Understanding the Website Testing Process

Every kind of work needs its own testing process to make sure quality holds once it is finished, and website design is no different. Before going live, each website has to go through a detailed testing process so that no errors show up. Let's go through the standard web testing process with Mona.

What is website testing?

Website testing is the name for software testing that focuses on web applications. A web application needs to be fully tested before it goes live. This solves problems before users run into them, such as problems with functionality, security, web services, integration and the ability to handle traffic. During website testing, you should try to find any errors that might occur in the system so they can be fixed in time. 

What is website testing?

Put simply, website testing means checking whether a web application contains any hidden errors before the website officially goes into use. It is work connected to develop custom web apps, and the areas to test are security, functionality, traffic handling and site performance. 

As more people use the internet, the development of SEO-ready website design (web applications) has grown strongly. Websites play an increasingly important role in e-commerce, information sharing, entertainment, relaxation, introductions and more. To design a website that performs well, you need to test it carefully and thoroughly once it is designed. Today Mona Media will walk you through the stages of the website testing process.

The website testing process

Functionality Testing – Website functional testing

In functional testing ( Functionality Testing) we need to check whether each component works as expected, so it is also called “component testing”. Functional testing checks the functions of the application's components. In essence, it checks the functions described in the functional specification and whether the software meets users' expectations.

These tests include:

Link testing

Check every broken link and make sure all working links go to the right place. You can check different links link types on the website:

• Internal links
• External links
• Mail links
• Anchor links

Web form testing

This is an essential part of any website testing , and its main purpose is to collect information from users, store it in the database and work with that data. Below are the test cases covered in web form testing:

• The first thing to check is validity on every field of the form. There are two types of validation to consider: “client side” and “server side” validation.
• Check the default values.
• Check all required fields.
• Check that a message appears if the user leaves a required field empty.
• Add and edit information using the form.
• Tab order on the web form.
• Check the default values of the fields.
• The form should be formatted to be easy to read.
• Check negative numbers.

Cookie testing

Cookies are files that hold the user's system information. They are stored in a location of choice and used by browsers. Login sessions and saved information (such as sessions) are kept in cookies and can be retrieved by web pages. Users can enable or disable cookies in their browser settings. Testing checks whether cookies are stored on the user's machine in encrypted form. 

• Test the application with cookies disabled.
• Test the application after cookies are corrupted.
• Test how the application behaves after all cookies on the website are deleted.
• Check that cookies work across different browsers.
• Check that the cookie used for login authentication works.
• Test how the application behaves after the cookie (session) is removed by clearing the cache or after the cookie expires.
• Test logging in to the application after the cookie (session) is deleted.

Testing HTML and CSS

This test checks that search engines can crawl your site without errors. You should check all syntax and color errors and make sure the site follows standards such as W3C, ISO, ECMA, IETF, WS-I, OASIS.

Business process testing includes:

• Check the processing flow to make sure the website is complete.
• Check the screens against the requirements document.

See more: HTML5/CSS3-standard website design

Usability testing – Website usability testing

Plays an important role in any web application, Usability testing making sure every test case that comes from the user is checked. It includes:

Website navigation testing

• All options such as UI/UX, menus, links or buttons on the website must be visible and accessible.
• Site navigation should be easy to use.
• Instructional content must be clear and serve its purpose.
• All options in the header, footer and left/right navigation must be consistent on every page.

website usability testing

Website content testing

• No spelling or grammar mistakes in the content.
• Alt text added to images.
• No broken images.
• Validate all user interface elements.
• Follow content standards for the website.
• All content must be clear and easy to understand.
• Dark colors put users off, so avoid dark themes.
• Image sizes should be appropriate.
• Anchor text must work properly.

Compatibility testing

Make sure the application works in the supported environments: web applications on different operating systems, browser compatibility, hardware computing capacity, databases and network bandwidth handling. Compatibility testing answers the question “does the web application display correctly on different devices?” It covers:

website compatibility testing

Browser compatibility testing

Web applications display differently on different browsers. The goal of browser compatibility testing is to make sure no errors occur when the website is displayed on different web browsers. You need to make sure your web application displays correctly on different browsers, and also check that AJAX, JavaScript and validation work correctly.

Operating system compatibility

New technologies, newer graphics and the different API elements in use may not work on every operating system, and text fields and buttons can also look different between systems. So website testing compatibility testing should be run on different operating systems such as Windows, MAC, Solaris, Unix and Linux.

Mobile web browsers

You should also test website compatibility on mobile phones, because compatibility problems sometimes appear in mobile browsers.

Database testing

Data reliability is an important part of database testing, so web applications should be tested thoroughly. The checks include:

website testing needs accurate data from the database

•  Check that queries run without errors.
•  Adding, updating or deleting data in the database should keep the data intact.
•  Queries should not take too long.
•  Check data loading and the results returned by long queries.
•  Check that the data retrieved from the database and shown on the website is accurate.

Interface testing

Interface testing mainly covers three areas: the web server, the application server and the database server. Make sure all communication between these servers works correctly. Verify that connections between servers are re-established or lost properly. Check for conflicts while the application is running, and check that any error returned from the web server or database server to the application server is handled and finally shown to the user.

interface testing plays a big role in website testing

•  Web server: check that all web requests are accepted and none is rejected or leaked.
•  Application server: check that requests are sent to the server correctly, and that errors are caught and shown to the administrator.
•  Database server: check the results of database queries.

Website performance testing

performance testing has a big effect on users

Testing how the website works under heavy load, split into two parts: stress testing and load testing. It includes:

•  Check the website's response time at different connection speeds.
•  Check that the website can handle many user requests at the same time.
•  Check that the website works well when the load is high.
•  Check large inputs from users.
•  Check how the website behaves when connected to the database.
•  Check optimization methods such as cutting load time by enabling browser caching and server-side caching, gzip compression…

Website security testing

Website security testing

This is done to make sure there is no leak of information about data encryption. On e-commerce websites, security testing plays a very important role. If the information is safe, check how sensitive data such as credit cards and bill payments is stored. The checks include:

•  Check unauthorized access to secure pages. If a user switches from “https” to “http”, an appropriate message should appear, and the same in reverse.
• Check access to internal pages. If login is required, the user should be redirected to the login page or shown an appropriate message.
• Transaction information, error messages and login attempts should be written to a log file.
• Check whether file downloads are restricted.
• Check that web folders and web files are not accessible unless they are configured for download.
• Check that CAPTCHA has been added and works properly on login to block automated logins.
• Check attempts to access information by changing parameters in the query string. For example, if you are editing your information and the URL shows UserID = 123, try changing this parameter and see whether the application returns another user's information. It should refuse to show it, so that nobody can view another user's information.
• Check that the session expires after a set time if the user does nothing on the website.
• Check invalid username and password.

Those are the stages of website testing. Whether you build an online store, a company website, or any other type of site, the end goal is to serve users well. Publishing a website or app without thorough testing gives users a poor experience. That is why, when we do website design at Mona Media, we put testing first: everything is checked and fixed thoroughly before handover to the owner.

See more: What is a tester? The skills you need to become a good tester