A Beginners Guide to Automated Website Testing
Designing and developing a functional and user-friendly website is crucial for any modern business or organization. However, testing the website thoroughly is equally important. This guide will explore web page testing and when, why, and how website testing is done in the development process.
What is website testing?
In today′s era, the Internet has become an integral part of everyone′s life. For any information that is unknown to us we browse the internet and rely on it. So , hosting a website stands important for all kinds of businesses. An informative, user-friendly and bug free application will attract a larger audience in this competitive market.
To deliver a high quality efficient software to the customer, website testing is indeed a must!
Website testing primarily focuses on end to end functionality testing of websites or web applications before promoting it to production.
The DevTestOps team aims to perform web application testing to identify and fix potential bugs in the application. When a web application goes live before its end users, the DevTestOps team needs to ensure its functioning as expected by real time users.
Why perform continuous website testing?
The main objective of Continuous testing is to test a web application early and test it often.
Continuous testing in agile is a downstream process that executes automated tests as part of a software delivery pipeline in order to provide risk-based feedback as rapidly as possible.
Web application continuous testing incorporates testing at each stage of the agile project life cycle that aims to deliver quality software to the end user. Continuous testing of web applications evaluates quality at every step of the continuous delivery process.
In continuous testing, a software change continuously moves from development to testing to deployment. The code is continuously developed, delivered,tested and deployed. This allows for more communication, collaboration and faster innovation.
The key to effective delivery of a web application is performance, which comes with continuous software testing.
Continuous testing applies concepts of agile development to the testing and DevTestOps process resulting in greater efficiency.
Automation is a key factor in continuous testing that establishes an automated, end-to-end testing solution that is integrated with existing continuous integration and continuous delivery processes.
Continuous testing of a web application focuses on the flawless delivery of the software with assured efficiency. In continuous testing of web applications, defects and uncertain changes in requirements are resolved and tested as and when they emerge in order to avoid late rework and damage to user experience.
How does website testing compare to desktop application testing?
Website testing is URL driven testing that functions across multiple web browsers whereas desktop application testing is performed on a single machine, computer or system.
Desktop application testing requires the knowledge of how the user interacts with the application. Additionally, desktop testing requires knowledge of the database and the operating system.
Desktop application testing involves testing of features like GUI (Graphical User Interface), backend and load. Memory leaks and unhandled exceptions also need to be tested in desktop application testing. Web applications are accessed through the internet by multiple users simultaneously. Web applications run on two or more machines which are complex and hence require broad testing.
In order to test a web application, the tester needs to have knowledge on the functionalities of the application in terms of interacting with the end user. In website testing, the application is tested for its browser compatibility, static page testing and the overall functionality of the feature.
Cross browser testing is not applicable in desktop testing whereas it becomes essential to perform cross browser testing of web applications.
On desktop applications, installation/uninstallation testing is performed. Website testing does not require installation/uninstallation testing.
As the desktop application is accessed by a single user, authentication testing may or may not be extensively performed whereas in website testing, security/authentication testing is very important as the application is being accessed by multiple users.
Desktop applications are accessed by a single user so the application behavior is not tested when a large number of users are using the application simultaneously. In website testing, load testing is performed by simultaneously accessing the application with a large number of users.
The Importance of Website Testing
Website testing is extremely important and needed post developing a feature as we cannot commit to the customer that we have delivered a bug free software without having proper testing phase in place.
Website testing helps to find and report defects in the product. If a product is not tested properly, there is a fair chance that bugs are reported by the end user. If the customer is not satisfied with the end product, he/she would think twice before delegating any new feature to the team.
If we are not testing the web application end to end, we might lose our best customers and eventually the business as well. By compromising on the quality of the product, we are ultimately compromising on the reputation of the organization.
Website testing plays a vital role in delivering quality software. By performing testing, we can guarantee the product does not have critical errors.
If you deploy bug free software in the market, it will attract new customers who will benefit the organization from a business perspective also.
Every customer will be happy if you deliver a secure, user-friendly, informative, accessible and faster web application. To have these qualities your application should be well tested!
Types of Website Testing
Different website testing types provide several approaches to identifying and rectifying website software-related issues. Altogether, they help uncover bugs and improve user satisfaction. Let’s look at some of the basic types of testing websites.
Functional Testing: Verifies that all website functions work correctly, including navigation, forms, buttons, and links. It ensures that users can interact with the website as intended without encountering errors.
