PureClarity supports various development workflows by providing dedicated environments for testing and development, ensuring your live environment remains clean and production-ready.
Development environments come with usage restrictions and fair use policies - sufficient for testing but limited to prevent production abuse.

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Development Environment Benefits

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Isolated Testing

Environment separation provides:
  • Clean live environment - No test products, orders, or activity
  • Safe development space - Test features without affecting production
  • Realistic testing - Full PureClarity functionality in staging
  • Data integrity - Separate analytics and customer data

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Fair Use Policy

Development stores are restricted to testing purposes only. Using them for production traffic violates terms of service and may result in access blocking.
Allowed activities:
  • Feature testing and integration validation
  • User acceptance testing (UAT)
  • Performance testing with limited traffic
  • Development team training
Prohibited activities:
  • Production customer traffic
  • High-volume load testing
  • Revenue-generating activities
  • Long-term production use

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Environment Identification

A banner at the top of PureClarity admin indicates when you’re working in a staging or test environment.

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Platform-Specific Implementation

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Shopify Development

Automatic development recognition:
  • Stores with plan name “affiliate” skip plan selection
  • Stores with plan name “partner_test” get automatic setup
  • No billing requirements for development stores

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Agency Workflow Recommendations

For agencies developing client stores: reinstall PureClarity when transferring ownership to ensure the client can use PureClarity in production.
Transfer process:
  1. Complete development and testing with affiliate/partner_test store
  2. Prepare for client handover
  3. Reinstall PureClarity on client’s production account
  4. Configure production settings and preferences
  5. Transfer any custom configurations or campaigns

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Traditional Platform Setup

Platforms: Shopify, BigCommerce, Magento, WooCommerce, Custom

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Dual Environment Strategy

Recommended approach:
  1. Staging signup - Create account on development/staging site
  2. Production signup - Create separate account on live site
  3. Separate access keys - Maintain distinct API credentials
  4. Independent configuration - Configure each environment separately
Never use production access keys in staging environments - this can cause staging products to appear in live recommendations.

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Access Key Management

Best practices:
  • Environment-specific keys - Use dedicated keys per environment
  • Secure storage - Store keys securely in environment variables
  • Regular rotation - Update keys when transitioning to production
  • Documentation - Maintain clear records of which keys belong to which environment

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Development Workflow Integration

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Testing Phases

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Stage 1: Initial Development

  • Set up staging PureClarity account
  • Configure basic integration
  • Test core functionality
  • Validate data feeds and API connections

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Stage 2: Feature Testing

  • Test recommendation engines
  • Validate campaign functionality
  • Check personalization features
  • Verify analytics tracking

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Stage 3: User Acceptance Testing

  • Conduct UAT with limited test users
  • Validate user experience flows
  • Test GDPR compliance features
  • Verify mobile responsiveness

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Stage 4: Production Preparation

  • Set up production PureClarity account
  • Configure production access keys
  • Transfer tested configurations
  • Plan go-live strategy

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Configuration Transfer

Document all staging configurations to streamline production setup and ensure consistency.
Transfer checklist:
  • Campaign settings and templates
  • Segment definitions and rules
  • Zone placements and configurations
  • Custom template designs
  • Analytics and tracking setup

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Best Practices

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Environment Management

  1. Clear naming - Use distinct names for staging/production accounts
  2. Regular cleanup - Remove test data periodically
  3. Documentation - Maintain environment setup guides
  4. Access control - Limit staging access to development team

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Development Security

Security considerations:
  • Never expose staging credentials in production code
  • Use environment-specific configuration files
  • Implement proper secret management
  • Regular security audits of development environments

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Performance Testing

Testing guidelines:
  • Use realistic but limited data volumes
  • Test with representative user journeys
  • Validate caching and performance optimizations
  • Monitor resource usage during testing
For comprehensive load testing, coordinate with PureClarity support to ensure appropriate environment provisioning.

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Troubleshooting Common Issues

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Cross-Environment Contamination

Problem: Production data appearing in staging Solution: Verify access keys are environment-specific

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Development Account Limitations

Problem: Features not working in development Solution: Check fair use policy compliance and environment restrictions

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Transfer Issues

Problem: Configurations not working after production deployment Solution: Verify all settings transferred correctly and access keys updated