Updated June 14, 2023
Introduction to Web Testing Application
Getting a website up and ready is a long, challenging process, and it does not end once you have the website fully ready. What follows after website development is a series of rigorous but essential tests to see if the website is ready to function live.
What to consider when web testing applications?
A major point to consider when web testing application is that websites are client/server applications, with the clients being browsers. Therefore, one should conduct web testing applications on both client and server-side operations. On the client side, you need to look at TCP/IP communication, firewalls, an interaction between HTML pages, and applications running on web pages like plug-ins, JavaScript, applets, and more. On the server side, you need to look at database interfaces, dynamic page generators, CGI scripts, and more.
There are also a lot of ‘clients’ to cater to. Browsers come in all shapes and sizes. Apart from the range of companies offering their browsers, such as Apple Safari, Mozilla Firefox, and Google Chrome, there are also their mobile versions to consider, not to mention the various versions of each that come with small but significant differences. You also have to account for differences in connection speeds, changes in technology, and variations in protocols and web testing application standards.
More factors to consider while web testing application
There are more factors to consider that would be specific to your website, such as:
1. The expected server load
What is the number of hits per unit time expected on the server, and what kind of performance do you want from the server during peak loads? You need to predict web server response time and database query response times, among others. You also need to know what kind of tools that would be used for performance testing, such as web robot downloading tools and web load testing tools.
2. The target audience
This is a very important factor to consider in web application testing tools. The target audience of your website also gives insight into the type of web testing application browsers that it will have to cater to. Find out who your target audience is and the kind of browsers that they use. Also, find out the kind of connection speeds that they most often use. Find out if they use intra-organization connections, which typically have high-speed connections, or use internet-wide connections.
The kind of performance expected on the client side: You also need to understand the kind of performance that is expected on the client side, like how fast the pages load, the speed at which animations load, and applets and other website additions load and run.
3. The server downtime
Make no mistake- there will be server downtimes. No server is up 100 percent of the time. The question here is whether the downtime for content upgrades and maintenance and server upgrades be allowed, and how much downtime would be allowed.
Other Questions to ask before Web Testing Application
- What is the kind of encryption, firewall, password protection, and other security that would be required, and how can it be tested?
- What is the reliability of the website’s internet connections, and how would that impact the requirements and testing of a web application of backup and redundant connections?
- How and when will external and internal links be validated and updated?
- What are the processes to manage website content updates?
- What are the requirements for controlling, tracking, and maintaining page content, links, and other elements?
- Will, a web testing application, be done on the production system, or would you need a separate test system?
- What should HTML specifications be adhered to, and at what level? What are the allowed variations for targeted browsers?
- Will, a web testing application, be done on the production system, or would you need a separate test system?
- What are the requirements and standards for page graphics or appearances in specific parts of the site or throughout the site?
- How customized or extensive are server reporting and logging requirements, and are these integral to the system and require testing a web application?
Key points for pages and Page Layout
- The pages have to be 3-5 screens long unless the content is focused on one topic. If the page is longer, provide internal links to the page.
- The page design and layout have to be consistent across the website to avoid confusing the viewer.
- The pages should be browser-independent wherever possible, or they have been generated according to the browser type.
- All pages should have external links; there should not be any dead-end pages.
- Each page should include the page owner, link to the organization/contact person, and revision date.
This covers all the key points to consider when you are testing a web application. With this complete, let’s start with creating a web testing checklist:
1. Functionality web testing application
Here you test all the links in the database connection, web pages, forms for user information submission, and cookie testing.
- Test outgoing links from all pages
- Internal links testing that jump up or down the same page
- Test links for sending emails to the admin or other users
- Check for any orphan or dead-end pages
- Check for broken links on all pages
Checking forms
Forms are a key part of a website; they retrieve information from users that are essential for assessing the performance and gaining insight into your website. Here are the things to check when web testing application forms:
- Check all validations on each field
- Check the default values for each field
- Also check for wrong field inputs in the forms
- Look at options to create forms if the forms are deleted, viewed, or modified.
Web Testing Application cookies
Cookies are small files that are stored in a user’s machine that maintain the login session on the website. Test to see if the cookies are encrypted before they are written on the user’s machine. To test session cookies that expire after a session ends, check for the login sessions and user stats after the end of a session. Check the effect that cookie deletion has on web testing application security.
Validating HTML/CSS
HTML/CSS validation is a key part of any search engine optimization process. The main thing is to validate the website for HTML syntax errors and to see if search engine spiders can crawl across the entire website.
Database testing
Data consistency is key for any website, so check for data errors and integrity when you edit, modify or delete the forms or do anything related to database functionality. Check to see if database queries are being executed properly; data is being retrieved and updated correctly.
