What is website testing?

Website testing, or web testing, is a critical step in the development of a website or web application. It involves checking your website or web app for bugs and verifying its usability, functionality, security, compatibility, and performance. 

Understanding website testing: A crucial step in web development

By doing website testing, you can avoid investing time and resources into a product that can face problems upon its release. 

There are two main methods of website testing: manual and automated. Manual testing involves performing actions on a website or application, such as clicking buttons and links, filling out forms, and navigating through pages to identify issues or areas for improvement. This type of testing is performed by real users who have been given instructions on what tasks to perform, and is useful for uncovering unexpected bugs or getting a feel for the overall user experience.

Automated testing uses software programs to simulate user actions. It follows a set of steps to test functionality and performance, and is useful for repetitive tasks like checking response times. Automated testing can be performed more quickly and consistently than manual testing, so is useful for large websites undergoing frequent updates.

Regardless of the method you choose, regular and ongoing testing is crucial for the success of your website or web application.

Why is website testing important?

Website testing is an important step in web development as it ensures that your website works properly before you go live. 

Here are some key benefits to testing:

• It ensures your website or application is functioning properly and is free of bugs.

• It helps you identify issues early on related to cross-browser compatibility, performance, reliability, and security.

• It helps you avoid costly and complex errors that can arise late in the development process.

• It helps to maintain ongoing stability and prevent loss of customers.

• It ensures that interfaces are easy to use. 

Errors discovered and resolved early in the development process are easier to fix than those found later on. If you have undiagnosed errors on your live site, it can cause ongoing instability and customer frustration, so it's important to have a regular code review process in place and to implement website testing as early as possible in the development lifecycle.

Usability testing is also necessary to ensure that your website or application provides a positive experience for your users. Your brand reputation can be heavily influenced by your site’s design and usability. Even a great design can be negatively affected by poor functionality, which can result in harm to your brand. 

How to get started with website testing

Let’s look in more detail at the steps you can take to get started with usability testing for your website or web application.

1. Determine what to measure

The first step is to determine what you want to measure. Clearly define your testing goals and what information you want to gather. Focus on testing one aspect of your website at a time. For example, you can test the process of booking a hotel or the checkout process for your ecommerce store.

2. Identify the best method

After defining your testing goals, choose a usability testing method that suits your goals and resources. There are several types of usability testing methods, like moderated testing and unmoderated testing. In-person moderated testing is ideal for controlled tests, while unmoderated or moderated remote testing is suitable for obtaining results in a shorter time frame. For example, if you wanted to test how users would navigate from your homepage to search for and book a hotel in Barcelona, you might decide to run a navigation test to help you work out the user flow.

3. Create a task scenario and set your success rate

A task scenario is the objective that your participants need to achieve. This can be a series of tasks, such as creating an account, searching for and selecting a hotel, and making a payment. Determine the success rate based on the goal of the test. For example, you can consider the time it takes to complete each task, the accuracy of the information entered, and the overall ease of use.

4. Recruit your participants

Five to seven participants per session is ideal. You can use the guerrilla method for early-stage testing or recruit participants close to your user persona for later development stages. The guerrilla method involves selecting individuals at random to test your website, while recruiting participants close to your user persona involves finding individuals with traits that reflect your real users.

You might recruit participants from your customer base, via social media, or through online communities. It’s also worth considering offering your participants incentives, like gift cards. If you’re using a remote testing platform like Lyssna, you can use a participant panel to make recruiting participants easier.

5. Conduct the test

When conducting the test, make sure that you give your participants clear instructions and explain the goals of the test. Ensure consistency in terms of the task and order, even for unmoderated remote tests.

6. Analyze and report findings

After receiving the results of your website usability tests, analyze the findings and note common issues and areas for improvement. Organize and summarize your findings, and share your recommendations for improvements with the rest of the product team.

Usability testing is an ongoing process, so be sure to run tests again after making changes, and continuously monitor for new usability problems.