FROM THE BLOG

Walkthrough: Testing pages on totally separate websites

If you've been looking for a smarter way to run split tests beyond just your WordPress site, this video is going to show you exactly how to do it. Make sure you watch all the way through. By the end, you'll see how easy it is to test across completely different domains in just a few minutes.

What we are setting up

In this walkthrough, we take a live WordPress site and run a full page split test where one variation is on the WordPress site and the other is on a completely separate external domain.

No developer. No complex configuration. Just a script in a header and a test that runs exactly like any other test in AB Split Test.

Step by step: what we cover in the video

1. Go to Tracking and Privacy settings

Inside your WordPress dashboard, go to AB Split Test > Settings > Tracking and Privacy. Scroll down to the new External Domain Testing section.

2. Add your external domain

Enter the domain of the external site you want to test on. Hit save and AB Split Test generates a tracking script for that domain.

3. Paste the script into your external site header

Copy the generated script and go to your external site. Find the header code section, paste the script in, and save. That is all you need to do on the external site. The script points back to AB Split Test and handles everything from there.

4. Create a full page split test

Back in AB Split Test, create a new full page split test. For variation A, use a page on your WordPress site. For variation B, use a page on your external domain. You can mix and match pages across as many domains as you want.

5. Set your conversion goals

All the standard conversion types work across domains. Page visits, element clicks, link clicks, time active, scroll depth, and URL conversions all fire normally. The only ones that do not work on external pages are WordPress-specific integrations like WooCommerce or Easy Digital Downloads, since those require WordPress to function.

6. Launch and watch results come in

Hit launch. Visitors are split between the two pages across the two domains. Results show up in your AB Split Test dashboard in real time, exactly the same as any other test.

Optional: connect your CDN

If your external site uses Cloudflare or Bunny CDN, you can connect it inside the settings by entering your hostname and API key. This keeps cache clearing automatic whenever a variation updates so visitors always see the correct version without any flickering.

It is optional. The test works perfectly without it.

What you can test with this

A few examples we cover in the video:

  • Your current WordPress site against a rebuild on Lovable or Astro before you commit to migrating
  • A WordPress landing page against a Shopify product page
  • Any two pages on any two domains you want to compare head to head

If your business or your clients' businesses span more than one domain, this opens up testing possibilities that simply were not there before.

How this is different from the Fingerprint Pixel

AB Split Test already has a Fingerprint Pixel for cross-domain work. The difference is straightforward.

The Fingerprint Pixel records a conversion that happens on an external domain. Your test still lives entirely on WordPress.

Cross-domain split testing means the variations themselves live on different domains. You are comparing two completely different pages on two completely different platforms and tracking the results in one place.

Both are useful. They solve different problems.

Get started

Cross-domain split testing is available on any paid AB Split Test plan. Start your free trial at absplittest.com/free.