> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.elevateab.com/elevate-helpcenter/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.elevateab.com/elevate-helpcenter/split-url-testing/split-url-testing-overview.md).

# Split URL Testing Overview

Learn how Split URL Testing can optimize your store's landing pages and custom experiences.

| Option                              | How It Works                                                                                                                                                                                                                   |
| ----------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **All Experiment URLs** *(default)* | Visitors are redirected to their assigned URL whenever they land on any page included in the experiment. If a visitor assigned to Variation B visits the control URL or Variation A's URL, they get redirected to Variation B. |
| **Control URL Only**                | Visitors are only redirected when they visit the control URL. If they navigate directly to a variation URL, no redirect happens.                                                                                               |
| **Redirect Once**                   | Visitors are redirected to their assigned variation only on their first visit. After that, no more redirects — they can visit any URL freely.                                                                                  |
| **Redirect Once, Control URL Only** | Visitors are redirected only once, and only when they first visit the control URL. After the initial redirect, no further redirects occur.                                                                                     |

***

A split URL experiment sends visitors to different URLs and measures which page performs better.

Where a page experiment serves a different template at the same address, a split URL experiment moves the visitor to a different address entirely. Use it when the alternative page already exists somewhere else on your store.

### How it works

1. You give Elevate A/B Testing a control URL and a variation URL for each variation.
2. A visitor lands on a URL in the experiment.
3. If they are assigned to a variation, they are redirected to that variation's URL.
4. Elevate A/B Testing tracks behaviour across all the URLs and attributes conversions to the version each visitor saw.

Assignment is sticky. A returning visitor lands on the same page they saw before.

### When to use it

| Use a split URL experiment when                                                                       | Use something else when                                                        |
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| The alternative page already exists at its own URL                                                    | You want two versions of the same page at the same URL. Use a Page Experiment. |
| You are testing a full redesign that is too large to build as an alternate template                   | You want to change specific elements on a page. Use a Content Experiment.      |
| You are testing two different funnels, such as a dedicated sales page against a standard product page | You want to compare two whole themes. Use a Theme Experiment.                  |
| You want to compare across page types, such as a collection page against a curated landing page       |                                                                                |

**All URLs must be on your Shopify store.** Pages hosted outside Shopify cannot be tracked, so they are not supported.

### Requirements

* Elevate A/B Testing installed on your store.
* Every page in the experiment live and reachable on your Shopify storefront.

Split URL experiments do **not** require the Elevate A/B Testing theme extension. They send the visitor somewhere else rather than changing anything on the page, so the extension is not part of the delivery path.

Split URL testing works on all Shopify plans.

### What to know before you start

**A redirect is a navigation.** The visitor's address bar changes, and the variation URL is what they see, bookmark, and share. If that matters for your brand or your campaigns, plan for it.

**Both pages need to be finished.** A variation page still under construction will lose on its own merits.

**Watch your paid traffic.** If ads point at the control URL and the experiment redirects, your landing page and your ad destination are no longer the same page. Check that any conversion tracking or landing page requirements still hold.

**Query parameters travel.** UTM tags and other parameters on the incoming URL affect matching. Elevate A/B Testing warns you when your URLs contain parameters, and that warning is worth reading rather than dismissing.

### Next steps

* [Create a Split URL Experiment](/elevate-helpcenter/split-url-testing/create-a-split-url-experiment.md)
* [Preview and QA a Split URL Experiment](/elevate-helpcenter/split-url-testing/preview-and-qa-a-split-url-experiment.md)