Usability Testing: Assesses the website’s user interface and overall user experience to ensure it is intuitive, easy to navigate, and meets user expectations. Usability testing identifies areas for improvement to enhance user satisfaction and engagement.
Performance Testing: Evaluates the website’s responsiveness, load times, and scalability under varying traffic conditions. It helps ensure that the website performs optimally and can handle a high volume of concurrent users without slowdowns or crashes.
Compatibility Testing: Checks how the website performs across different web browsers, devices, and operating systems. Compatibility testing ensures a consistent and reliable user experience across various platforms and configurations.
Security Testing Identifies vulnerabilities and weaknesses in the website’s security measures, such as authentication, authorization, data encryption, and protection against common security threats. Security testing helps prevent data breaches, unauthorized access, and other security risks
Cross-Browser Testing: Checks the website’s compatibility and functionality across different web browsers such as Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Internet Explorer. Cross-browser testing ensures a consistent user experience across various browser platforms.
Regression Testing: Verifies that recent changes or updates to the website do not negatively impact existing features or functionalities. Regression testing ensures that the website maintains its integrity and performance after modifications, enhancements, or bug fixes.
Accessibility Testing: Ensures that the website is accessible to users with disabilities, including those with visual, auditory, motor, or cognitive impairments. Accessibility testing evaluates adherence to web accessibility standards (e.g., WCAG) to ensure equal access and usability to the users.
User Acceptance Testing (UAT): Involves end-users testing the website to validate if it meets their requirements, expectations, and business needs. User acceptance testing ensures that the website satisfies stakeholder criteria and is ready for deployment.
Benefits of Website Testing
Website testing ensures delivery of high quality websites as an end result.
It helps to ship an efficient product in the market achieving high CSI (Customer satisfaction index).
Website testing ensures the complete functioning of the software.
A sound test strategy helps to identify bugs at an early stage. This eventually increases testers velocity as they can release new features quickly and with increased confidence.
Website testing helps to increase confidence in the application as well as the customer.
As the web application is tested rigorously after every iteration and sprint, there are lesser chances of failure and risks in the future.
Website testing via an automated testing tool saves time and guarantees a good ROI (Return on investment).
How to Perform Website Testing?
Performing website testing involves following a structured approach and using a sequential checklist to execute accurate testing.
Check how the Software Functions
Start with verifying the basic functions of the system, including links, buttons, forms, and navigation elements. Usually, these interactive elements are what users connect with first and should be given priority in testing.
Moreover, don’t forget to test website functionality across different browsers and devices, validate user input and form submissions, and check for error handling and validation messages.
Check for Cross-Browser Compatibility
Users make use of different browsers to explore through the websites. These browsers have their own rendering engines that display the same sites in varying manner. The possibility of inconsistent image placement, broken menu links, or overlapping of elements is high in such cases.
Performing cross-browser testing assesses such issues and resolves them before the users encounter them. It helps in rectifying UI and responsive problems as well.
Test Website Performance
A website is only as good as its fastest load speed, no matter the incoming traffic. If your website loading time is more than 5 seconds to load, more than 80% of the users will likely abandon it. Such a staggering figure showcases the need to execute performance and load testing completely to ensure that the site loads at a reasonable speed and does not encounter downtime or crashes if the traffic influx increases over time.
Perform Cross-Link Testing
It is important to keep the website’s integrity and usability intact for users to be able to trust the site and keep coming back to it. Verify all internal and external links within the website to ensure they are working correctly and directing users to the intended destinations.
Identify Security Issues
Another major focus in website testing checklists is discovering security issues and mitigating them as soon as possible. A site that allows sign up, login, monetary transactions, or any sort of sharing option should have the security check and SSL certificate in place to avoid external or internal breaches and misuse.
Automated website testing with Testsigma
This is how Testsigma solves the problem of automating your web testing on real mobile and desktop browsers!
- It’s cloud-based, so you don’t need to buy equipment or set up a special testing environment.
- You don’t need to be a coding expert because Testsigma is codeless and user-friendly.
- You can create automated test cases using simple English.
- Testsigma ensures important objects are saved and changes in structure won’t cause issues.
- If your tests fail, Testsigma provides suggestions to help you fix the problems.
- It allows cross-browser and cross-device testing, with access to many different device labs online.
- You get videos, pictures, and logs of your tests, making it easier to understand any issues.
- You can easily share your test results with others through email, Slack, or any other way you prefer.
- Testsigma offers 24/5 customer support.
Start automating your website testing today with Testsigma to enjoy the benefits of real browser and device testing.