2. Usability Web testing Application
In this next step of the web testing application, let’s test for usability elements, like navigation, which refers to how a user goes through the website. Websites have to be easy to use, with clear and simple instructions. During web testing applications, you need to see if the instructions or commands are correct and meet their purposes.
Checking the content
The content has to be easy to understand and logical, and free from grammatical or spelling errors. A few errors are fine, but users can get annoyed with too many of them, as would a dark theme. There are some web testing application standards to follow when it comes to content and web page building, covering annoying fonts, colors, frames, and others. The content should be meaningful, with the anchor text links working properly and images of the right sizes in the right places.
You can use the sitemap, help files, or the search option on the website for user help. The sitemap should also include links to other third-party websites. Check the links on the sitemap, and also check the onsite search option to find content pages that users are looking for.
3. Interface training
Before beginning interface training, you should know of the two main interfaces in websites and web testing applications;
- Web server and application server study
- Application and database servers interface
Check if the servers are adequately executing interactions between them and handling errors effectively.
If the webserver or database server returns an error message for a query by an application server, the application server should then be able to identify the error and display the appropriate message to customers. Similarly, check how the servers respond if a user interrupts a transaction in between or if a connection to the web server resets in the middle of a transaction.
4. Compatibility of Web Testing Application
The next thing to test is the compatibility of the website with various aspects. Compatibility is a key factor because it determines how good the user experience will be. A poorly compatible website leads to a poor user experience and vice versa. Here are the compatibility tests that should be done:
Mobile browser compatibility
With mobile internet usage and transactions on the rise, you need to make sure that your website is compatible with mobile browsers. Open, operate, and transact on your website through the mobile browsers that your target audience is likely to use and resolve any compatibility issues.
Printing compatibility
Another thing to check for is printing compatibility. Check if the page graphics, alignment, fonts, and other elements print properly when you give a printing command. Although printing is not done very often, this compatibility test is still not as important as the other two.
Browser compatibility
This particular compatibility test is the most important and influential part, and perhaps even the most important form of web application testing tools. Some web testing applications depend a lot on browser types, and different browsers have their own configurations and settings. Your website has to be compatible with all these changing settings and configurations.
If your website uses AJAX or JavaScript calls for user interface functionality, validation, and security checks, you have to pay even more attention to the browser compatibility test of the website because these calls can vary significantly from one browser to another. Remember to test the website on all kinds of browsers, including the big ones like Safari, Firefox, and Chrome, and less-used ones like Opera and Internet Explorer.
OS compatibility
There could be some parts or features of a website that may not work well or at all when accessed on certain operating systems. This is because new web testing applications and development technologies like graphic designs, different APIs, and interface calls may not be available in every operating system. This can hamper user experience or the security of your website. To avoid such situations, test your website on various operating systems, including Windows, Linux, Mac, Solaris, and different OS flavors.
5. Performance of web testing application
A website has to remain functional and fast even at peak loads, and this is what performance web testing application focuses on. It should include two things: web stress and web load testing.
Web stress testing
The basic definition of stress testing is this: stretching a system just beyond its specification limitations. Website stress testing is done by putting pressure on the website to break the site and checking to see how the system reacts to the stress and recovers from a crash. The ‘stress’ here is generally given on logins, signup areas, and input fields.
Web load testing
Web load testing looks at how the website reacts if several users access and request the same page at the same time. At the estimated peak load capacity, when the maximum number of people are visiting your website, would the system be able to sustain without crashing, and how would it recover after a crash? This test should answer these questions and also assess if the site can handle simultaneous user requests, large user input data, heavy loads on certain pages, simultaneous database connections, and more.
6. Security Web Testing Application
In this day and age where cyber-attacks are getting more rampant, user and website security is absolutely essential. Here are some essential web testing application test cases that you have to perform security testing:
- Paste an internal URL directly in a browser address bar without logging in. The page should come as restricted.
- If you have logged onto the website using a username and password, change the URL options directly. For instance, try changing the site ID parameter to something not related to the currently logged-in user. Once again, the page should come as restricted with an ‘access denied message.
- Add invalid inputs to the fields of account username and password. For instance, check if the system allows restricted characters in the username or validates inadequate special characters in the password.
You also need to check if files and web directories are directly accessible unless a download option is given. Also, check to see if the CAPTCHA is activated to prevent automated logins and if SSL is being used for secure transactions. If so, a proper message should be shown when the user switches from non-secure to secure pages and vice versa.
Test if the web testing application logs security breach attempts, error messages, and transactions on the web server.
Conclusion
By the end of this course, a web testing application is not something you do just once before the website goes live. It is a constant process and something that needs to be done over and over to ensure that your website functions properly irrespective of changing web testing security conditions, mobile devices, browsers, and technologies.
Recommended Articles
This is a guide to web testing applications here; we have discussed the different factors of a web testing application process, which should be done with all the key elements of a web testing application. You may also look at the following web articles to learn more.
