website-testing-cross-browser-icon Website Testing

Exploratory Testing

Exploratory website testing, using extensive experience and testing knowledge to unearth bugs and hidden issues in your website, web app, CMS site, blog etc. This can be during general use of the website or can be targeted at specific areas of your website.* More info on Exploratory Testing

Cross-Browser Testing

Testing your website on the main browsers (Edge, Chrome, Firefox, Safari) on the main platforms (Windows, MacOS) with the aim of finding any browser-specific issues and to check the compatibility of your website design and layout across all these browsers.

Mobile Device Testing

Is your website responsive? Could you be losing business due to your website failing on smartphones and tablets? Website testing on iOS and Android mobile devices. Testing done on real devices, not virtual devices or simulators.

Functional Testing

Testing the different functional areas of your website or web app. This could be aimed at specific areas or a general test including all main functionality. Functional areas could be Search, Login and Registration, Shopping Cart, Checkout, Payments, Social Media Sharing, Facebook App functionality and many more.* More info on Functional Testing

End-to-End Testing

End-to-End Testing of your website, in sectors such as online shopping, bookings and ticketing. This can uncover bugs in areas such as Signup, Shopping, Cart, Checkout, Payments and Confirmations. One bug in the Checkout process could lead to customers abandoning both their Cart – and your site.

CMS Testing

Websites based on a Content Management System (CMS) can be comprehensively tested, including the front-end and the back-end/admin area. The CMS could be a custom one, or one of the market-leading CMS such as WordPress, Drupal, Joomla etc. I have wide experience of testing and using CMS, especially WordPress and Drupal, and know the particular areas that need extensive testing.* Info on my WordPress Website Healthcheck service

Security Testing

Basic Security Testing to uncover any security holes that hackers may look to exploit in areas such as user registration, passwords and also some basic code injection. This will help establish whether your website is using basic security practices. Advanced security testing such as Penetration Testing can be arranged via an industry-leading provider I work with.* More info on Basic Security Testing

Bandwidth Throttling

Performance of your website is a critical element and I can test the performance of your website using tools such as Charles proxy to simulate low bandwidth – known as bandwidth throttling. Also this tool can be used to test for unreliable connections and how your website handles them. This testing is especially vital for websites running on mobile devices, which maybe using mobile networks in addition to wifi.

Web App Testing

Testing your Web Apps, to make sure they function correctly and deliver what’s required. Does your Facebook app work? Is Twitter integration working? Is your web app accessing the correct server data? Is your ecommerce site working across all browsers and mobile devices?

Ecommerce Testing

Testing ecommerce sites, including those built on ecommerce platforms such as Magento and also on ecommerce plugins such as WooCommerce, for WordPress. Testing the End-to-End functionality, from user registration, through shopping cart, checkout and payments.* Ecommerce project example

Web Usability & SEO

Giving feedback on the Web Usability & SEO factors of your website. Is your website user-friendly? Can user’s find the content they need? Is your website navigation effective? Can user’s find your site in Google? Is your site built with SEO in mind? Does your website need an SEO overhaul?

Specialist Testing

Specialist website testing requirements, such as Performance Testing, Load Testing, Penetration Testing, Accessibility Testing, Usability Testing, Test Automation consultancy etc can also be arranged, via an industry-leading provider I work with.

A flexible testing approach

  • Working alongside your existing QA process, creating new QA processes where none are currently implemented and suggesting improvements to existing QA processes
  • Working within Agile projects and waterfall projects
  • Using various test methods, such as Rapid Software Testing, which allows you to start testing almost immediately using Exploratory Testing, designing and executing tests all at the same time
  • Delivering and reporting results in the most useful way
* More info on my Flexible Testing approach.

Who I work with...

  • Business owners, who need testing, feedback and advice on their business website
  • Digital agencies who are project-based clients, needing QA as part of each project
  • Software Houses, Web Developers, established clients, who need to improve their QA
  • Testing agencies, who require extra testing resources
* More info on Who I Work With….

Benefits of Website Testing

  • Ensure quality control of your Website
  • Release your Websites with confidence
  • Spend less time and money dealing with bugs
  • Confirm that new features work as intended
  • Reduce risks that buggy products may bring
  • Avoid bad website reviews!

website-testing-cross-browser-icon Your next step – Contact Me

Contact Me

Contact me for freelance Website Testing & QA Services

I'm a freelance Website Tester.
Contact Me

My other testing services: iOS App Testing / Android App Testing

website-testing-cross-browser-icon How a Website Testing Project works

In some cases, a client will know exactly what they want from a website testing project and this will help to define the project from the start. On the other hand, a client may come to me and say ‘test my website’, in which case, further information is required to find out the required scope of the testing project.

