Handy Tips for Website Testing

As a business in the digital age it is super important to have a website that is not only easy to get to, but works like a dream. If you have bugs on your website, customers could get frustrated and click off, never to return again (dun dun dun!). This is why website testing is important, you must always check and test your website and spot any bugs.

If you are having your website built by a web design agency, website testing comes with the package and your website should come to you mostly bug free. However, this doesn’t mean there won’t be one or two bugs that crop up.

Below are a few handy tips on how to test a website:

Cross Browser Testing

No browser is the same, we wish they were, however they are not. With so many available browsers and with so many people using different ones, it is essential to test your website across all the major browsers. This is because most have different settings to how a site will display. You can download most browsers for free however you can also use cross browser software such as Virtual Box or Browser Stack.

Cross Device Testing

Now, back in simpler times when smart phones and tablet devices were non-existent, it was easy to test a website. Just test on the browsers on your computer and you are good to go. However, fast forward to the present day and every Tom, Dick and Harry has a laptop, tablet device, mobile device and more. Most websites now will be optimised for mobile browsing, but it is important to make sure your website works across the different devices (both Android and Apple, phone and tablet) as sizing can be slightly different and different OS can change the format.

Be an Outsider

When testing a website, the best thing you can do is be as objective as possible; think about who will be using your website and try and get in their mindset. This may be hard to do, so why not ask a friend or someone who hasn’t been there throughout the process to test it out. They will have completely fresh eyes, and as they will be using it as a potential customer they will be able to spot any glitches along their journey through your website.

Speed Test

On average, visitors to a website will wait up to 3 seconds for a website page to load before clicking off the site, so it is vital to perform a site speed test. There are many tools that can test this for you and if you find it is loading a bit slower there are plugins or updates that can rectify this.

Check and Test Again, and Check and Test Again

Once all bugs are fixed it is important to double check and triple check to make sure it is all running smoothly. The worst thing you can do is think that once a bug is fixed it is all okay. Updates can change things and other things could pop up, so it is important to keep on checking and do ongoing maintenance to ensure an effortless website that gives visitors are great user experience.