---
title: "Test OrderRules on a development store"
description: "Try your limits, delivery dates and checkout rule on a Shopify development store before you install on your live store: setup, test payments, and the eight tests worth running."
contentType: "docs"
locale: "en"
localized: true
source: "https://orderrules.com/docs/getting-started/test-on-development-store"
slug: "getting-started/test-on-development-store"
---
**Yes, you can try OrderRules before it touches your live store.** Set it up on a Shopify development store with your real products, then place test orders against your own rules. Everything that runs at checkout behaves the way it will on your live store.

## Before you start

- **A development store.** Create one in Shopify's **Dev Dashboard**. You need a Shopify Partner account, or developer permissions in your Shopify organization. Development stores are password protected and can't take real payments.
- **Your products.** In your live store, open **Products → Export** and download the CSV. Import it into the development store under **Products → Import**, so you test with your real products, variants and SKUs.
- **The plan you'll use.** Delivery dates, delivery-date limits and blackouts are on **Advanced**, which has a 14-day free trial. If the plan screen won't let you subscribe on a development store, [contact support](/docs/troubleshooting/contact-support).

A development store can't be converted into your live store later. Treat it as a rehearsal.

## Set up

1. **Install OrderRules** from the Shopify App Store on the development store.
2. **Set up your rules** as you plan to use them live: product limits, delivery rules, cutoffs, holidays, messages.
3. **Turn on the checkout rule.** In Shopify, open **Settings → Checkout**, scroll to **Checkout rules** and check the OrderRules rule is on. Without it, nothing is checked at checkout.
4. **Add the app blocks** to your theme, such as the delivery date picker on the product or cart page. See [theme app block setup](/docs/delivery/theme-app-block-setup).

## Pay with the test gateway

Development stores use Shopify's test payment gateway. At checkout, the payment section shows what to enter:

- Card number **1**: an approved payment
- Card number **2**: a declined payment
- Card number **3**: a gateway failure

Use any future expiry date and any three-digit security code. No money moves.

## Eight tests worth running

Set a small limit while you test, such as 3 per delivery date, so you can fill a date with a few orders.

| # | Test | What you should see |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Place an ordinary order with a delivery date | The order goes through; the date is on the order |
| 2 | Add more than the daily limit to the cart | Add to cart is refused with a message to reduce the quantity |
| 3 | Fill a date with test orders, then try that date again | The date is unavailable in the picker; checkout is blocked if it fills while someone is paying |
| 4 | Pick a date on the product page, then click **Buy it now** | With **Require a delivery date at checkout** on, checkout shows "Please choose a delivery date before checking out." |
| 5 | Try a holiday or blackout date | It can't be selected |
| 6 | Order just before and just after your cutoff | The earliest date moves forward at the cutoff, in your store's timezone |
| 7 | Cancel one of the test orders | Its place on that delivery date becomes available again |
| 8 | Check a product page in another language, if you sell in more than one | Storefront messages follow the shopper's language |

If a test doesn't behave as described, check that the checkout rule is on, then see [rules not applying](/docs/troubleshooting/rules-not-applying).

## When you're done

- **Cancel the test orders.** OrderRules counts them like real orders, so they hold capacity until they're cancelled.
- **Move your product limits.** In **Product Limits**, click **Export All**. In the CSV, clear **Product ID** and **Variant ID**, fill in **SKU**, and import it on your live store. Variant-level limits need their live **Variant ID**s, or set them again by hand. See [CSV bulk import](/docs/guides/csv-bulk-import).
- **Set the rest up again by hand** on your live store: delivery rules, store hours, holidays and messages. Then repeat tests 1 and 4 there with a real, low-value order before a busy day.

## Related

- [Installing OrderRules](/docs/getting-started/installing-orderrules) · [Quick start: your first rule](/docs/getting-started/quick-start-first-rule) · [Compatibility and known limitations](/docs/guides/compatibility-and-limitations) · [Buy It Now skips the delivery date](/blog/shopify-buy-it-now-skips-delivery-date)