Using URL parameters in your study

You can add parameters to your unmoderated study URL to change how the study behaves or to record custom data on each session.

There are two kinds:

• Maze parameters change how the study runs for that participant, like turning off tracking or setting the interface language. See the full list

• Custom tags record your own data, like where a participant came from or their ID in another tool. Learn how to add custom tags

Use cases

• Source tracking. Find out where your participants came from (e.g. social media, your website, or ads) with a custom tag like source=.

• Participant identification. If you already know who your participants are, generate a unique link for each one and pass in details like their name. This works best with a third-party tool that can insert that data into each link for you. Learn more about generating custom URLs

• Completion tracking. Pass an external participant ID to track who completed your study, for example, for compensation.

• Language settings. Set the study interface to a supported language with the lng parameter.

• Internal testing. Try out your live study without adding your sessions to the results with the notrack parameter.

• Testing on a shared device. Let several people take the study on the same device with the guerilla parameter.

Maze URL parameters

Maze reads these parameters to change how your study runs. Add them to your study link exactly as shown.

Good to know

• These parameters only change the testing experience. They aren't saved with the session, so you won't see them in participant details.

• Unique sessions can't be turned off for studies sent through Reach campaigns.

• lng only translates Maze's interface (buttons, instructions, and system messages). It doesn't translate your study content, like questions or task descriptions. See all supported languages

Combining parameters

Start the first parameter with ? and add each one after it with &. You can mix Maze parameters and custom tags in the same link:

t.maze.co/74641933?lng=fr&source=newsletter&participantid=1234

Learn more about sharing options

Custom tags

Custom tags let you save your own data on each session. Maze records any parameter it doesn't use itself as a custom tag.

Before you start

• You can only use custom tags when you send the study link to your own participants. They aren't available with Maze's panel of hired participants.

• Custom tags aren't supported in Reach campaigns.

- Maze already uses the tags id, createdAt, email, and userId. Choose different names, or your data won't be recorded.

How to add custom tags to your study URL

Custom tags use a ?key=value format. The key is the name of the data you're recording, and the value is the data itself.

Here's a study share link:

t.maze.co/74641933

And here's the same link with a custom tag:

t.maze.co/74641933?source=slack

When a participant opens the second link, Maze records Source: slack for their session in your results.

Generating custom URLs

You don't need to add tags to each link by hand. If you send study links through a third-party tool, it may be able to insert participant data into the URL for you.

For example, you could send links like this (the exact syntax depends on your tool):

t.maze.co/74641933?name={{firstName}}&participantid={{Id}}

While we don't directly support or endorse them, these tools can generate and send custom URLs:

• Autopilot: Personalization variables

• Mailchimp: Merge tags

• Klaviyo: Variables

• SendGrid: Substitution tags

• HubSpot: Personalization tokens

• Beamer: Parameters

To pass this data back to your panel provider, set up a redirect at the end of the study.

Finding custom tags in your results

Once participants start completing your study, their data appears on your Results dashboard, under the Analyze tab.

Here's how to see the custom tags for a participant:

1. Open your Results dashboard.

2. Go to the Participants tab.

   

3. Next to the participant number, click Details.

   

4. Find your tags under the Custom section.

   

You can't use custom tags as filters in the Results dashboard. To filter by them, export your results and use your spreadsheet's filters (e.g. Google Sheets filters).

Exporting custom tags

If you're on a paid plan, custom tags are included in the full .csv export. You'll find them as a single JSON object in the meta column.

Using parameters with website testing

To track where participants came from, add a custom tag like source= to your study link instead of relying on utm_source.

In website testing tasks, Maze tracks the URLs participants visit on your site, including their query parameters (everything after the ? in a URL). Keep these in mind:

• Parameters in your start URL are kept when you enter the start URL.

• A change in your site's own URL parameters counts as a new step in your results.

• When Maze opens your website for a test, it adds lwt=true to the URL. This starts the Maze snippet on your site. You don't need to add it yourself, and Maze removes it from your results.

How parameters affect success paths

Each parameter change counts as a new screen, so it affects how Maze classifies success.

For example, say you've set this success path:

1. yourwebsite.co/ (initial screen)
2. yourwebsite.co/search?k=tokyo (success screen)

This path would be classified as an indirect success because the participant visited an extra screen on the way:

1. yourwebsite.co/ (initial screen)
2. yourwebsite.co/search?k=london
3. yourwebsite.co/search?k=tokyo (success screen)

Learn more about setting success paths on your website tests

Ignored parameters

Some parameters carry sensitive information about your users, like login tokens or email addresses. Others change for every visitor, which would split your results. For example, yourwebsite.co?utm_source=newsletter and yourwebsite.co?utm_source=blog would count as two separate screens.

Maze ignores these parameters. They're removed from your results and never stored, and the list can't be changed:

• access_token

• account

• apikey

• auth

• auth_key

• auth_token

• callback

• client_id

• client_secret

• code

• email

• fbclid

• gclid

• grant_type

• id_token

• jwt

• oauth

• oauth_token

• openid

• password

• refresh_token

• session

• session_id

• signature

• state

• token

• uid

• user

• userid

• username

• utm_source

To track where participants came from, add a custom tag like source= to your study link instead of relying on utm_source.

Still need help?

If you have any questions or concerns, please let our Support team know — we'll be happy to help!