Preview and QA Checkout Experiments
How to check a Checkout Experiment in Elevate A/B Testing, using the in app preview panel before launch and a pass or fail checklist on your live checkout after launch.
Checkout Experiments cannot be viewed on your real checkout until they are running. This page covers what you can check before launch, and the checklist to run immediately after.
What you can check before launch
While you configure a variation in Step 3: Configure checkout, the Preview panel on the right renders the component you have open. It reads "Select a component to preview" until you expand one.
The preview shows the component's own appearance: its text, colors, layout, ordering, and spacing. Use it to catch typos, a badge in the wrong order, a banner type that clashes with its message, or a testimonial that overflows.
It does not show the component in place on your checkout page, on a real cart, or at a real screen width. Anything that depends on context has to wait until after launch.
Wording and typos
Yes
Yes
Colors, ordering, alignment
Yes
Yes
Component in position on the checkout page
No
Yes
Behavior on a narrow screen
No
Yes
Real product data in an upsell
No
Yes
Variation assignment working
No
Yes
Tracking recording against the right variation
No
Yes
After launch: QA checklist
Run this immediately after selecting Launch Experiment, before meaningful traffic accumulates. Every item is pass or fail.
Fresh assignment. Open your store in a new private or incognito window. Variation assignment persists per visitor, so reloading will not reassign you.
Reach checkout. Add an item to the cart and proceed to checkout.
Components render. Confirm the components you configured for the variation you were assigned are present and correct. If you landed on a control with nothing configured, seeing no components is a pass.
Every variation seen. Repeat in new private windows until you have seen each variation at least once. With an even split this can take several attempts.
Mobile. Repeat on a phone. Horizontal badge rows and horizontal upsell layouts are the ones that reflow badly on narrow screens.
Upsell content. If you configured an upsell, confirm real products are appearing. Auto Recommended Products depends on Shopify's recommendation system and the cart contents, so check it against a realistic cart rather than an empty one.
Checkout still completes. Place a test order and confirm it processes normally end to end.
Tracking. Confirm that test order appears in the experiment's results against the correct variation.
If any item fails, see Troubleshooting Checkout Experiments. The most common cause by far is a component's extension not being enabled in the Shopify Checkout Editor.
Related
Create a Checkout Experiment: the seven step setup walkthrough and the extension steps.
Checkout Testing Overview: requirements, components, and what this type cannot do.
Troubleshooting Checkout Experiments: symptom first fixes and FAQs.
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