The most common reason a merchant does not test properly is a worry about what testing costs. Almost none of it costs anything, and one of the free things is a complete end-to-end order that produces real print files. This guide draws the line so you can rehearse before a customer does it for you.
The line
Building, previewing, publishing and unpublishing are all free, however many times you do them. A preview creates no order at all, which is why its button reads Preview only. See what the customizer is.
During a trial, personalized items are recorded so your history is complete, and they are not billed. The billing page says it plainly: no transaction fees are billed during trial.
The rehearsal that costs nothing
Shopify lets you place an order through its test gateway. Composerie recognizes that order as a test and treats it differently from a paid one in two ways that matter.
It makes the print files anyway. The render runs the same way it would for a customer, so you see the real output for the real personalization rather than a preview of it.
It goes no further. The order finishes as fulfilled, and nothing about it turns up on a provider invoice. It is also not counted as a billable personalized item.
That makes it the right rehearsal for everything up to production: the customizer on your live theme, the add to cart, the personalization landing on the order, and the files that come out of it.
Rehearsing production without a provider bill
If you want to see the whole chain including fulfillment without a provider invoice, build one self-print product and sell it to yourself. A self-print item has no provider charge at all, the files are yours to download, and you mark the milestones by hand. See self-print orders.
Common questions
Does a preview cost anything?
No. A preview creates no order, so there is nothing to bill. It also saves no draft, which is why a shopper's welcome-back restore does not happen in one.
Is a test-gateway order billed as a personalized item?
No. Composerie recognizes it as a test and does not count it towards billable usage.
Will a test order print at my provider?
No. It stops after the files are made, so nothing about it turns up in a provider account.
Do AI generations cost money during the trial?
Yes. AI runs on your own provider key and is billed by that provider, which is a separate relationship from your Composerie plan.
How many products can I build while I try things?
Build as many as you like. What Composerie meters is personalized items on paid orders, not designs or drafts.
Next
Read what decides your Composerie bill for what does cost money, or what AI generation costs to cap the one that starts at the first click.