To ensure an optimal experience for participants, it is crucial to test your survey before launching.
Whether to validate scenarios, check the triggering of post-feedback actions, refine solicitation rules, or ensure a display that meets your expectations, preliminary testing is indispensable.
This article guides you through the key steps for testing the deployment and display of your survey across all communication channels. You will find practical tips as well as simple checks and tools.
Requirements
We recommend completing the following steps before starting the tests :
- Adding attributes to the segment linked to your campaign
- Creating your survey
- Setting up redirect scenarios and/or post-feedback actions
- Configuring and possibly translating your campaign
- Configuring your deployment settings
- Configuring and possibly translating extra content
- Managing survey solicitation and access
- Designing your survey
You can run your tests without activating your deployments. A campaign with no active deployments will appear as a "Draft":
When a deployment is inactive (which is the default), a red banner labeled "Test Mode" will appear at the top of the survey. However, this will not affect the overall display of your survey. The only difference is that no feedback will be deducted from your credits when a deployment is not active.
Campaign with URL deployment
In general, to test the display of a survey’s content, we recommend always creating a test URL deployment linked to your campaign.
The URL deployments accurately appliy the design and scenarios of your survey as configured on the Feedback Management platform. It is thus useful to check the final display of a survey while avoiding disruptions (code conflicts, security blocks, etc.) that may impact display when integrated on a website or sent via email.
Additionally, the URL generator allows you to manually fill in values for each attribute and also to select the survey display language.
Testing a campaign with URL deployment without attribute value
This testing procedure allows you to verify your survey without considering attributes, thus excluding any element conditioned by them (questions, answers, scenarios, actions).
To test a campaign with URL deployment without attribute value, start by accessing your URL deployment.
After completing your campaign, deployment, and design settings, click the "Open" button to test your survey without any variables.
You can then test the survey's graphical display and its flow.
Testing a campaign with URL deployment with specific attribute values
This testing procedure allows you to verify your survey by considering attributes, thus triggering any element conditioned by them (questions, answers, scenarios, actions).
To test a campaign with URL deployment with attribute values, start by accessing your URL deployment.
After completing your campaign, deployment, and design settings, click the "URL generator" button to manually fill in the variables (attributes).
Simply fill in the different fields, each corresponding to an attribute value. This allows you to test a survey realistically, simulating a respondent profile. You can also select the display language.
Even if your deployment is already activated, you can generate a test link that will not consume any credits by clicking the "Generate a Test URL" button.
Campaign with deployment via Skeepers (Email or SMS)
Skeepers' Email or SMS deployments offer a test mode that allows you to preview the email template to be deployed along with the survey.
Testing a campaign with Email or SMS deployment via Skeepers without attribute values
This testing procedure allows you to verify your survey without considering attributes, thus excluding any element conditioned by these attributes (email template variables, questions, answers, scenarios, actions).
To test a campaign with Email or SMS deployment via Skeepers without attribute values, start by accessing your Email or SMS deployment.
After completing your campaign, deployment, and design settings, click the "Send a test" button to send a test of your survey.
An email will automatically be sent to the email address you provided. This allows you to test the survey’s graphical display and the survey flow.
Even if your deployment is already active, you can generate a test email that will not consume resources.
Testing a campaign with Email or SMS deployment via Skeepers with specific attribute values
This testing procedure allows you to verify your survey considering attributes and thereby potentially triggering any element conditioned by these attributes (questions, answers, scenarios, actions).
To test a campaign with Email or SMS deployment via Skeepers with attribute values, start by accessing your Email or SMS deployment.
After completing your campaign, deployment, and design settings, create a contact with your email address and assign the necessary attribute/contact field values required for the journey you want to simulate.
Add this contact to a test sending list.
Then select this test broadcast list in your Email or SMS deployment via Skeepers. Finally, send the deployment by clicking the "Send" button.
You do not need to activate your campaign to perform this test.
To ensure an Email or SMS campaign that meets your expectations, we recommend adding yourself as a contact in the deployment list of your Skeepers deployment. This ensures the correct execution of the send and the customization of dynamic fields.
Campaign with external deployment (Email or SMS)
External Email or SMS deployments do not have a specific test mode.
To preview your survey, we recommend using the testing functionality in your own sending platform.
If your emailing platform does not offer a test send feature, we suggest using a URL deployment to at least preview the survey display.
Alternatively, free online tools like W3Schools, CodePen or JSFiddle provide a fast way to preview the survey's layout by inserting the deployment’s HTML code. This allows you to simulate the email appearance and access the survey, though it does not enable actual sending.
Campaign with Web, Button, or Inpage deployment
Web, Button, or Inpage deployments do not have a specific test mode.
Testing a campaign with Web, Button, or Inpage deployment
To test your survey integration on your website, we recommend the following approaches :
- Conduct the test on a pre-production or staging environment, if available
- Use a trigger condition on a specific website variable
- Test the trigger on a specific, less frequently visited page
If you do not have a staging site, you can also use the Preview available in your deployment, which simulates the survey integration in a neutral web environment.
This allows you to test the survey trigger and the complete survey flow, which will generate test feedback in your campaign.
Campaign with QR Code deployment
QR Code deployments do not have a specific test mode.
However, since it does not support attribute values, it is not possible to test conditions based on these elements, as this functionality is unavailable.
Testing a campaign with QR Code deployment without attribute values
To test a QR Code deployment, simply scan the code using a device with a camera. This will allow you to test the survey’s graphical display and flow.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact our Customer Care team.