How do I write my first redirect rule?
Open Visitor rules, create a rule, choose who sees it and where they go, then save. Saving publishes the rule to your storefront; check it with the preview link.
Open Visitor rules in SignalLane and press Create rule. Give the rule a name, pick a mode, choose the visitor countries it applies to and where it sends them, then press Save. Saving publishes the rule to your storefront.
On an empty Visitor rules page you can also start from Send visitors to their local store or Tell visitors we don't ship to them. Both open a form with the usual answers filled in. Nothing is saved until you press Save.
Rule
- Name is only for you. Visitors never see it.
- Priority: lower numbers run first. When more than one rule matches a visitor, the one with the lowest number wins.
- Mode: Instant redirects straight away, Banner lets the visitor choose, and Notice tells visitors you don't serve their region and never redirects.
For a first rule, Banner is the gentle choice: nobody is moved without agreeing to it. Instant, Banner and Notice compared.
Who sees it
Press Add countries under Visitor countries and tick the countries the rule is for. You can tick a whole continent, a group such as EU, or states/provinces inside a country. Leave it empty to match visitors from anywhere. How countries and states/provinces work.
Which pages
Leave Only on these paths empty to run on every page. No rule ever redirects on the cart, the checkout, customer accounts or order pages, whatever you list here.
Where they go
- A market domain of this store — one of your store's own market domains.
- Another Shopify store — a store you have linked on the Stores page. Link it first. When that store sells to the visitor's country through one of its markets, the visitor lands on that market.
- Any other website — any https address. SignalLane can send visitors there but cannot measure what they buy, because it isn't installed on that site.
The visitor lands on the same page on the destination, with every campaign tag kept. Use the optional Path map (/from => /to, one per line) when a page lives at a different address there.
Save, then check it
Press Save. A new rule is active, so saving publishes it and the toast says Rule saved. If publishing to Shopify fails, the toast says so and the Visitor rules page offers Retry publish. The card beside the form always says, in plain words, what the rule currently does.
Then open your storefront with ?signallane_preview=1 at the end of the address to see what a visitor from your location would get, without being redirected yourself. How the preview works.
Questions and answers
- Is there a draft mode?
- No. Saving an active rule publishes it. Narrow the rule to one test page while you try it, or pause it from the rules list.
- Do my campaign tags survive the redirect?
- Yes. UTM tags and click IDs such as gclid, fbclid and ttclid travel with the visitor, unless you limit them under Advanced › Only forward these parameters.
- What if I leave Visitor countries empty?
- The rule matches visitors from anywhere. If nothing else narrows it either, the page warns you that the rule matches everyone.
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Related articles
- Visitor rulesWhat is the difference between Instant, Banner and Notice?
Instant redirects straight away, Banner lets the visitor choose whether to go, and Notice tells visitors you don't serve their region without sending them anywhere.
- Visitor rulesHow do visitor countries and states/provinces work?
Leave Visitor countries empty to match anywhere, add countries to narrow the rule, and use Except countries to leave some out. States/provinces are best effort.
- Getting startedHow do I test a rule without redirecting real shoppers?
Add ?signallane_preview=1 to any storefront address. You see the banner or notice a visitor would get, nothing is recorded, and you are never redirected.
- Visitor rulesWhat happens when two rules match the same visitor?
The rule with the lowest Priority number wins and is the only one that acts on that page. Answers to a banner, once-per-session redirects and loop limits decide the rest.