Web application testing techniques
In this section, we will discuss the basic testing techniques needed to test a web application.
Functionality Testing :The main goal of functional testing is to ensure that all the functions within a web application work smoothly without any technical glitches.
Functional testing involves testing the working of links in a web application, testing cookies, testing the forms across all pages, validating HTML or CSS, testing databases for security purposes.
The end to end functionality of a web application is tested to ensure the product is designed as per the business requirements. Functional testing involves integration testing of all the modules within the software as well as mandatory field level validations to generate appropriate error messages.
Usability Testing : Usability testing is very important for a web application from an end user point of view. More user-friendly and effective web applications will fascinate larger audiences in the market. Mainly, the user interface of a web application should comply with certain standards. All global conventions and web standards should be followed while developing a web application. Usability testing covers important aspects like proper navigation, site map, grammatical errors and elimination of over crowded content.
Interface Testing :The most important interfaces within a web application are web server, application server and the database server interface. Web UI testing ensures connection between all the individual components within the web application. Interface testing of a web application helps to check whether the interaction between these servers are executed properly.
Cross browser Compatibility testing : Cross browser Compatibility testing is one of the crucial factors you should consider while testing a web application. Compatibility testing ensures your web application is accessed by users across multiple browsers, operating systems and devices.
You may also refer to this article that compares the 2 ways of cross browser testing - manual and automated
Make sure your web application works fine for a variety of operating systems such as Windows, Mac, Linux and browsers like Safari, Chrome, Internet Explorer, Firefox, etc.
Performance Testing :Performance testing will help you determine the performance of your web application under various loads. Performance testing usually involves stress testing, load testing and scalability testing. The performance of a web application is tested under heavy load. Load testing is performed to determine the behavior of a web application under normal and peak loads. Stress testing determines the web applications breakpoint when pushed beyond normal loads at peak time.
Security Testing :Security testing is extremely important for web applications that store sensitive customer information like banking details. Security testing ensures unauthorized access to secure pages is not permitted. It validates restricted files are not downloaded without appropriate access. Security testing of a web application ensures sensitive information stored in the application is not released to unauthorized users.
Database testing :Most of the websites are driven by the back end of a system. So database testing is a crucial testing for a website. Database testing is performed to test the integrity, consistency, accuracy of the diverse range of data stored at the backend of the website.
Web application functional testing checklist
Let’s now discuss the web application functional testing checklist required to perform an effective testing of software.
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Validation testing :In validation testing, we need to ensure the web application uses valid HTML. This can be verified using W3C validator.
In functionality testing, various fields such as radio buttons, check boxes, dropdowns, text boxes, links, etc used in the web application are validated. These days most web applications use CSS (Cascading Style Sheets). W3C CSS validator tool helps to ensure valid CSS is being used in the web application.
Links/URL testing :Links/URL of a web application can be tested in the following ways :
Internal links :Internal links pointing to the pages of the same website are tested in functional testing.
This testing ensures proper working of internal links as clicking on the link navigates the user to the expected page of the website. For e.g. : Help, Contact Us, About Us, etc are the internal links of web applications that points to some information within the same website.
External links :External links point to web pages of external websites. This testing ensures these links are properly linked to web pages of external websites.
Email links :Testing on email links should be performed by clicking the fields, say, if the email field is auto populated with the default email address.
Dead links :Dead links in a web application are not linked to internal or external pages of the websites. These are simply broken links and need to be removed. There are certain online tools available in the market to validate the broken links in the web application.
Web Forms Testing :Web forms are most commonly used by the users in a web application. To complete an end to end flow of an application, the user needs to fill in details on the forms at each step and then proceed with the next subsequent section.
It is essential to test each mandatory and optional field on the web form page. The user should not be able to proceed ahead if he fails to put details for a mandatory field.
In this case, a valid error message should be generated that helps the user to understand the error, correct it and successfully submit the application. Similarly, if the optional field details are not filled in a web application, it should not restrict the user to proceed further.
Website Testing Life Cycle
Website testing is a type of testing adopted for testing those applications which are launched through an internet web browser. Website testing follows a series of steps before the actual testing begins.
Requirement Gathering :Before the testing starts we gather the requirements of the feature, refine it further and identify the gaps.
Test Planning :In the test plan document we define the scope and objective of testing, document the test strategy, define the entry and exit criteria for the website testing and evaluate the test estimate.
Test case preparation :Based on the test plan we design the test scenarios and create the test scripts with the best suitable automation technique.
