---
title: Creating Your First Experiment
description: Learn how to create and configure A/B experiments using Sidecar without writing code or deploying to production.
product: general
token_estimate: 1103
---
# Creating Your First Experiment

> For AI agents: a documentation index is available at [/llms.txt](/llms.txt). Append `.md` to any page URL for markdown, or send `Accept: text/markdown`.

Sidecar lets you create and run A/B experiments without writing code or pushing code to production. This guide shows how to create an experiment and review results.

> **Info:**
>
> This guide assumes you've followed the previous steps of installing Sidecar, creating a Statsig account, and setting up the API Keys correctly. Refer to [Setup](https://docs.statsig.com/guides/sidecar-experiments/setup) for those instructions.

## Step 1: Navigate to the web page

Navigate to the web page you want to experiment on.

![Sidecar experiment interface showing the main dashboard](https://docs.statsig.com/images/sidecarfull.png)

## Step 2: New experiment

Select the _New Experiment_ button and fill out the details. Selecting _New Experiment_ creates a local, unpublished experiment, so you can configure all the details and verify that everything works before publishing.

![New experiment creation form](https://docs.statsig.com/images/guides/sidecar-experiments/creating-experiments/d8cfc8bb-43e9-4a64-8ca8-002c579e7fff.png)

## Step 3 (Optional): Add URL filter

You can select which pages the experiment runs on. Sidecar evaluates URL filters before any targeting rules configured on the experiment in the Statsig console.

You can configure URL targeting using the following methods:

- All Pages - anywhere you install the Sidecar client.
- Contains - The page URL must contain the value as a substring.
- Exact Match - The page URL must match the exact value you specify here.
- Regex - Regular expressions, for example `(http|https):\/\/www.statsig.com\/pricing` matches pages `http://www.statsig.com/pricing` or `https://www.statsig.com/pricing`, and activates this experiment on those pages.

![URL targeting configuration interface with filter options](https://docs.statsig.com/images/sidecarurls.png)

## Step 4: Add actions

Select the _Add Action_ button to see a list of actions available for this experiment.

Choose _Change content of an element_ to run an A/B test that changes the content of an HTML element, such as headlines, descriptions, or CTAs.

![Add action selection menu with available experiment actions](https://docs.statsig.com/images/sidecaraddaction.png)

### Use the Redirect action for landing page and split URL experiments

For Landing Page and Split URL experiments, add the "Redirect to another page" action for any test group and specify the destination URL. Sidecar preserves query string parameters and passes them to the destination URL.

![Redirect action configuration for landing page experiments](https://docs.statsig.com/images/sidecarredirect.png)

## Step 5: Select an element

To run a content change experiment, you need two things: the element to test, and the content to change.

Select the yellow _Target element path_ text box to activate element selector mode.

Move your mouse over the web page to see a red selection rectangle. Select the element you want. This example selects the main Headline.

![Element selection with red highlight showing target element](https://docs.statsig.com/images/sidecarselect.png)

Sidecar now reflects the path of the selected element.

![Selected element path display in the configuration panel](https://docs.statsig.com/images/sidecarpath.png)

## Step 6: Update content

Choose the two text values to A/B test. In the _Control content_ text box, add your control text (for example, "Build Better Products"). In the _Test content_ text box, add your test variant (for example, "Experiment Like a Pro").

You can validate these changes in real time by selecting the ▶ button above the text box for each variant. Selecting the button immediately changes the element's content so you can visually inspect the result before publishing.

![Content update interface with preview functionality](https://docs.statsig.com/images/sidecarupdatelt.png)

## Step 7: Add more actions

You can add more actions within the same experiment to explore additional capabilities.

![Adding additional experiment actions to the same test](https://docs.statsig.com/images/sidecar2ndaction.png)

You've created your first no-code experiment.

## Next up: [Measuring Experiments](https://docs.statsig.com/guides/sidecar-experiments/measuring-experiments)