🖥️How to Set Up a Theme Test
Theme testing allows you to split test Shopify themes to determine which is the best for conversion, revenue, and profit.
Step 1: Create a new test
Navigate to the A/B Tests tab in the menu on the left-hand side of the Intelligems app. Once there, click Create New Test above the experiments table. Select Content Test , then Theme Test, then Create Test.
Step 2: Create your test groups
Create a test group for each theme you want to include in the test. Fill in the Test Name and Test Description for the experiment you are creating. This information is all internal - the more detail you include here the better! Tests can be live for several weeks, and your future self will thank you for including the details here.
You can add new groups to include in the test by clicking on the ‘+’ button. Name the groups for the experiment and use the slider to allocate what percentage of traffic will go to each group. Click ‘Continue’ when you are done.
Step 3: Select the themes you want to test
Select the theme you'd like to test for each test group.
Make sure the Intelligems script is installed in all themes that you're testing! This is how we will hide the preview bar at the bottom of the theme. If you have checkout.liquid, ensure you have installed the Intelligems script on this page as well, so that the preview bar is hidden at checkout (if you do not have checkout.liquid, the bar will be hidden automatically).
Product page templates are set at the product level, and the template name must be available in the live theme. When testing two different themes, make sure the template names match, so that the templates you've chosen for each product exist in both themes. If the product pages look correct when previewing the test theme(s), then you're good to go!
Step 4: Set up targeting if needed
If you'd like to include, exclude, or assign specific treatment to certain traffic for your test, you can use our Targeting features. Check out this article for more information on configuring these options.
Step 5: Enable the Google Analytics integration if desired
If you would like to create an audience for each test group in GA4, enable the integration here.
Previewing Themes through Shopify Admin
When trying to preview a theme through Shopify Admin, you might get redirected to a different theme if that theme has been used in an Intelligems theme test. Let's look at an example when there is a live Intelligems theme test:
Control Group: Default Theme (Theme ID: 1)
Test Group: Secondary Theme (Theme ID: 2)
If you preview Secondary Theme from Shopify Admin and have not been previously included in the live Intelligems theme test, you will be randomly assigned a test group when you enter Secondary Theme. Depending on your test group assignment, you will either remain in the Secondary Theme if you were assigned to the test group, or you will be redirected to the Default Theme indicating you were assigned to the Control Group.
Let's say you were assigned the test group and remain in Secondary Theme. If you were to preview the Default Theme from Shopify Admin, you will be redirected to the Secondary Theme since that is the theme assigned to your test group. If you wish to preview the Default Theme, you can use the Intelligems preview widget to switch your group.
Why am I still being redirected away from a theme when I don't have a theme test live?
This is to ensure all users who were assigned a preview theme during your test do not remain in a preview theme once that test is ended. This redirection will only happen for themes that were included in an Intelligems theme test and will only occur once. After your initial redirection, you will be able to preview that theme through Shopify Admin normally.
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