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July 01, 2010

The Important Stages of Website Testing

Whether you run an ecommerce website, directory, forum, blog or social networking site, website testing is a must. This helps exploit any bugs or potential issues with the site. Website testing shouldn’t just be utilized during initial launch but also as part of the general maintenance of the site. Luckily with modern software, the website doesn’t have to be running in order to test.

There are a few stages of testing that can be completed in almost any order. These include:

• Website testing during the development stage
• Static HTML website testing
• Dynamic website testing
• Web space website testing
• Website speed testing
• Maintenance website testing

The first stage of testing occurs during the development stage. This is the most important testing stage and requires several different checks. These checks generally include HTML code validation, CSS code validation, screen resolution, Alt attribute, correct color contrast, font size, uncommon fonts, text alignment, heading hierarchy, browser specific design, custom error pages, website navigation and search engine friendly design.

Another testing step is website static HTML testing which can be performed by double-clicking the web page file from your computer. This opens the website in a default browser. The site isn’t actually running but shows the display since the last save.

Dynamic website testing verifies compatibility between specific programs and the server operating system. For instance, to run PHP and MySQL, the user would need to download WampServer to allow access to all features. Conversely, if the application needs a Windows-based server, IIS Server can accommodate. These are issues that may arise during dynamic website testing.

An additional step is to set up a testing area on the web. This can be accomplished by adding instructions to search engine bots requesting them to ignore the folder so it’s not indexed and posted in search engines. An alternative to this to password protect the folder.

Another step is website speed testing which checks the loading time of a website. The quicker the site loads, the less time the user must wait. This has become an important aspect of the Google indexing algorithm. Speed is also vital to internet advertising campaigns.

Finally, maintenance website testing is important to continually ensure the site is up to standard and doesn’t display any security threats as well as bugs that could chase away the user. In this stage, it’s common to check all links within the website to verify they all work.

Website checking is a tremendously important aspect of running a site. This should be thoroughly checked during the development stage and continue throughout the maintenance phase. Consistent website checking will lead to robust websites and satisfied users.

Tags: website testing,  html website testing,  dynamic website testing,  speed testing