In order to define the project, we can discuss requirements via email, phone call, Skype call, Slack chat, MS Teams etc.

The aim here is to agree what the testing should focus on and on what browsers and devices the testing should be carried out on.

Other factors to consider are scheduling, plus where issues are to be raised and how test results are reported.

At this stage, the Website is tested, according to the Project definitions and the browser and device list agreed on. This will include all the testing types agreed on, plus the appropriate amount of Exploratory Testing to unearth bugs which may otherwise be left lurking in the website.

Issues are raised as they are found, in the method agreed: this could be in your own issue tracker – such as JIRA, DoneDone, RedMine etc – or within an Excel document, or perhaps a Google doc, or, where applicable, within my own hosted JIRA issue tracker.

Test results can be reported in many ways and the method used will often depend on the length of the test project. For example, a short half-day test could be reported on in an email that summarises all the results, whereas a longer test could be reported on in a full Test Summary Report.

A Test Summary Report includes sections such as Overview, Main Findings, Gap Analysis, Deliverables, Testing Types Performed, Test Browsers & Devices, Bugs Statistics and Summary of Main Bugs.

At this stage, we can discuss if any further testing is required.

This may include further focussed testing, retesting of fixed issues, regression testing after changes or any other type of testing.

Other testing types I perform: iOS App Testing, Android App Testing

Testing Stages

During the Development Stage, I can work with the Developers, Designers and Project Managers to effectively design and execute tests at the most cost-effective time.

    * Working with Developers, Designers, Project Managers.
    * Testing can be focussed on the most important functionality or can be generalised, to cover all areas of the website.
    * Testing can be added in phases, as new functionality is developed and available for testing e.g. on a sprint/iteration/release basis.
    * Most cost-effective time for testing.
During the Beta Stage, bugs can be found which otherwise would have been released to the public.

    * Find Bugs before website is released to the public.
    * All functionality can be tested at this stage, and emphasis can be given to certain functionality depending on priorities.
    * Still a cost-effective time for testing.
At the Release Stage, testing can be done at and around the go-live stage, to try and find any last-minute issues, and also when new features are added to the site, or when the site is enhanced with new technology, new features etc.

    * Testing at and around the go-live stage, to find any last-minute issues
    * Testing new Features and Functionality
    * Finding Bugs in enhanced websites

Some of the Website Testing Projects I’ve worked on

Universal Music – Composed music streaming service – App & Web Testing2018-10-27T14:02:12+01:00
Composed-app-2

Universal Music – Composed music streaming service – App & Web Testing

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Property Partner PropTech Website Testing2018-10-18T13:51:48+01:00
PropertyPartner-website

Property Partner PropTech Website Testing

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Drum Content Agency – Client Website Testing2017-05-15T13:00:26+01:00
Drum-Us-page

Drum Content Agency – Client Website Testing

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Mouth to Mouth Agency – WordPress Website Healthcheck2018-10-18T16:48:14+01:00
Mouth-To-Mouth-PR

Mouth to Mouth Agency – WordPress Website Healthcheck

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Test Partners2017-02-14T14:40:31+00:00
Test-Partners-homepage

Test Partners

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EC Group Client Website Testing2017-04-20T13:52:34+01:00
EC-Group-homepage

EC Group Client Website Testing

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Home Furniture Range Website Testing2017-04-23T17:30:33+01:00
HFR-homepage-smaller

Home Furniture Range Website Testing

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Storythings2017-05-15T12:53:09+01:00
Storythings-homepage

Storythings

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Website Sectors I have tested in

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  • Crowdfunding – Property, PropTech
  • Retail
  • Ecommerce
  • Diner, Restaurant
  • Architecture, Building, Property
  • Drinks Supplies
  • Auction
  • Telecoms
  • Newspaper
  • Video
  • Multimedia
  • Web Comics
  • Museums, Social Culture
  • Auction (Property)
  • Fashion, Clothes
  • Hair & Beauty Products
  • Soft Drinks
  • Infographics
  • Management Consultancy
  • Local Government Information
  • Events
  • Conferences
  • Architecture
  • Digital Agencies
  • Cars
  • Sports
  • Vehicle Financing
  • Games
  • B2B Services
  • Online Storytelling
  • Language Learning
  • Transport Information
  • Finance
  • Insurance, Insurance Quotes
  • Charity Funding
  • Fitness Products
  • Pharmaceuticals
  • Engineering
  • Energy

Website Testing Project in Detail – Home Furniture Range

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  • Website Testing of the Home Furniture Range ecommerce retail website.
  • Working to a specific customer brief to test the sales process, from Google search results through to the website, including test orders and payments.
  • Testing performed included Functional Testing, End-to-End Testing, Cross-Browser Testing, Mobile Device Testing plus providing feedback on UX/UI/Usability and SEO.
  • Tested across all the main browsers on Windows and Mac platforms and on mobile devices (iOS and Android)
  • All issues tracked in my own JIRA issue tracker.
  • After the testing phase, HFR IT team began fixing the issues and I carried out some retesting, to check and close the issues in JIRA.