Test case execution :In this stage, we execute the designed test cases and report any deviation from expected result.
Bug Reporting :If a test case fails while execution and a bug is found, we raise and report it on a defect tracking tool like HP ALM QC, Jira, etc.
Defect retesting :Once the defect is fixed by the developer, we retest the defect and re-execute the failed test case.
Test Closure :Once all the defects are resolved and the application functions as expected, we close the test cycle. If not, we cycle again.
What Browsers, Versions, and Operating Systems Are Included?
When testing your website, it is advised to include all browsers, versions and operating systems that your customers or target audience might use. If you want to have a smaller list, you should give higher priority to the ones that are being used by more people and then test on those first.
If you choose to automate your websites tests with Testsigma, you would have access to below browsers, versions and operating systems (Testsigma comes with the ability to run parallel tests on over 3000+ devices on the cloud. You can choose from several combinations of OS, devices, and browsers for website testing.)
Browsers:
Google Chrome
Mozilla Firefox
Safari
Internet Explorer (IE)
Microsoft Edge
Operating systems:
Windows (7, 8, 8.1, 10, and 11)
Linux
MacOS (Ventura, Monterey, Big Sur, Catalina, Mojave, High Sierra, and Sierra)
Android (mobile and tabs)
iOS (mobile and iPad)
Hybrid apps like Flutter
You can play around with multiple combinations of browser and OS to test for cross-browser testing. And don’t forget that Testsigma keeps updating the list with the latest versions of browsers and OS as soon as they are released.
Additionally, Testsigma enables access to multiple test labs of your choice, including BrowserStack, Sauce Labs, and Lambdatest, to name a few.
How to do performance testing for web applications?
Performance testing is performed to ensure the web application is capable enough to handle the load. Performance testing analyses the system’s performance under high load.
Jmeter performance testing tool offers various benefits to test the performance of both static and dynamic resources. Static resources can be application developed in HTML, JavaScript whereas e.g. that of dynamic resources can be JSP, Servlets and AJAX. Jmeter performs load web application testing as well as stress web application testing.
In load web application testing, simulating various conditions predicts the expected usage of the application.
In stress web application testing, load above the limit a web application can bear is given on the server post which it behaves weirdly. Through this process the maximum load a web server can handle is found out.
Points to consider while testing a Website
Although website testing is an essential process before delivery, there are certain points that we need to look at while performing testing.
Website UI & Content :
Pay special attention to verify the content on the website application.
Also test the UI specifications as per the UI deck requirement document.
Size of buttons, menus and text fields should be properly aligned with other controls as per height and width of the page.
General validations :
General validations are performed considering the overall architecture of a software.
Module-wise ensure to test all the functionalities of a web application. Test the web forms at all the steps right from filling the form to verifying until the confirmation page.
Verify the fonts and images used in the web application are uniform across all browsers.
Verify the fields which are by default to be kept disabled are not clickable.
On the login page, verify the cursor points to the username text field as an indicator to input details in this field.
Test the working of scroll bars and popups on the web page.
Test if there′s any broken link on the web page application.
Focus on properly testing the fields like dropdowns, check boxes, list boxes, text boxes, etc.
Verify if the values in the dropdown list are present in alphabetical order.
In case of a text box, test that the fields are marked with a (*) mandatory indicator, it becomes easier for the users to understand this better as well.
Database validations :
Databases form the backbone of web applications. Hence, it is essentially important as the front end requests of an application are processed by fetching results from the backend i.e. the database.
Database should be validated to check the password encryptions.
Verify a column does not allow a “NULL” value until any such condition is specified.
Test if the data is stored in correct format in the database.
Test the time taken for a stored procedure to execute a command.
Security validations :
Security validations are done to identify security loopholes in software, the key areas which are prone to security breach.
Validate sensitive data does not appear in the URL
Test all web application data is transmitted over the web using “https” for instance payment information, passwords, etc.
Post session time out of an application, the same user should be prompted to fresh login again.
Monitor denial of service attacks.
Sample test scenarios for testing a web application
Let’s consider a scenario of a banking application where the customer wants to place an online request to issue a duplicate account statement.
We will categorize website testing into three sub parts
UI and Content testing of the “Request duplicate Statement page”
We need to test the content of this for spelling and grammatical errors.
Also, buttons, check boxes, list, images etc should appear consistent across all the web browsers.
Field level validations of the page
Check the minimum and maximum length validations of the text box on all pages.
