Experience Fragment: Export to Target with VS. without publishing

[KeithFr]

Can someone explain the difference between exporting Experience Fragments to Target with vs. without publishing?

If I publish the Experience Fragment, is it then available on the public/live web site? Could a visitor use a URL to navigate to it?

I'm particularly concerned about new Experience Fragments that are being QA'd, but have not been part of an active test. During the QA phase, we do not want the content available on the live site.

Thanks,

Keith

[Madhur-Madan]

Hi @KeithFr ,

With Publishing:

• When you export an Experience Fragment to Target with publishing, the content is sent to Adobe Target, and the associated offers become available for use in Target activities.
• Published content becomes part of the live Target activities and can be displayed to visitors based on the targeting rules defined in Target.
• If the Experience Fragment is part of an active test or campaign, it will be eligible for display to users who meet the targeting criteria.

Without Publishing:

• If you export an Experience Fragment to Target without publishing, the content is sent to Adobe Target, but it is not immediately available for use in live activities.
• The content is stored in Target, but it remains in a draft state and doesn't affect the live site until it is published within the Target interface.

Thanks

[PAGIDALAGURUKRISHNA · Accepted solution]

Hi @KeithFr 

The process of exporting Experience Fragments to Adobe Target can be performed with or without publishing them, which caters to different scenarios and requirements during the content lifecycle, such as development, QA, and live deployment.

Exporting Experience Fragments to Adobe Target Without Publishing:
Exporting Experience Fragments to Adobe Target without publishing is a feature that allows you to send your Experience Fragment to Target without making it live on your public-facing website. This is particularly useful during the QA phase of content development when you want to test content in Adobe Target without exposing it on the live site. When you export without publishing, the Experience Fragment is not available through a URL on your public website, which addresses your concern about new Experience Fragments being accessed prematurely.

Exporting Experience Fragments to Adobe Target With Publishing:
When you choose to publish an Experience Fragment as part of the export process to Adobe Target, you are making the content live and accessible on your website. This means that the Experience Fragment and all its related assets are published and could be navigated to by a visitor if they know the URL. However, typically Experience Fragments are designed to be parts of a page rather than standalone pages, so while the content is live, it doesn't necessarily mean it's easily navigable or discoverable by site visitors.

It should be noted that for media assets, such as images, only a reference is exported to Target. The asset itself remains stored in AEM Assets and is delivered from the AEM publish instance. Therefore, it is essential that the Experience Fragment, with all related assets, must be published before exporting to Target if the content needs to be delivered from the live site.

Recommended Approach for QA:
During the QA phase, it would be advisable to use the "Export without publishing" option to ensure that the Experience Fragment is not accessible on the live site. Only after the content passes QA and you are ready to go live should you publish the Experience Fragment, which would then be available on the public/live website.

Additionally, if an Experience Fragment that has been exported to Target is deleted in AEM, it may cause issues if the fragment is being used in an offer in Target. Adobe recommends caution when deleting Experience Fragments that are in use by activities in Target.

Further Considerations:
The "Export without publishing" option is useful for preventing accidental exposure of content before it's ready for the public. When content is in the QA phase and not part of an active test, leveraging this option ensures that the Experience Fragment is only accessible within the controlled environment of Adobe Target for testing purposes.

For more detailed information on exporting Experience Fragments to Adobe Target, please refer to the following sources:

• Exporting Experience Fragments to Adobe Target - AEM as a Cloud Service documentation
• Exporting Experience Fragments to Adobe Target - AEM 6.5 documentation