Website Testing
Testing, Testing… Is This Site Working?
The Importance of Ongoing Website Testing
When it comes to website maintenance, one of the more critical components is testing. Many sites are very good with testing during the initial setup and release phases, but website testing tends to drop off once things are considered up and running. The concern with this is that links, pages, and data can malfunction over time.
Identifying Potential Problems
By regularly monitoring an e-commerce website, you can catch broken links, data issues, and problems with product page load times. The Digital Velocity team uses different browsers across various devices to help identify problem areas. With constant software updates on mobile devices, we occasionally find that a banner or product page doesn’t load correctly after an update, requiring us to adjust the settings for proper display.
Our Testing Process
We employ multiple methods for comprehensive website testing to ensure thorough coverage and identify even the slightest discrepancies:
Rotational Testing Schedule
- We alternate the days of the week for testing different landing pages and website features, ensuring all areas receive regular scrutiny.
Cross-Browser and Device Compatibility
- We utilize a wide array of browsers and devices to simulate real-world user experiences and detect platform-specific issues.
Human Oversight
- Our team members actively participate in manual testing, providing valuable human insight and attention to detail.
AI-Powered Analysis
- We leverage AI tools, such as ChatGPT, by uploading the website URL for in-depth analysis.
- AI evaluations include checks for broken links, accessibility compliance, and SEO recommendations.
- AI analysis acts as a secondary verification, confirming the accuracy and completeness of our manual testing efforts.
Examples of AI Prompts to Use When Testing for Website Maintenance
The use of AI tools can reduce the amount of manual labor required for thorough website testing. Below are a few web testing scenarios and corresponding sample prompts which can be input into a LLM (Large Language Model) such as ChatGPT.
Your SEO specialist has been tasked with evaluating your company site’s SEO performance. This review should identify both strengths as well as areas for improvement in its search engine optimization. The SEO audit should focus on technical and content-based elements that impact visibility and rankings.
Prompt: “Evaluate the website for SEO performance, including on-Page optimization, Meta tags and keyword usage.”
As a web accessibility specialist, you have been tasked with evaluating a client's website for accessibility compliance. The website needs to be inclusive as well as meets a current ADA standards. They are especially concerned about usability for visually impaired users. The client’s focus is to improve user experience while avoiding any legal risks.
Prompt: “Check the website for accessibility compliance, including features for visually impaired users.”
You have asked your website analyst to evaluate and optimize website speed. The client has noticed slow page load times. There is concern that this is negatively impacting user experience as well as SEO performance. You need to identify root causes of the slower page load times as well as implement fixes to improve speed across all devices.
Prompt: “Review the website’s page load speed and provide recommendations for improvement.”
A cybersecurity analyst has been asked to conduct a website security audit for a client. The website needs to meet current security standards and safeguards user data. The client is preparing for a new product launch and wants to prevent any compliance issues or data breaches.
Prompt: “Assess the security of the website, including SSL certification, potential vulnerabilities, and data protection measures.”
By using a well defined prompt, the LLM will do a good portion of the “heavy lifting” to identify issues.
The Benefits of Consistent Testing
Consistent website testing can be time-consuming, but it is an indispensable investment, not just a routine maintenance task. By diligently monitoring and repairing issues like broken links and loading errors across your site, your business can ensure a better customer experience, and this experience can directly translate into increased profitability. Additionally, the proper integration of AI can be your second set of eyes that helps identify and resolve problems that human testers might have overlooked. A regularly tested, fully functional website isn't only your digital presence; it's your business's growth engine. Proactive website testing is not just a friendly practice but a vital strategy for sustained online success.
