Before sending Campaigns or enabling Automation, check how your messages will appear to customers. Omnisend offers multiple testing methods across all channels to verify design, personalization, and deliverability.
This guide covers testing for Email, SMS, and Push Notifications in both Campaigns and Automations.
Before You Begin
Test messages' limitations by channel:
Email:
Test emails don't show personalized content (discount codes, contact names, product data, dynamic blocks).
The number of test emails that can be sent per 24-hour period is limited. Learn about test email sending limits.
SMS:
Test SMS is available only in Campaigns (not available for Automations).
Each test SMS consumes your SMS credits (same cost as regular SMS).
Test SMS doesn't show personalized content.
To test SMS in Automations, trigger it live in your store.
Push Notifications:
Not available on iPhone (works on Android, Windows, macOS).
💡 For full accuracy across all channels: Use (Email) or send to a (Email, SMS, Push)Dynamic PreviewTest Segment
Select Your Testing Mode
Omnisend offers four ways to check your messages before sending:
Preview: View how your message design looks on desktop and mobile devices directly in the builder.
Dynamic Preview: See how your emails will appear with real contact data, including personalized names, product recommendations, and event-triggered content. Available for email in both Campaigns and Automations.
Test Message: Send a preview to your own email address, phone number, or browser. Available across channels with different limitations.
Test Segment: Send a live message to a segment containing only test contacts. This is the most accurate method, showing full personalization, dynamic content, and real delivery conditions across all channels.
Method | SMS | Push | Shows Personalization? | |
Preview | ✅ Campaigns, Automations | ✅ Campaigns, Automations | ✅ Campaigns, Automations | No |
Dynamic Preview | ✅ Campaigns, Automations | ❌ | ❌ | Yes |
Test Message | ✅ Campaigns, Automations | ✅ Campaigns only | ✅ Campaigns, Automations | No |
Test Segment | ✅ Campaigns, Automations | ✅ Campaigns, Automations | ✅ Campaigns, Automations | Yes |
Preview Message Design
Check how your message looks on desktop and mobile devices directly in the builder, no sending required.
Email (Campaigns & Automations)
For Email Campaigns and Automations:
Open your email in the builder.
Click the arrow in the top-right corner → Preview & test.
Toggle between Desktop and Mobile views using the icons.
💡 In Automations, you can preview the email design without opening it. Just click the email in the automation builder and scroll through the left-side preview panel to view the full design.
SMS (Campaigns & Automations)
When creating an SMS Campaign, use the built-in preview to see how your message will appear for US/CA and non-US/CA recipients.
How to preview:
Open your SMS message in the builder.
Check the Preview section on the right side.
Toggle between US/CA recipients and Non-US/CA recipients tabs.
💬 Learn more: Create and Send SMS Campaigns.
Push Notifications (Campaigns Only)
When creating a Push Notification Campaign or adding a Push block to an Automation, preview how your notification will look on different platforms.
How to preview:
Open your Push Notification campaign.
Edit the Content (Title, Text, Logo, Image).
Check the preview panel on the right side.
💬 Learn more: Get Started with Push Notification Channel.
Dynamic Preview
Available for: Email only (Campaigns & Automations)
Preview how your emails will look with real contact data, including personalized names, product recommendations, and event-triggered content.
How to Use Dynamic Preview
Open your email → Click Preview & test.
Select Preview as one of your contacts from the dropdown.
Choose a contact to see their personalized version.
What you'll see:
Campaigns: Contact properties (name, location, custom properties).
Automations: Event data (abandoned cart items, order details, product recommendations).
Note: If you see "No events to display," it means the selected contact hasn't triggered the workflow yet. Test by interacting with your store using a test contact.
💬 Learn more: How Dynamic Preview Shows Personalized Content.
Dark Mode Preview
Check how your email renders in dark mode across email clients.
Open your email → Click Preview & test.
Toggle Preview in dark mode.
Switch between Full and Partial color inversion.
💬 Learn more: Dark Mode in Emails.
Send a Test Message
Send a preview to your own email address, phone number, or browser to check rendering and delivery.
Email (Campaigns & Automations)
How to send a test email:
Open your email → Click Preview & test.
Click Send test email.
Enter one email address or multiple addresses separated by commas:
[email protected], [email protected].Click Send.
Quick send from Automation builder:
You can also quickly send a test email from the automation builder. Click the email → select Send test from the left-side panel.
What to Expect:
Subject lines include [Preview] keyword.
Some email providers filter test emails to spam due to the [Preview] tag – this is normal. Real emails will be delivered to inboxes.
Test Emails won't show personalized content (contact names, discount codes, contact properties, abandoned products, etc.).
SMS (Campaigns Only)
Important: Test SMS is only available in SMS Campaigns. You cannot send test SMS from Automations. Trigger your automation live to test it. See the Test Segment section below.
How to send a test SMS:
In the SMS Campaign builder, complete your message.
