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🎨Test Types: Theme vs Template

Understanding Test Types

Abe CRO supports two types of tests, each designed for different optimization scenarios. Understanding when to use each type will help you get the most out of your testing program.

Theme Tests

Theme tests allow you to test entire themes against each other. This is the most comprehensive type of test and is perfect for major redesigns or comparing completely different theme options.

When to Use Theme Tests

  • You're considering a major theme redesign
  • You want to compare two different theme options
  • You're testing significant layout or design changes across the entire store
  • You want to test how a new theme performs against your current one

How Theme Tests Work

Theme tests provide a comprehensive way to test major design changes:

  • Visitor Assignment: Each visitor is assigned to either the control theme or variant theme
  • Consistent Experience: They see the assigned theme across ALL pages throughout their entire session
  • Complete Coverage: All metrics are tracked across the entire shopping experience
  • Holistic Results: Results show which theme drives better overall performance
  • Theme Preview: Uses Shopify's preview_theme_id parameter for seamless theme switching

When to Use Theme Tests

Theme tests are ideal for:

  • Major redesigns or theme overhauls
  • Comparing completely different theme options
  • Testing new themes before making them live
  • Understanding overall theme performance impact

Theme Test Limitations

  • Requires Professional or Unlimited Plus plan
  • Both themes must be published (not just saved as drafts)
  • Theme changes affect the entire storefront experience
  • Harder to isolate which specific changes drive results

Requirements

Professional or Unlimited Plus plan required. Starter plan users cannot create theme tests.

Template Tests

Template tests allow you to test specific page templates (product pages, collection pages, etc.) with different template files. This is ideal for fine-tuning individual page types without changing your entire theme.

When to Use Template Tests

  • You want to optimize specific page types (product pages, collections, etc.)
  • You're testing different template files for the same page type
  • You want to make targeted improvements without a full redesign
  • You're testing multiple page types in a single experiment

Available Template Types

  • Product: Test different product page templates
  • Collection: Test different collection page templates
  • Page: Test different page templates (About, Contact, etc.)
  • Index: Test different homepage templates
  • Cart: Test different cart page templates
  • Search: Test different search results templates
  • Blog: Test different blog listing templates
  • Article: Test different blog article templates

How Template Tests Work

Template tests allow precise, targeted optimization:

  • Multiple Templates: You can test multiple template types in a single test (Professional/Unlimited Plus)
  • One Per Type: Each template type can only be used once per test (prevents conflicts)
  • Consistent Assignment: Visitors see the assigned variant for all tested template types
  • Combined Metrics: Metrics are tracked across all tested pages and aggregated
  • Template Switching: Uses ?view=[templateSuffix] parameter to render different templates

Template Test Advantages

  • Available on all plans (Starter can test one template type per test)
  • More precise—test specific page types without changing everything
  • Easier to identify which changes drive results
  • Lower risk—changes are isolated to specific templates
  • Faster to set up—no need to publish entire themes

Template Types Explained

  • Product: Individual product pages (e.g., product.default.json, product.quick-view.json)
  • Collection: Collection listing pages (e.g., collection.default.json, collection.grid.json)
  • Page: Custom pages (e.g., page.about.json, page.contact.json)
  • Index: Homepage (e.g., index.json, index.alternate.json)
  • Cart: Shopping cart page (e.g., cart.json, cart.drawer.json)
  • Search: Search results page (e.g., search.json)
  • Blog: Blog listing page (e.g., blog.json)
  • Article: Individual blog posts (e.g., article.json)

Template Restrictions

Starter Plan: Can only create template tests with a single template type (one test element).

Professional & Unlimited Plus: Can add multiple template types to each test.

Choosing the Right Test Type

Use Theme Tests When:

  • You want to test major design changes
  • You're comparing completely different themes
  • You want comprehensive, store-wide results

Use Template Tests When:

  • You want to optimize specific page types
  • You're making targeted improvements
  • You want to test multiple page types together
  • You're on the Starter plan

Best Practices

  • Start with template tests to optimize specific pages
  • Use theme tests for major redesigns or theme comparisons
  • Avoid running overlapping tests on the same templates
  • Let each test run long enough to gather significant data