Website Testing related activities & technologies

Having some knowledge of web technologies such as HTML/HTML5, CSS and PHP can be very useful when testing websites, as it gives the tester an insight into how the website works and functions. I have some knowledge in these web technologies and this has proved useful during testing, especially when combined with tools such as Web Developer Tools in Firefox, enabling me to give detailed feedback when reporting bugs.

Creating detailed Bug Reports is an essential part of the testing process, allowing the developers to reproduce the bug and then attempt to fix it.

Sometimes a bug is best shown via a screenshot or a video – or both – especially when a text description doesn’t seem sufficient or would be too complicated to be useful. There are several different methods for getting screenshots and videos when testing websites. These include using the built-in screenshot tools on the computer or device you’re testing on and also software and tools specifically developed to capture screenshots and videos of the computer in use, such as Camtasia and Jing.

Maintaining and tracking issues in an Issue Tracking System is a vital way of managing the Test Process, so that progress in fixing issues can be monitored and updated.

Different projects require the use of different Issue Tracking Systems and methods. So far, I’ve used the specialist Jira system, the Redmine system, the DoneDone issue-tracking system, the issue-tracking features in the Codebase system, plus also using Excel spreadsheets and Google docs.

Gherkin provides a scripted way of describing how software works, without detailing how it is implemented. It’s written in a human-readable format and can be understood (and written) by those on the business side of a project plus the developers and testers. Gherkin can be used to provide both documentation and also can be used for automating testing, such as when used with Cucumber. I have so far used Gherkin when performing manual testing, as it’s an ideal way for developers to document how a feature is expected to work – and for a tester to then test against it.

Google Analytics can be used to obtain detailed statistics and analysis of website usage. These stats can then be analysed to find out key information – such as which browsers access the site the most, which operating systems access the site the most, which mobile devices and O/S are used to access the site. This information can then be used to prioritise the testing done on the website, based on usage. For instance, if the site is mainly accessed by iPad users, then priority needs to be given to testing the website on the iPad range of devices.

Sites such as BrowserStack.com and Sauce Labs can be used to increase the range of testing possibilities when testing websites. For instance, you can choose various devices and browsers to test on and then see how the website looks and acts in them. This can be useful for testing when you don’t have access to a certain device, type of hardware or operating system. I have used both BrowserStack.com and Sauce Labs and can recommend them.

There are many different types of websites, including Web Apps, Facebook Apps, HTML5 websites, CMS websites, Online Stores, Blogs and many more. I have tested across an extensive range of websites, including all of these and many more, even testing Emails where email content is linked to websites.

As more websites and web apps feature Facebook login and integration, the lines are starting to blur between the website/web app and the Facebook App. I’ve now worked on several Facebook app testing projects and each one has differed in the level of Facebook integration. Some have just used the Facebook login API, whereas some have been fully blown Facebook apps, sometimes ‘hiding’ in a website wrapper to appear like a website rather than a Facebook app. These Facebook app projects have their own complexities, such as Facebook user management and creation, Facebook photo and video library management etc.

Content Management Systems (CMS) are used to create many different types of websites, ranging from the more usual blogs to fully blown websites, some with an online store. I have tested websites created with all sorts of CMS, including WordPress, Drupal, MS SharePoint and – most often – a custom CMS created by the website developers. Any CMS consists of both a back-end, admin system where the site content is added and maintained, plus also a front-end that the website user actually sees. CMS Testing, depending on client requirements, can consist of testing both the back-end and the front-end, though most often consists of testing the front-end only. Testing the back-end requires additional tests on areas such as access control, account maintenance, user management, media upload and management, image and video testing, plus some basic security testing. I have also tested several eCommerce sites, which use the Magento platform, which is an eCommerce CMS.

Testing tools help the testing process in many different ways and there are many different testing tools. Charles Proxy is a good example, which I use to test bandwidth throttling for apps and websites, to see how the product handles network connections with low bandwidth and varying stability and reliability. Other tools I’ve used include Postman, for API testing.

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