---
description: "Run one Dalton experiment across many pages at once using URL patterns — ideal for site-wide changes."
---

# Multi-Page Experiments

Run the same experiment across multiple pages at once using URL patterns.

## When to Use Multi-Page

Multi-page experiments are useful when you have many pages with the same structure:

- **Product Detail Pages (PDPs)** - Test the same headline or CTA format across all products
- **Category pages** - Test layout changes across all category listings
- **Blog posts** - Test content formatting across all articles
- **Landing pages** - Test variations across campaign pages with similar structure

## How Page Matching Works

Rather than picking pages one by one, you describe which pages the experiment should run on. There are two ways to do this:

- **Describe it in plain language** — Tell Dalton something like "all product pages except the homepage" and it builds the matching rules for you.
- **Build rules yourself** — Add one or more rules using the operators below.

Each rule is checked against a page's URL path. Combine multiple rules with **AND** (every rule must match) or **OR** (any rule can match), and negate a rule to exclude pages.

| Operator | Matches when the path… |
|----------|------------------------|
| **Exact match** | is exactly the value |
| **Simple match** | equals the value, ignoring query parameters |
| **Starts with** | begins with the value — e.g. `/products` |
| **Ends with** | ends with the value — e.g. `/details` |
| **Contains** | contains the value anywhere |
| **Wildcard** | matches a pattern where `*` stands in for any text — e.g. `/products/*` |
| **Regex** | matches a raw regular expression, for advanced cases |

## Example: Rules for the acme.inc Store

Say **acme.inc** is a web shop with product pages under `/products/` (e.g. `/products/anvil-deluxe`), category pages under `/collections/`, and articles under `/blog/`. Here's how common targets translate into rules:

| What you want to test | Rule(s) |
|-----------------------|---------|
| Every product page | **Starts with** `/products/` |
| Only anvil product pages | **Starts with** `/products/` **AND** **Contains** `anvil` |
| Every category page | **Starts with** `/collections/` |
| Product *and* category pages | **Starts with** `/products/` **OR** **Starts with** `/collections/` |
| All product pages except the clearance bundle | **Starts with** `/products/` **AND NOT** **Exact match** `/products/clearance-bundle` |
| Every page except the homepage | **NOT** **Exact match** `/` |

For the first row, a **Wildcard** rule of `/products/*` works just as well — it matches `/products/widget-pro`, `/products/gadget`, and every other product URL.

## The Most Important Rule

::: danger Test Elements That Exist on ALL Matched Pages
When you edit an element in a multi-page experiment, that change applies to **every page** matching your URL pattern.

**The common mistake:** You're on a product page and test the product title or price. But these elements are different on every product page. Dalton shows your test version everywhere—suddenly all products have the same title.

**Only test elements that are identical across all pages:**
- Navigation headers
- CTA button text (not product-specific)
- Trust badges
- Footer content
- Generic section headings
:::

## What Works vs. What Doesn't

| Works Well | Doesn't Work |
|------------|--------------|
| "Add to Cart" button text | Product titles |
| "Free shipping" banner | Product prices |
| Review section header | Product descriptions |
| Trust badges near checkout | Inventory/size selectors |

## Setting Up Multi-Page Experiments

1. **Define your page matching rules** - Describe the pages in plain language, or build rules with the operators above
2. **Provide an example URL and a verification URL** - Two different pages that both match your rules, so Dalton can build the experiment and check it against real pages
3. **Select an element that exists identically on all pages** - Not product-specific content
4. **Preview on multiple page types** - Check several different URLs that match your rules
5. **Launch**

## Previewing Multi-Page Experiments

Before launching:

1. List 3-5 different URLs that match your rules
2. Open the preview for each one
3. Verify the element you're testing exists and looks correct on all of them

If the element doesn't exist on some pages, or looks different, narrow your rules or choose a different element.