You can safely test modifications in your production environment by using test mode.

What is test mode?

Test mode allows you to show modifications only to certain visitors for testing purposes. Using test mode involves:

1. Enabling test mode for modifications in the Frosmo Control Panel
2. Activating test mode in the browser

Modifications for which test mode is enabled are visible only to visitors who browse your site in test mode.

In the browser, test mode:

• Only affects the domain within which the visitor activates it. If your site consists of multiple domains, test mode only affects web pages that belong to whatever domain the visitor is in when they activate test mode.
• Persists across protocols, for example, from HTTP to HTTPS, provided the site uses a shared context. If the site does not use a shared context, test mode only applies to the protocol within which the visitor activates it.
• Persists across tabs. The visitor can freely open and close tabs for the site, and test mode will remain active, provided the domain remains the same. If a shared context is not used, the protocol must also remain the same.
• Is automatically deactivated after 30 minutes of inactivity.

Test mode provides a simpler way of testing modifications compared to using dedicated testing segments.

Testing modifications

To test a modification:

1. Enable test mode for the modification.
2. Test the modification on your site.
3. Disable test mode for the modification.

Enabling test mode for the modification

1. In the Control Panel, create or edit the modification normally.
2. In the modification settings, select Display Options.

3. In the Advanced settings section, select Test mode.

   

4. Click Save.
5. If the modification is deactivated, click Activate at the top of the page.

You have enabled test mode for the modification. Only visitors who browse your site in test mode can now see the modification. (They must still belong to a segment to which the modification is normally shown, if defined.)

Testing the modification on your site

1. In the browser, open a web page that contains the modification.

2. Activate test mode by adding the following query string to the web page URL and pressing ENTER:

   frosmotest=on

   If the URL does not contain an existing query string, add "?" between the URL and the above string. If the URL already contains a query string, add "&" followed by the above string at the end of the existing query. For more information about query strings, see Wikipedia.

   The following figure shows an example of a URL with just the test mode query string included.

   

   The following figure shows an example of a URL with the test mode query string appended to an existing query string.

   

   The browser now shows the modification on the site.

   While test mode is active, you will also see all other modifications for which test mode is enabled (and that are shown to segments to which you belong).
3. Test the modification to make sure it displays and functions correctly.

4. After you're done, deactivate test mode by adding the following query string to the web page URL and pressing ENTER:

   frosmotest=off

   The following figure shows an example of a URL with the query string included.

   

   The browser no longer shows the modification on the site.

You have tested the modification. You can now disable test mode for it.

Disabling test mode for the modification

1. In the Control Panel, open the modification settings.
2. If the modification is not ready to go live yet, deactivate it by clicking Deactivate at the top of the page.
3. Select Display Options.

4. In the Advanced settings section, unselect Test mode.

   

5. Click Save.

You have disabled test mode for the modification. If activated, any visitor can now see the modification irrespective of whether test mode is enabled or disabled in their browser. (They must still belong to a segment to which the modification is normally shown, if defined.)

Finding test mode modifications

In the Control Panel, in the modifications list, you can find modifications for which test mode is enabled by:

• Looking for modifications with the Test mode label

  

• Filtering the modifications list by Modes > Test