A personalized email that looks right for one customer can be wrong for the next, and a mistake found after a campaign goes out is far more costly than one caught before.
Smart Preview shows your template the way a real customer will receive it. Personalization tags, Liquid logic, Data Connections, and variants are all resolved for the customer you choose, so you can check every version before a campaign goes out, and send one to your own inbox.
This guide will walk you through how to preview and test a template, from opening Smart Preview and choosing a random customer, a specific customer, or a test group, to stepping through each version and sending a test.
How to Preview and Test a Template
This walkthrough previews a VIP offer email with a test group of three customers, one per tier.
Open Smart Preview
You can also preview a template or content block from the content library: open the item's menu and select Preview.
- Open your template in the editor.
- Click Preview. Smart Preview opens and renders the template for a random customer.
Choose Who to Preview As
Under Preview template as:, choose one of three options:
- Random Customer ID — the default. Click the refresh icon to preview another random customer.
- Customer ID — enter a customer's ID and press Enter. If the ID isn't found, a message asks you to check it, and the previous preview stays on screen.
- Test Group — preview every customer in a test group you created in the QA Center. See How to Create and Manage Test Groups.
- Select Test Group and click the search field. Your test groups are listed with the number of customers in each.
- Select a group. The preview renders for its first customer. Key Segments shows that customer's labels, and Template Previews counts every customer and variant combination: three customers and three variants make nine previews.
Step Through Every Preview
- Click the arrow to the right of the preview to see the next one. The arrows show each variant for the current customer, then move to the next customer.
- To jump to a customer, click the Customer ID at the top. The list shows each customer in the group with their Key Segments. Select one.
- Check that each customer gets the content meant for them. Here, the Silver customer gets the Silver offer.
- Check your fallbacks too. A customer with no tier should get your default content, not a broken or empty block.
Open the Preview in a New Tab
Open the preview you're looking at in its own browser tab to read the full email at full width or check it on another screen.
- Step to the customer and variant you want to see.
- Click the Open in a new tab icon at the top right of the preview, beside the email. The email opens in its own browser tab, at full size, for the customer and variant you were on.
Send a Test
Send the version you're looking at to an inbox to check it in a real email client. The test uses the data of the customer you're previewing.
- Step to the customer and variant you want to send.
- Under Send Test, enter an email address.
- Click Send. When the email is on its way, Test message sent successfully! appears.
How Smart Preview Works
Smart Preview renders your template on the spot for one customer at a time, using that customer's data. Across the top of the preview, a bar tells you exactly what you're looking at:
- Customer ID: The customer the preview was rendered for.
- Key Segments: The labels given to this customer in the test group. Shown only when you preview a test group.
- Variant: Which variant you're looking at. Shown only when the template has two or more variants.
- Template Previews: Where you are in the set of previews, for example, 1/9.
Email previews show the subject line and sender above the email, the way an inbox shows them.
Each channel has its own preview:
| Channel | What the preview shows |
|---|---|
| An inbox view: subject line, sender, then the email | |
| Mobile Push | A phone frame, with iOS and Android views |
| Web Push | Windows, macOS and Android views |
| SMS | A phone frame, with iOS and Android views and a character and segment count |
| In-App | A phone frame |
| Overlay | Desktop and Mobile views |
| Embedded Messaging | Desktop and Mobile views |
For SMS, push, and in-app messages, Send Test asks for a phone number or a customer ID instead of an email address. For the channel walkthroughs, see Smart Preview and Send Test for SMS Templates, Smart Preview and Send Test for Mobile Push Templates, and Smart Preview and Send Test for Web Push Templates.
FAQ
What does the email preview show differently from an inbox?
It doesn't show the preview text, and the To: line shows your brand's reply-to address rather than the customer's email address. Links open in a new tab, so the preview stays where it is. Send a test to yourself to see the preview text and how links behave in an inbox.
I entered a customer ID, but the preview shows a different customer. Why?
If you enter an ID while the first random preview is still loading, the random preview can replace yours. Check the Customer ID at the top of the preview, and press Enter again if it isn't the one you entered.
Whose data does a test use, and can I send it to several people at once?
A test uses the data of the customer you're previewing, in the variant you're looking at, and goes to one address. Step to the customer and variant you want before you click Send, and send again for each recipient or customer.
Why can't I send a test from a content block?
Content block previews have no Send Test. Add the block to a template and send a test from the template's preview.
Can I come back to a preview I opened in a new tab?
No. The tab isn't saved, and it shows the email without the subject line and sender. Open it again from Smart Preview when you need it.
What does "Preview Error" mean?
The template couldn't be rendered for this customer because of a Liquid or rendering error. The message lists what went wrong. Fix the template and preview again.
For more questions about test groups and Smart Preview, see QA Center FAQs.