Click Send test.
Enter your phone number in international format:
+11231234567.Click Send.
What to Expect
Test SMS uses SMS credits – Each test is priced the same as a regular SMS.
Test SMS won't show personalized content (contact names, discount codes, contact properties).
Check your SMS credit balance in Store Settings → Pricing and usage before testing.
Push Notifications (Campaigns & Automations)
Test push notifications are available in both Campaigns and Automations.
How to send a test push:
In your Push Notification (Campaign or Automation), complete your content.
Click Send a test.
The test push will appear in your open browser.
What to Expect
You must have clicked Allow when prompted for push notification permissions.
Test push doesn't show personalized content.
Device limitations:
✅ Works on: Windows, macOS, Android (Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Edge).
❌ Does not work on: iPhone (iOS) – any browser.
Send to a Test Segment
Available for: Email, SMS, and Push Notifications (Campaigns & Automations).
For the most accurate preview – including personalized content, dynamic blocks, and live triggers – send messages to a segment containing only test contacts. This is the only way to test SMS in Automations.
💡 Benefits:
See real personalization (names, discount codes, product data).
Test images and dynamic blocks.
Verify deliverability across channels.
Step 1: Create a Test Segment
Create a segment containing only your email address or phone number (or a small list of test contacts).
Go to Audience → Segments → Create segment → Create from scratch.
Add filter: Email address is → enter your test email
(Optional: Add additional filters for phone number or push subscription status)Save the segment.
Step 2a: Test Campaigns with the Test Segment
Send a live Campaign (Email, SMS, or Push) to your Test Segment to verify personalization and dynamic content.
Create your Campaign (Email, SMS, or Push).
In the Recipients step, select your Test Segment.
Send or schedule the Campaign.
Step 2b: Test Automation with the Test Segment
Trigger your Automation in real conditions to verify triggers, filters, and personalization across all channels.
Add an Audience Filter:
Open your Automation.
Click the Trigger block.
Add an Audience filter: Segment is → [your test segment].
This prevents the workflow from triggering for real customers during testing.
Trigger the Workflow:
Open your store.
Perform the trigger action:
Welcome Automation: Subscribe via your Signup Form (provide email, SMS, push opt-ins as needed).
Abandoned Cart: Add products to the cart and leave.
Order Confirmation: Place a test order.
💡 Tip: Use the Trigger Preview Tool to verify contacts are entering your workflow as expected before triggering live.
Links and Images in Test Emails
Test emails handle links and images differently than live campaigns. Here's what to expect:
Link Expiration (Campaigns Only)
To prevent misuse, links in Campaign test emails expire after:
10 clicks; or
48 hours (whichever comes first).
Automation test emails are not affected, and links remain active. Expired links redirect to: https://landing.omnisend.com/expired-link/.
Image Display Issues
Test emails use temporary image links instead of secure CDN hosting. This means:
Images may appear broken in Gmail or Outlook Web.
Desktop email apps (Apple Mail, Outlook Desktop) display images more reliably.
This is expected behavior. Real campaigns use full CDN hosting for reliable image delivery.
💡 For accurate image preview: Send your Campaign to a Test Segment.
FAQ
Why don't test messages show discount codes or product recommendations?
Test messages (email, SMS, push) don't populate dynamic content or personalized blocks. Use Dynamic Preview (email only) to see how personalization will appear, or send to a Test Segment for full accuracy across all channels.
Can I send a test SMS in Automations?
No. Test SMS is only available in Campaigns. To test SMS in Automations, add an Audience filter to your workflow and trigger it live in your store using an Incognito window. See Send to a Test Segment.
Why do test SMS use credits, but test emails don't?
SMS credits have a cost per message (varies by country), so test SMS are charged the same as regular SMS. Email tests are free. Check your SMS credit balance in Store Settings → SMS before testing.
Can I test push notifications on my iPhone?
No. iPhone (iOS) does not support web push notifications on any browser. Test push notifications work on Android devices (Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Edge) and desktop (Windows, macOS, Linux).
Why didn't my test push notification arrive?
Your browser must be open to receive push notifications. Also verify:
You clicked Allow when prompted for push permissions.
You're using a supported browser (Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Edge).
You're not testing on iPhone (not supported).
Why did my test email go to spam?
Test emails include the [Preview] keyword in the subject line, which some email providers filter to spam. This doesn't affect real emails – they'll deliver to inboxes normally.
How do I test abandoned cart emails/SMS/push?
Create a Test Segment with your email/phone, add an Audience filter to your workflow, then abandon a cart in your store using an Incognito window. Make sure:
You're subscribed to the channels you want to test (email, SMS, push).
Your phone number is in international format for SMS.
This is the only way to test SMS in Abandonment Automations since test SMS isn't available in Automations. Learn more: Testing Abandoned Cart or Checkout Automations
Have any additional questions? Contact us at [email protected] or via in-app chat.