Test mode

Test mode lets you try a discount on your live store before your customers see it. While it is on, the discount applies only to a signed-in customer whose account has the tag dos-test. Everyone else shops as if the discount did not exist.

How it works

The check runs inside the discount itself, before markets, rules and amounts. A shopper who is not signed in, or whose customer account does not have the tag dos-test, gets nothing from the discount. Upper or lower case in the tag does not matter.

Test mode is not a status. The discount stays Active, Scheduled or Expired exactly as its dates say. Turning test mode on or off never changes the dates and never activates or deactivates the discount.

Where it is

A Test mode card above the Summary, on the create and edit pages of every discount type: Product, Order, Shipping, Buy X Get Y, Bundle, Price List, Quantity Break, Spend More Save More, Gift with Purchase, Multi-offer and Custom Discount. Block codes have no test mode.

Some older discounts run on an earlier version of the app’s engine for their type. Their edit page has no Test mode card. Duplicate the discount to get a copy on the current engine.

Settings

Test mode switch

• On a new discount, the switch is part of the form. It is saved with the discount when you press Save.
• On a saved discount, the switch takes effect at once. It does not wait for Save, and it does not light up the save bar. A message confirms it: “Test mode on — only tagged testers get this discount” or “Test mode off — live for everyone”.

While the switch is on, the card shows:

This discount is in test mode. To test it, log in with any customer account that has the tag dos-test

Saving other changes on the page never turns test mode on or off. Only the switch does.

What you see in the app

• The Summary has a row Test mode reading “On — tagged testers only”. With test mode off the row is not shown.
• The discounts list shows a Test badge under the discount’s status.
• A duplicate of a discount in test mode is also in test mode.

How to test a discount

1. Turn on Test mode on the discount, and save if it is a new discount.
2. In Shopify admin, open Customers, open the customer account you will shop with, and add the tag dos-test.
3. On your storefront, sign in with that customer account.
4. Add items to the cart and go to checkout. Shopify works the discount out again when the cart changes and at checkout; a plain page reload may still show the cart as it was.
5. When you are happy with it, turn Test mode off. The discount is then live for every shopper it applies to.

On the storefront

Widgets, badges, the cart goal bar and price cards that belong to a discount in test mode are shown only to a signed-in customer tagged dos-test. Other shoppers do not see them.

Promotions (Sale Badge and Price Drop) have their own Test mode card. A promotion is in test mode when its own switch is on, or when the discount it is linked to is in test mode. In the second case the card says so: “This sale badge is in test mode because the discount “…” is in test mode.” A promotion in test mode only hides what the storefront shows. If its discount is live, the discount still applies in the cart for everyone.

Errors

• “Couldn’t turn test mode on. Try again.” or “Couldn’t turn test mode off. Try again.” — Shopify did not accept the change. Nothing changed; flip the switch again.
• “Test mode was turned on on the store, but this page couldn’t save it. Reload the page and check the switch.” — the discount changed, but the app’s record did not. Reload the page; flipping the switch again brings the two back in line.
• “Test mode isn’t available for this discount yet.” — the discount runs on an older engine. See Where it is.

Limits and notes

• Signed-in customers only. A guest never gets a discount in test mode.
• The tag is dos-test. Another tag, such as test, does not count.
• Codes. A shopper who is not a tester and enters the code gets no discount. Shopify’s checkout shows its own message, “CODE is valid but not applicable. Check discount terms.”, with your code in place of CODE.
• Markets and customer eligibility still apply. A tester outside the discount’s markets, or outside its customer segments, does not get it.
• Other discounts can hide it. If another live discount does not combine with this one, Shopify may apply only one of the two to your test cart. Turn the other discount off while you test, or allow the two to combine.
• The theme editor has no signed-in customer, so storefront widgets for a discount in test mode show nothing there.

Related

• Customer eligibility — limit a discount to segments or specific customers for good.
• Combinations — which discounts can apply together.
• Storefront data — test mode in the data your theme reads.