensure your pages are displaying and functioning correctly.

Use our in-depth QA checklist to ensure that your tests are all set to launch, and look good once you've set them live.

Launch your test

If everything looks good, you're now ready to launch your test!

When your test is launched it will be published immediately and your site visitors will begin to see the new variant on your storefront according to your test parameters.

FAQ: Can I run multiple tests at the same time?

Depending on the use cases, merchants may run multiple tests on the same template, or multiple theme tests, or template and theme tests concurrently. However, you should do so with caution, as introducing multiple variables could affect test results. See Running Multiple Tests Simultaneously for more information.

Check your live test

Now that your test is live, we recommend opening a few incognito browsers and navigating to your tested page(s) to ensure that everything is working as expected. If you notice any mistakes, you can always pause your test to make your fixes, and resume it once the fixes are made.

Depending on your traffic allocation between your original and variant, you may need to open and close a few incognito browsers before you are sent to the test variant.

If you have any concerns about launching your test, feel free to start a chat with our Customer Support team or email [email protected] for assistance.