We’re excited to introduce Nelio A/B Testing 8.3 🎉, a release focused on making your tests easier to validate, faster to run, and more robust under the hood. This version brings meaningful improvements to performance and developer experience, along with a brand-new debugging interface that takes the guesswork out of validating your tests.
Let’s dive in!
Under-the-hood improvements that make a real difference
While many of the changes in 8.3 aren’t immediately visible, they significantly improve how Nelio A/B Testing performs and scales. In this sense, one of the highlights of this release is a 65% reduction in the size of our public tracking script bundle. This translates into:
- Faster page loads
- Reduced impact on Core Web Vitals
- A smoother experience for your visitors
Behind the scenes, we’ve carefully audited and removed unnecessary code, optimized dependencies, and streamlined how the script is delivered and executed. We’ve also taken a step forward in modernizing our frontend infrastructure by updating our TypeScript configuration target to ES2020.
In addition to performance gains, we’ve removed unused code from components like the PHP alternative previewer and refined several internal behaviors. We’ve also introduced a comprehensive suite of PHP unit tests to help ensure that future updates don’t inadvertently break existing functionality. While no system is ever completely foolproof, this is an important step toward making the plugin more robust and reliable as it continues to evolve.
A new debugging GUI for effortless validation
One of the most impactful additions in this release is a brand-new debugging interface designed to help you understand exactly what’s happening when your tests run.
Nelio A/B Testing
Native Tests for WordPress
Use your WordPress page editor to create variants and run powerful tests with just a few clicks. No coding skills required.
From console logs to a full visual debugger
Until now, validating tests in staging environments (or live environments using the nabstaging query argument) required checking the browser’s JavaScript console. When your site was in staging mode, events weren’t sent to Nelio’s cloud. Instead, they were logged locally so you could verify behavior without consuming your quota.
While effective, this approach had some limitations: it required familiarity with developer tools and it wasn’t easy to interpret/change what was going on. With Nelio A/B Testing 8.3, we’ve completely reimagined this experience.
Meet the new debug popup
When your site enters staging mode (either automatically or via nabstaging), the plugin now displays a debug popup directly on the page. This popup provides a centralized, real-time overview of everything related to your experiments.
The debugging interface is completely optional and you can easily deactivate it from our plugin’s settings. It gives you immediate insights into the current state of the page, including:
- Tracking status
- Whether tracking is active or blocked
- If the script is waiting for GDPR consent before firing events
- Variant loading
- Which alternative has been selected for the current visitor
- Whether the correct variation has been successfully applied
This makes it much easier to confirm that your experiments are behaving exactly as expected.
Full visibility into your tests
Beyond the basics, the popup also shows:
- All active tests affecting the page
- The variants involved in each test
- The events being triggered in real time
You no longer need to guess whether a conversion is being tracked or if a view event has fired. Everything is clearly displayed as it happens.
Designed for everyone, not just developers
As already mentioned, the new debugging GUI is built to be accessible to all users. There’s no need to open developer tools or interpret raw logs; all the information you needed is now clearly presented and actionable. Whether you’re a marketer, a site owner, or a developer, validating your tests is now faster and more intuitive than ever.
Security improvements and bug fixes
This release also includes several important security enhancements and a solid set of bug fixes to improve stability across different environments.
Security enhancements
- Added nonces to CSS and JavaScript alternative previewers to prevent unauthorized access
- Added nonce protection to the CSS selector finder
- Improved IP validation logic in the excluded IPs setting
These changes reinforce the security of internal tools and ensure safer interactions across the plugin.
Additional improvements and fixes
- Added support for WPC Product Bundles for WooCommerce
- Reset
nabAlternativecookie when starting a new set of tests - Fixed access issues to WooCommerce “My Account” subpages when tests are active
- Fixed alternative theme selector in theme tests
- Fixed REST proxy behavior so cloud responses are correctly forwarded
- Fixed post type exclusions in custom post type tests
- Fixed select menu positioning near viewport edges
- Fixed welcome guides to auto-open on first UI visit
- Prevented alternative content from loading when no testing query argument is present
- Prevented skipped welcome guides from auto-opening again (while keeping them accessible manually)
Time to update
Nelio A/B Testing 8.3 is all about making your workflow smoother, your site faster, and your experiments easier to trust. We’re particularly excited about the new debugging experience and can’t wait for you to try it out.
As always, we’d love to hear your feedback!
Featured Image by RKTW extend on Unsplash.
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