Test mode
The SparkLayer Test mode is a handy way to test SparkLayer without affecting your live website. It allows you to effectively have a test and a live environment under a single account and easily switch between the two as necessary. Common use-cases include:
- You want to enable a test account on your live store to test pricing and customer data
- You want to enable SparkLayer on a Shopify development store without having to subscribe to a billing plan
Important Test mode is not available on the Starter or Growth plan by default. If you've already connected SparkLayer to your Shopify store on the Starter plan, you can either create a brand new SparkLayer account or contact us to adjust your plan.
You can access Test mode from the left hand menu
Test mode works by simply switching the data you see in the SparkLayer Dashboard between two environments that you specify: one environment being your live store (production), and one environment being your test store (sometimes referred to as staging). Once enabled, every section is re-loaded with the corresponding data and you can perform actions independent of one another.
When you create a SparkLayer account for the first time, you'll be asked to go through the Onboarding Configuration Process. Your environments are specified within the Platform Configuration section and from here you can specify your two environments (i.e. live and test).
Live environment: Ensure Test mode is set to OFF in the left hand menu and then enter your live store address
Specifying the live store URL
Test environment: Ensure Test mode is set to ON in the left hand menu and then enter your test store address if it isn't already pre-populated.
With Test mode switched on; specifying the test store URL
In each instance, you'll be redirected to Shopify and asked to authorise the SparkLayer Shopify app.
If you're setting your Shopify store up in test mode, you'll be able to skip the billing step
Once the Platform has been configured, you can then proceed with the remaining onboarding steps for your test environment.
When installing SparkLayer for the first time, our recommendation is to configure the store initially for your live environment and then to add your test site afterwards. It's important to note that setting up Test mode is optional and can be added or edited at any point.
Transferring accounts: if you've already installed SparkLayer on a store and want to benefit from Test mode, we recommend the following steps:
- Log into the Shopify store that has SparkLayer installed
- In your Shopify admin. go to Settings > Apps & Sales Channels and remove SparkLayer
- Go to the Integrations area in SparkLayer and connect to your live Shopify store and re-select the Pro plan. Once completed, this will re-link your SparkLayer account to your live store
- To add your Test store, simply click 'Test mode' on the left and then go to the Integrations area and enter the Shopify store URL of your test store.
Last modified 6mo ago