A/B Testing Images

This guide walks you through creating an A/B test experiment, embedding it in your site or emails, tracking events, and completing the test.

Prerequisites

A Pictify API key
At least two templates to test

Step 1: Create an Experiment

Create an A/B test with two variants:

curl -X POST https://api.pictify.io/experiments/api \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "Email Banner CTR Test",
    "type": "ab_test",
    "slug": "email-banner-ctr",
    "variants": [
      {
        "id": "control",
        "name": "Current Design",
        "weight": 5000,
        "templateUid": "tmpl_current123"
      },
      {
        "id": "new-design",
        "name": "New Design",
        "weight": 5000,
        "templateUid": "tmpl_new456"
      }
    ],
    "goalConfig": {
      "type": "click_through",
      "destinationUrl": "https://example.com/landing"
    }
  }'

const experiment = await pictify.experiments.create({
  name: 'Email Banner CTR Test',
  type: 'ab_test',
  slug: 'email-banner-ctr',
  variants: [
    { id: 'control', name: 'Current Design', weight: 5000, templateUid: 'tmpl_current123' },
    { id: 'new-design', name: 'New Design', weight: 5000, templateUid: 'tmpl_new456' }
  ],
  goalConfig: { type: 'click_through', destinationUrl: 'https://example.com/landing' }
});

experiment = pictify.experiments.create(
    name='Email Banner CTR Test',
    type='ab_test',
    slug='email-banner-ctr',
    variants=[
        {'id': 'control', 'name': 'Current Design', 'weight': 5000, 'template_uid': 'tmpl_current123'},
        {'id': 'new-design', 'name': 'New Design', 'weight': 5000, 'template_uid': 'tmpl_new456'}
    ],
    goal_config={'type': 'click_through', 'destination_url': 'https://example.com/landing'}
)

The experiment is created in draft status.

Step 2: Start the Experiment

curl -X POST https://api.pictify.io/experiments/api/exp_abc123/start \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $API_KEY"

await pictify.experiments.start('exp_abc123');

pictify.experiments.start('exp_abc123')

Step 3: Embed in Your Content

Email

<!-- Variant image with click tracking -->
<a href="https://api.pictify.io/s/email-banner-ctr/click">
  <img src="https://api.pictify.io/s/email-banner-ctr.png" alt="Special offer" />
</a>

<!-- Tracking pixel for open tracking -->
<img src="https://api.pictify.io/s/email-banner-ctr/pixel.gif" width="1" height="1" />

Website

<img src="https://api.pictify.io/s/email-banner-ctr.png" alt="Hero banner" />

Each viewer automatically receives a variant based on the weight distribution.

Step 4: Track Events (Optional)

For server-side or custom tracking:

curl -X POST https://api.pictify.io/s/events \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "X-Write-Key: $WRITE_KEY" \
  -d '{
    "event": "conversion",
    "experiment": "email-banner-ctr",
    "variantId": "new-design"
  }'

await fetch('https://api.pictify.io/s/events', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    'Content-Type': 'application/json',
    'X-Write-Key': writeKey
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    event: 'conversion',
    experiment: 'email-banner-ctr',
    variantId: 'new-design'
  })
});

Always include a write key to prevent third parties from injecting fake events into your experiment.

Step 5: Complete the Experiment

Once you have enough data, declare a winner:

curl -X POST https://api.pictify.io/experiments/api/exp_abc123/complete \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{ "winnerVariantId": "new-design" }'

await pictify.experiments.complete('exp_abc123', {
  winnerVariantId: 'new-design'
});

pictify.experiments.complete('exp_abc123', winner_variant_id='new-design')

After completion, the experiment URL (/s/email-banner-ctr.png) serves only the winning variant.

Tips

Check your quota first: GET /experiments/api/quota shows your plan limits
Run for at least 7 days to account for day-of-week variations
Use at least 1,000 impressions per variant before drawing conclusions
Enable auto-optimization with banditConfig.enabled: true for low-traffic tests
Set a fallback image so the experiment URL works even after the experiment expires

Dashboard

Tutorials

AI Integration

A/B Testing Images

A/B Testing Images

Prerequisites

Step 1: Create an Experiment

Step 2: Start the Experiment

Step 3: Embed in Your Content

Email

Website

Step 4: Track Events (Optional)

Step 5: Complete the Experiment

Tips

​A/B Testing Images

​Prerequisites

​Step 1: Create an Experiment

​Step 2: Start the Experiment

​Step 3: Embed in Your Content

​Email

​Website

​Step 4: Track Events (Optional)

​Step 5: Complete the Experiment

​Tips

A/B Testing Images

Prerequisites

Step 1: Create an Experiment

Step 2: Start the Experiment

Step 3: Embed in Your Content

Email

Website

Step 4: Track Events (Optional)

Step 5: Complete the Experiment

Tips