Sometimes clients call us and ask if we can test if a form is working. Of course we can, and we do, but we think it’s worth pointing out that you can too! We don’t have a magic testing wand, or do anything particularly technical, we just use the site as a user would and check that what’s supposed to happen, happens.
At the point where we make it available on a test site, we’ll give you the URL of the test site and login details so that you can access the site to test it. Don’t worry, it’s not visible to the rest of the world at this point - only to people who have the correct login details. It’s also not yet visible to search engines.
You’ll want to get on the test site and have a look and a play quickly. But it’s worth testing the site more methodically, so that at the point where it goes live you can be assured it’s been fully tested, and we shouldn’t have to make amends to the live site.
It's also worth considering that a site should only be fully tested when all the content is in place, so you can undertake the same actions and experiences a user will have on the site once it goes live.
To test the site, you’ll want to look at every page, and check out every link, navigation button, and clickable thing. You need to check that each link goes where it’s supposed to. And if there is particular functionality on a page, you should check that out too (does the map function link to your map? Does the ‘book here’ form work?).
If there’s a form on your website and you want to test it out, the easiest way is to complete the form and press submit! (It might be worth adding a note on the form to the effect that this is a test, and please could whoever receives it forward it to you so that you know it's been received. That way you’ll also get to see how they received the form.)
If your website processes payments, it’s worth processing a payment to check that the payment bits are working the way you expect them to. Just go on the site and buy something cheap! Go all the way through the process to check that everything is happening the way you expect it to.
The other thing you’ll need to check is whether the way you get content onto the site (using the CMS) is working as you expect. For example, if you have a section on the site where you are planning to enter events for which people will then book online, you should check that adding the events to that section works the way you’ve specified. The way to do that is to try adding some events.
If things aren’t working the way you expect them to, or if a form isn’t being delivered to the correct email address, then let us know and we’ll get onto it straight away.
© tictoc Family Ltd 2008