How to Create a URL test

A URL Test lets you compare different URLs on your WordPress site — such as pages, products, posts, or custom content — to see which one performs better and helps you reach your goals faster.

You can test and analyze any URLs on your site directly from your WordPress dashboard — no code or manual setup needed.

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Step 1: Create a New URL Test

1. In your WordPress dashboard, go to Nelio A/B Testing → Tests.
2. Click Add Test.
3. In the dialog, select URL (under the Page category).

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Step 2: Describe Your Test

In the main panel, give your test a clear and descriptive name, such as Landing Page Redesign Test or Pricing Page vs. Campaign Page.

In the Description field on the right sidebar, summarize your hypothesis or expected outcome (for instance, “The new layout will increase trial sign-ups”). This helps you and your team remember the purpose of the test later.

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Step 3: Select URLs and Define the Scope

Next, enter the URLs to test:

• Add the control version (Version A) — your original page.
• Add one or more variants (Version B, C, etc.) by clicking New Variant and entering their URLs.

You’ll also find the option “Use control URL in variants.” When enabled, visitors will continue to see the original control URL, even when viewing a variant. Nelio dynamically swaps the variant’s content under the hood while keeping the same URL — ideal for maintaining consistent analytics and SEO behavior.

💡 Use control URL in variants

When this option is disabled, visitors are redirected to the selected page’s actual URL. Enable it if you prefer to keep all variants under the same address.

Once your URLs are defined, refine where and when the test should run using the Test Scope options in the sidebar. By default, the test applies to the selected URLs, but you can narrow it down with query parameter conditions — for example, target visitors from a campaign (?utm_source=google) or users with a specific type (?type=premium).

You can define whether a parameter exists, equals a value, contains text, or matches (or doesn’t match) specific conditions.

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Step 4: Define Goals and Conversion Actions

Every test needs a goal — what counts as success.

Each goal can include one or more conversion actions that describe the specific behavior you want to track.

Name your goals, then click the Add Action button to choose from the available conversion actions.

You can combine multiple actions under one goal.

Category	Example Actions
View	Page view, Element view
Interaction	Click, Click external link, YouTube Video Playback, Scroll, Engagement
E-Commerce	Add WooCommerce product to cart, WooCommerce Purchase
Other	Time on Page, Custom event

🔍 Learn more: What Are the Conversion Actions and Goals? →

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Step 5: Add Segmentation Rules (Optional)

Segmentation lets you decide who participates in the test. You can target visitors by conditions such as:

URL parameter · Referrer · Language · Location · Logged-in status · Visitor Type · Day/time · Browser · Device type · Operating system · Window Width Cookie · IP address

If you skip segmentation, all visitors to the tested page are included automatically.

🔍 Learn more What is Segmentation and How to Use It →

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Step 6: Start the Test

When everything is ready:

1. Review your setup summary at the top of the page.
2. Click Start.

Nelio A/B Testing will:

• Randomly assign visitors to variants.
• Track conversions anonymously via Nelio Cloud.
• Display real-time results in your dashboard.

⏯ Pause, Resume, or Stop Your Test

• Pause a running test if you need to make changes, then resume it later.
• Stop a test manually whenever you want, or let it end automatically under certain conditions such as duration, total number of visits or confidence results (available in Professional and Enterprise plans).
• Once a test is stopped, its results remain available for review.

⚠️ Important note about editing paused tests

Editing a paused test may reset or affect ongoing statistics. When in doubt, duplicate the test before resuming.

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Step 7: Review Results

While your test runs, go to Nelio A/B Testing → Tests and click View Results to monitor its progress.

Summary of the results

In the right sidebar, you’ll find a quick overview of your test:

Test Progress

The main area of the results page is divided into two tabs that visualize your test’s progress and performance:

• Conversion Rates — A line chart showing conversion evolution across variants.
• Views and Conversions — Compares total visits and conversions for each variant.

Confidence indicators appear alongside these charts, updating automatically as more data accumulates.

Below the charts, you’ll find a summary table with:

• A thumbnail preview (if available) of each variant.
• Number of visits and conversions.
• Conversion rate and improvement over control.

Step 8: Improve Your Web Conversion

You can end a test manually using the Stop button in the upper-right corner of the results page, or let it end automatically based on the configured end mode.

After completing a test you already know which variant is the winner and you should leave it as the only one accessed by all your users to optimize the conversion of your website.