You can safely test modifications in your production environment by using test mode.
Test mode allows you to show modifications only to certain visitors for testing purposes. Using test mode involves:
Modifications for which test mode is enabled are visible only to visitors who browse your site in test mode.
In the browser, test mode:
Test mode provides a simpler way of testing modifications compared to using dedicated testing segments.
You don't need to use test mode within a workspace, since workspaces are already separated from production and previewing their content is only accessible through a specific URL. Moreover, unless you specifically want to remove a modification from the production flow for testing purposes, there's no reason to use test mode over a workspace.
However, if you want to use test mode within a workspace, you can do so, as the two features are compatible. Enabling test mode for a workspace modification means that the modification is only visible to visitors who activate both test mode and workspace preview mode when browsing the site.
To test a modification:
In the Basic settings view, in the Advanced settings section, click Define settings.
In the Audience section, set the Test mode toggle to Enabled.
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.)
Activate test mode by adding the following query parameter to the page URL and pressing ENTER:
frosmotest=on |
If the URL does not contain an existing query string, add "?" between the URL and the above parameter. If the URL already contains a query string, add "&" followed by the above parameter at the end of the existing query string. For more information about query strings, see Wikipedia.
The following figure shows an example of a URL with just the test mode query parameter included.
The following figure shows an example of a URL with the test mode query parameter 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). |
After you're done, deactivate test mode by adding the following query parameter to the page URL and pressing ENTER:
frosmotest=off |
The following figure shows an example of a URL with the test mode query parameter included.
The browser no longer shows the modification on the site.
You have tested the modification. You can now disable test mode for it.
In the Basic settings view, in the Advanced settings section, click Define settings.
In the Audience section, set the Test mode toggle to Disabled.
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.)
Instead of using the URL query strings to activate and deactivate test mode, you can also use:
You can use Frosmo Preview to activate and deactivate test mode.
Figure: Test mode toggle in Frosmo Preview
If you know your way around your browser's developer tools, you can manually activate and deactivate test mode by calling Frosmo Core from the browser console.
To activate and deactivate test mode from the browser console:
Activate test mode by calling frosmo.easy.states.set()
with the parameters frosmo.easy.STATE_MODE
, frosmo.easy.STATE_MODE_TEST
, and frosmo.easy.STATE_TYPE_SESSION
.
frosmo.easy.states.set(frosmo.easy.STATE_MODE, frosmo.easy.STATE_MODE_TEST, frosmo.easy.STATE_TYPE_SESSION); |
Deactivate test mode by calling frosmo.easy.states.remove()
with the parameter frosmo.easy.STATE_MODE
.
frosmo.easy.states.remove(frosmo.easy.STATE_MODE); |
Figure: Activating and deactivating test mode from the browser console
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 mode disabled / Test mode enabled