Element tests vs URL split tests

Element tests

An element test changes one thing on a single page: a headline, button, image, or section. Variants are matched point-and-click or by a CSS class, so it works in any builder or theme. Use it when you want a clean answer about one specific change.

URL split tests

A URL split test sends part of your traffic to an entirely different page, even on another subdomain or site. Use it for redesigns, different offers, or layouts too different to swap element by element. The redirect runs in the page head before anything paints (not a server redirect, so cached pages work), each visitor stays on the version they first saw, and on a same-site variant the canonical is handled for you. Across two sites no canonical or noindex is emitted, so that page's SEO stays in your hands, but the visit is signed on the way over so conversions on the other site are credited to the right variant.

Which to use

Pretty permalinks are not required: a plain address such as ?page_id=12 works too. A visitor counts as being on the entry page when the path matches and every query parameter the entry URL itself names is present, so a campaign tag or ad-click id on the visit never stops a test matching - and it travels across with the redirect.

Rule of thumb: element tests tell you which change mattered; URL tests let you test bigger changes at the cost of that attribution.

Want the longer read? See the split-URL testing guide on the blog, or browse all docs.