Web Application Testing Process in Website Development - Part 1

What exactly is Web Testing and Why Should You Do It?

Before your web application or website goes live and is accessible to the general public, you should test it for potential bugs. Web testing examines the web application or website for functionality, usability, security, compatibility, and performance.

During this stage, issues such as web application security, site functionality, accessibility for handicapped and regular users, and traffic handling capacity are examined.

How to Run a Web Application Test

Depending on your web testing requirements, the following testing methods may be used in Software Engineering.

Website Functionality Testing

Website functionality testing entails a variety of testing parameters, including user interface, APIs, database testing, security testing, client and server testing, and basic website functionalities. Functional testing is extremely convenient, as it allows users to conduct both manual and automated tests. It is carried out in order to check the functionality of each website feature.

Web-based testing activities include ensuring that all links on your webpages are operational and that no links are broken. The following are some of the links that will be checked:

• Links that go out - An outbound link, also known as an external link, is a hyperlink that leads from your website to another site.
• Links within the site - An internal link is a type of hyperlink on a web page that points to another page or resource on the same website or domain, such as an image or document.
• Anchor Text - An anchor link is a clickable button or text on a website page or post that allows you to jump from one page to the next.
• Mailto URL - The mailto URL scheme is used to designate an individual's or service's Internet mailing address. A mailto URL is a URL that contains an Internet mail address in its most basic form.

The Test Forms are functioning properly. This will include the following:

• The form's scripting checks are working as expected.
• If a user does not fill out a mandatory field in a form, for example, an error message is displayed.
• Verify that the default values are being used.
• The data in the forms is either submitted to a live database or linked to a working email address once they are submitted.
• Forms are formatted in a way that makes them easier to read.

Run a test to ensure Cookies are functioning normally. Cookies are small files that websites use to remember active user sessions so that you don't have to log in each time you visit. Cookie testing will include the following:

• When the cache is cleared or when the testing cookies (sessions) expire, they are deleted.
• Delete cookies (sessions) and check that you are prompted for your login credentials when you return to the site.

To ensure that search engines can easily crawl your site, test the HTML and CSS. This will entail

• Checking for Errors in Syntax
• Standard Compliance for Readable Colour Schemas
• Ensure that W3C, OASIS, IETF, ISO, ECMA, and WS-I standards are adhered to.

This will include testing the business workflow.

• Testing your end-to-end workflow/business scenarios that require the user to navigate through a series of webpages to complete.
• Test negative scenarios as well, so that if a user takes an unexpected step, an error message or help is displayed in your web application.

Usability Testing

It is critical to have a visually appealing website. According to recent studies, aesthetics increase credibility, implying that a positive user experience is essential. To do so, you'll need to run usability tests on your website.

Usability testing is a set of procedures for determining how easy it is for a user to navigate your website.

This testing entails a group of representatives providing feedback on the quality of your website. The more problems that are discovered, the more improvements are required.

Not only that, but most visitors to your website are looking for specific information for to book a ticket to Dubai. They frequently devote only a small amount of time to such activities. If your website fails to meet those needs quickly and easily, they will move on to one that does.

Usability testing should cover all phases of website development in order to provide the best user experience. To break it down, the testing should take place in the following order:

• Before making any design choices, consider the following factors.
• When you require additional information during the development process
• When there are differing viewpoints on the design
• After the launch, you'll need to evaluate things.

In a nutshell, usability testing occurs during the stages of brainstorming, prototyping, and evaluation.

How to Test the Usability of a Website

• Decide what you want to measure - To begin, you must clearly state what you hope to accomplish with the testing and which part of the website will be the focus. Do you only want to know how users will successfully book a ticket, for example? Do you want to see how a new design could improve the user experience? While it is always best to perform one test at a time, the most important thing is to clearly define your goal so that you can accurately measure the test.
• Choose the Most Effective Approach - The method you use for usability testing is critical, as we previously stated. In-person testing on-site is a good option if you want to run a series of tests with the same people. However, moderated remote usability testing can help you get results quickly while maintaining high quality with participants from all over the world.
• Set your success rate and create a task scenario - The task scenario is similar to what we discussed earlier about booking the cheapest one-way flight to Dubai on a specific date. After you've created the scenario, you'll need to figure out how likely you are to succeed. Let's say you want to use the ease with which you can find the right booking page as an indicator. You can decide whether all four fields must be correct all of the time or if you can live with mistakes in one of them. As a success indicator, you might want to include time limits for the booking process.
• Source for the participants - You should conduct usability testing that is both effective and efficient. As a result, selecting the appropriate participants is critical. In general, each testing session should have five participants — it's simple to manage and doesn't cost much if you use third-party services. The number of participants required is determined by the development stages and the method of testing. You can choose random people to test your website during the early stages of development. However, you may not need to study the ideal user first if you use this method.
• Execute the Test - You should not use random techniques for a single session, even if you use random participants. That said, even for unmoderated remote users, you must be consistent in terms of the task and the order when conducting the test. It is beneficial to give the participants clear and concise instructions. You can tell them how long the test will take, how they should respond to their findings, and what the test's goal is.
• Analyse your findings and make a report on them - You can summarize the results and organize the reports according to your objectives, depending on the type of testing. The results could be analysed using thematic or correlational analysis. You can create a customer journey map if you do the test on your own. This is critical for retaining information. It also allows you to get a user's point of view on the subject. Another method is to categorize things like pros and cons, major and minor issues, normal and critical problems, and so on using spreadsheets. This will make any website upgrades easier to plan.

Website usability testing is critical for your business to ensure that you have the best-designed website possible that is focused on the end user. You can choose from three types of usability testing depending on your needs and objectives. In particular, in-person or in-house usability testing, as well as unmoderated and moderated remote usability testing.

After you've decided on a method, follow these six steps to conduct usability testing:

• Decide what you want to measure.
• Choose the most effective method.
• Create a task scenario and a success rate for it.
• Identify the participants.
• Execute the test
• Analyse your findings and write a report on them.