Test the mandatory fields on the page and generate a valid error message wherever the field is left blank or is filled with invalid details (special characters or blank/invalid values) whenever the user submits the form.
Verify password is displayed in masked format rather than displaying the actual entered text.
Verify the “Reset” button on the page clears all the data.
Functionality testing of the page
Validate the navigation to “Request duplicate statement page” from Online banking website.(Online banking home page ⇾ View Service Requests ⇾ Request duplicate statement)
Test the complete end to end flow of the service right from entering the details on step 1 to step 2 : Verification page and the step 3 : Confirmation page. (This provides confirmation to the user the request has been successfully submitted).
Verify if an email notification is sent out to the registered email address on submitting the request.
To prevent security violations, verify users are not able to copy and paste the password from the text box.
For a banking web application that consists of an OTP (One time password) flow, authentication through OTP on mobile/email should also be tested.
Test the maximum session time out for secured websites.
Click here to go through more sample test scenarios for a web application.
Automated Web Application Testing
Automated web application testing is a process in which testing is performed using a set of automated testing tools.
Automating web applications saves time and money as the same set of automated test cases can be reused multiple times in various agile sprints.
Automation testing uses effective and efficient automated tools to design the test scripts and validate the web applications.
The primary goal of automation testing is to complete the overall testing of web applications in minimal time.
Details about more automation tools can be found here. With automation testing, you can reduce the futile efforts and make automated web application testing an easier and reliable process.
The future of end-to-end testing for web applications
Organizations and technologies are scaling up at the same pace to shape up the future of website testing.
Software testing industries are adjusting to the developments in the industry. The rapid technological advancements in testing a web application encourages the testers to enhance their automation testing skills.
It’s really very crucial for the organizations to have resources with highly skilled automation testing concepts to accomplish and deliver high quality software.
Devtestops practices and test automation strategy is one of the most significant points of focus for the organizations high on business analytics and cloud computing.
Today, organizations are integrating their website testing in the software development cycle, with testing methods like Agile.
There’s a solid demand to choose the ongoing software testing trends for all the software industries in the world, which helps them to adjust to the requirements of the modern world.
Let’s discuss over the 5 emerging software testing trends that will rule the industry.
Codeless test automation :Test automation of a web application promotes software releases at highest quality. Automation decreases the testing efforts and stimulates the testing process.
Codeless testing increases the scalability of test automation. Codeless automation tools available in the market facilitates the testers to automate test cases without having coding skills. It is the best choice as it decreases the time consumed to understand the code and deliver faster results.
Artificial intelligence :In software testing, a web application can be scrutinized under certain conditions in order to identify the risks involved in the software implementation.
Artificial intelligence can immensely help make the application reliable. With artificial intelligence, we are eventually moving towards a situation where machines will be gradually assuming control.
Robotic process automation (RPA) :Enhancements in artificial intelligence and automation testing have covered the path for robotic process automation. Organizations are getting transformed due to the latest and emerging technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), AI/ML, NLP.
Read blog - RPA Vs Test Automation
- Blend of Agile and DevOps :Opting for agile methodology helps the firm faster ship the product to the market. “DevOps” is a practice that puts together an organization’s processes, tools, and teams to deliver new builds into production as rapidly as possible that increases an organization’s ability to deliver applications and services at speed, referred to as DevOps speed. This delivery of software at DevOps speed is with absolutely no compromise on the quality. In DevOps there is no “single role”, a DevOps team has all kinds of diversified roles. In a team we have a developer, business analyst, a tester, a database administrator (DBA), and ops person. Everything related to DevOps is associated with the term “Continuous testing”.
- IoT (Internet of things) :Most of the firms these days are embracing the Internet of Things (IoT). IoT apps and devices are tested for performance, security, and usability. Most of the customers depend on IoT testing before the acquisition of their products. All the IoT devices need Internet connectivity and hence are exposed to security flaws and risks. This ensures the need for IoT Testing. The technological improvements in the website testing industry push the testers to enhance their skills, expertise, and quality frequently.
Timeless Tips for Website Testing
Below are some timeless tips for performing a smooth and effective website testing :
Define an entry criteria for testing
Have clear communication (between developers and testers) to understand the features of the web application.
Keep Sanity test cases ready
Approach to automation testing
Perform cross browser testing for web applications.
Define an exit criteria and understand when to stop testing.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Is Web Testing Different From Client-Server and Desktop Application Testing?
What is Website Testing with Examples?
How do you do website testing?