Having a functional, user-friendly website is key in gaining users and clients. With the growing use of web searches over traditional searches, having a website is a must for any business.
Having a website does not complete your business transaction. It only serves as an introduction to your business and what you offer. Your website needs to be updated frequently to keep up with changes in search algorithms and user preferences.
Website testing is the process of checking your site for errors and user experience quality assurance. There are many services that provide this service at reasonable prices. Some offer free trials or free check-ups, so do some research to find the best one for you!
Having a fully functioning, error-free site is great, but what about the content? Content quality assurance is also very important. This includes having correct grammar and spelling, and delivering valuable information to your audience. A way to ensure this is by getting feedback from others.
Website Testing and Quality Assurance
Website testing and quality assurance is an integral part of developing a website. Many people, including developers, designers, and marketing teams depend on the website being testable and quality assured.
Website testing includes creating a user account, creating an order, and checking shipping information. This also includes navigating the different sections of the site and seeing if there are any bugs or glitches.
Quality assurance refers to the process of making sure the website is working correctly. This includes doing bug checks and fixing any issues that arise. It also includes making sure the website looks good, functions well, and does what it is supposed to do.
Many people are not fully aware of all the things that go into Quality Assurance (QA) for a website. As such, there are many ways for bugs to escape detection before a new site goes live. Some of these bugs can be subtle or tricky to detect.
Site search functionality
A significant part of any website is the search functionality. Most websites have a search bar either on the homepage or within the menus.
Many websites also have a built-up search functionality that works across the site. This can be through searches for products, searches for information, and searches for user accounts.
Having a well-working site search can be very useful for users. It helps users find what they are looking for faster and with less effort.
Site testers often check how well the site search works as part of their work. They check things like how accurate the results are, if there are any missing results, and how long it takes to return results.
Testers also check if there are any issues with the internal searches as well to ensure that everything is working correctly.
Login functionality
Log in functions can be tricky to get right. There are a few common mistakes people make when designing log in functionality.
One of the most common is requiring email address as part of the login process. While this may seem like a necessary requirement, it actually diminishes the security of the account created.
By requiring just an email address, people can register new accounts using fake emails which can then be compromised. Having a verification email sent to an actual account attached to the user’s name increases security.
Another mistake people make is having open-ended fields for username and password. If there is no limit to the number of characters used in a username or password, then there is no guarantee that it is secure. Hackers can attempt to brute force search for a longer password which has enough characters to be secure.
Having limited character length on passwords also aids in securing an account.
Home page functionality
Once you have your homepage set up, it’s time to start testing your website. There are a few key functions of the homepage you will want to make sure work properly.
The first is the navigation. Make sure that the links work and take users to the correct pages. If you have a about page, make sure it is linked from the homepage as well as other pages.
The second is the search function. Make sure that when a user searches for something on your site, it comes up correctly. If something comes up blank, then there is a problem with the code and it needs to be fixed.
The third is the About page. Check to make sure all of the information on this page is correct and applicable.
Menu functionality
A basic way to test your website is to check that the main navigation works. You can do this by going to your own website and trying to get to other pages or other sections of the site through the navigation.
You can also try opening the website on different devices to see if the navigation works. If you have a friend with another device, ask them to try navigating your website!
Another way to test your website is by trying to find some of the most common pages on your site. Try looking for an about page, a contact page, a sales or products page, and any other important pages.
If you have created internal links on your site that point to these pages, then they should work and take people to the correct place. Checking these is important as it shows whether your internal linking structure is working properly.
Lastly, check your sitemap and make sure that all of the URLs in it work.
Shopping cart and checkout functionality
A common part of any e-commerce website is a shopping cart and checkout process.
Having a functional checkout process is key to satisfied customers. Users should be able to navigate the entire checkout process without any hiccups.
First, users must be able to add items to their cart. This includes choosing colors or sizes for products, and adding additional items like shipping or accessories.
Once the user is ready to check out, they must be able to enter payment information securely. This includes either credit or debit card information, or an option to create an account to pay later. It also must include options for shipping methods and country of residence.
The last step in the checkout process is being able to finish it. This includes being notified of success or failure, and being able to go back and edit information entered before completing the check out process.
Profiling users for site search functions
User profiling is an important part of designing any site, but it is even more important for website testing. Profile for various types of users to ensure your site is easy to use and navigate for all types of people.
Create profiles for novice, intermediate, and advanced users. Include various age groups as well as ethnicities to ensure your site works for the most people possible.
By doing user profiling, you can also test how effective your search function is by trying to find something difficult to locate. If a novice user cannot easily find what they are looking for then the search function is probably effective.
Firm technology solutions provides quality assurance testing services that include thorough user profiling to ensure your site is user-friendly and functional.
Using automation tools for site search functions
Another way to improve your site is to use search function automation tools. These tools allow you to run tests on your site search functions to ensure they are working properly.
There are many search engines out there, so it is important to make sure your site searches come up correctly on all of them. Automation tools can test your site search function on multiple engines to guarantee its correctness.
Some of these automation tools even have the ability to run tests over a period of time. This allows you to check if there are any changes or improvements being made that may negatively affect the site search function.
By implementing this quality assurance tool into your production process, you can ensure your site remains stable and reliable.
