Validate the Platform Web SDK implementation

After you have migrated your Target implementation from at.js to Platform Web SDK, it’s important to validate everything is working properly before publishing any changes to your production site. Adobe recommends the following, which is covered in detail on this page:

  • Perform a technical validation to make sure the basic implementation and Platform Web SDK requests and responses look correct
  • Ensure that Target activities are delivered and rendered properly
  • Check that reporting works correctly
  • Revisit audiences and profile scripts to make sure they are compatible with Platform Web SDK
  • Ensure integrations with Adobe or third-party applications work correctly

Every Target implementation is different depending on site architecture and features used. You may use the tables below as a starting point and add any items unique to your implementation. The Debugging page of this tutorial shows you tools you can use to help with this validation.

Technical validation

Validation item
Notes
The at.js prehiding snippet is no longer present on the page
The Platform Web SDK does not automatically remove the style with ID at-body-style. Leaving this old snippet on the page results in hidden content until the snippet timeout is reached.
The at.js library is no longer present on the page
Check that there is no “adobe.target” object in your browser’s developer tools console. Including both Platform Web SDK and at.js results in unintended rendering behavior
Expected parameters are in the XDM and data objects of the sendEvent request
Recommendations catalog is updated as expected if using page requests to populate the catalog
Profile parameters are successfully passed to Target
View Edge traces in the Debugger
Parameters mapped to XDM in the datastream mapper are passed correctly to Target
Validate using the Edge Trace feature of the Debugger and/or Assurance
Target content returns in the applicable sendEvent responses
Expected when renderDecisions option is set to true or scopes are requested and the user qualifies for a particular Target activity
A decisioning.propositionDisplay event fires after VEC-based activities render
Activities rendered automatically and on-demand are expected to have separate event calls
A decisioning.propositionDisplay event fires after form-based activities render
Only applicable for certain implementations. Requires custom code to execute this call.
A decisioning.propositionDisplay event fires when an offer is applied on a SPA view change
Only applicable for SPA implementations
A decisioning.propositionDisplay event does NOT fire when a SPA component re-renders for a given view
Only applicable for SPA implementations
A decisioning.propsitionInteract event fires after an activity conversion
The “Clicked an element” and custom conversions migrated from at.js trackEvent or sendNotifications are expected to have separate event calls
Response tokens are returned in the sendEvent response and have expected values
Response tokens should function normally with Web SDK
ECIDs are consistent across pages with Web SDK and at.js
Applies to page-by-page migrations. Redirect offers are not expected to work in these types of migrations

Activity delivery and rendering

Validation item
Notes
VEC-based activities render properly on page load
It’s best to validate both custom code modifications and basic modifications such as rearranging elements or replacing text
VEC-based activities render properly on SPA view changes
Only applicable for SPA implementations
Form-based activities render properly
Only applicable for certain implementations. Rendering form based activities requires custom code similar to at.js.
Activities that use redirects work properly
Redirects are supported if both the source and destination page use Platform Web SDK. A Target redirect from an at.js page to a Platform Web SDK page or the opposite way is not supported.
Activities that use remote offers work properly
Not common, check your Target offer inventory for Remote Offers
Flicker is appropriately mitigated
Flicker handling is optional, but ensure any mitigation tactics that you have in place are working as expected for optimal page performance and user experience
QA links work as expected
If not working, confirm that the web.webPageDetails.URL exactly matches the URL in the browser
All your commonly used offer types are rendered as expected

Reporting

Validation item
Notes
Visitors are attributed to VEC-based activities
It’s best to validate reporting works as expected for both page load modifications and SPA view modifications
Visitors are attributed to form-based activities
Depending on the rendering approach used, your implementation may require custom code to execute a decisioning.propositionDisplay event
Standard conversion goals are properly captured
Applies to either Target or Analytics as the reporting source
Order conversions and details are properly captured
Check the Audit report
Click-tracking conversions are properly captured
Custom conversion goals are properly captured
For example, conversion goals migrated from at.js trackEvent or sendNotifications which are commonly used with the “viewed an mbox” goal

Audiences and profile scripts

Validation item
Notes
Audiences used in live activities are compatible with Platform Web SDK
Audiences that use the “Custom” (mbox parameter) component must be updated to include XDM attributes
All profile scripts are compatible with Platform Web SDK
Any profile scripts that use mbox parameters must be updated to include XDM attributes
Activities return for Target audiences
It’s best to perform end-to-end validation on audiences you modify to make compatible with Platform Web SDK
Profile scripts evaluate as expected
View Edge traces in the Debugger

Integrations with Adobe applications

Validation item
Notes
Activities return for Experience Cloud audiences
For example, a segment published from Adobe Analytics
Activities return for Experience Platform audiences
Only applies if you have a license for an Experience Platform-based application like RTCDP
Activities return for Audience Manager audiences
For example, a segment based on visiting a specific page
Target activity data displays in Analysis Workspace
Applies to activities that use Adobe Analytics as the reporting source

Integrations with third-party applications

Validation item
Notes
Response token data is properly passed to third-party applications
Integration approaches may vary, but a common method is to use Target response tokens to pass activity and experience information to other analytics tools like Google Analytics
Information from third-parties is passed as either XDM or profile data
All relevant information from third-parties should be passed in sendEvent calls to Target

After performing the validation steps above, you can be confident that the Platform Web SDK implementation is ready to move to production.

Next, learn how to troubleshoot a Target implementation using Platform Web SDK.

NOTE
We are committed to helping you be successful with your Target migration from at.js to Web SDK. If you run into obstacles with your migration or feel like there is critical information missing in this guide, please let us know by posting in this Community discussion.
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