Web testing, often known as web application testing, is a software practice that guarantees quality by examining if a given online application’s functionality operates as planned or follows the requirements. A crucial component of software development is testing.
Testing web applications is a technique used in software testing to check websites or web apps for potential problems before publishing them. A web-based solution must be thoroughly tested before making it available to end users.
What is web app testing? Before going live and becoming publicly available, web app testing, also known as website testing, involves reviewing your web application or website for potential flaws. Web testing examines the website or application’s performance, compatibility, security, and usability.
At this point, the site’s functionality, accessibility for users with disabilities, regular users, and traffic handling capacity are all evaluated. An organization can ensure that the web-based system is reliable and usable by actual users by doing website testing.
Ways Of Testing Web Applications
Do you want to know how to test web applications? The following ways could serve as a guide to know the basics of web application testing.
1. Functionality Testing
Make sure your web application performs the function for which it was designed as the first item you verify. You have a purpose in mind when you design an application.
The program’s goal, for instance, would be to enable customers to make online purchases if you were creating an e-commerce website similar to Amazon. The products must be listed correctly, so check that. Additionally, you need to confirm that the product connections are functioning properly. Nobody wants their money to go lost in the process. Therefore payment gateways and processing are some of the key items you should examine.
Functionality testing in web applications is very important. The web application’s links should all be evaluated to ensure they are functional. These links include internal and external links that lead to different pages on the same website.
Users can enter data into forms that are part of web applications. Their name, contact information, etc., are examples of the data. If the form has any mandatory information, you must ensure the web application doesn’t submit the form if the fields are blank. You must perform validation tests if, for instance, you’re utilizing input validation to determine whether or not an email address is valid.
2. Usability Testing
Usability testing should be the next step when considering how to test a website. This testing mixes the user experience in general with the functionality above testing. Since the focuses and the stages of the app development during which these tests are conducted are completely different, it is not the same as user acceptance testing.
The developers themselves can do internal usability testing, or you can hire outside testers to replicate your target user population. Apps like Apple’s TestFlight may assist if you wish to conduct external testing but are unsure where to obtain qualified testers. We may divide usability testing into 4 stages:
- Planning the testing plan so that the content and navigation of the app, as well as all of its features, are tested
- Finding internal or external test subjects
- Conducting the test with the expert team
- Reviewing outcomes and updating your app if necessary
3. Interface Testing
A web server that controls the web application’s operations, a web browser that users use to communicate with the server, and a database comprise the three primary parts of a typical web application. The connectivity between the web server, web browser, and database is examined during interface testing.
You check for proper communication between these three components during interface testing. It would help if you verified that the transmitted data reaches its destination securely. It involves checking for data transfer hiccups and ensuring that the interfaces speak to one another easily.
4. Compatibility Testing
Compatibility testing is crucial in the age of portable devices and various screen sizes to ensure your web app works properly across all platforms. The developers must perform the browser compatibility test to find out whether the app is correctly displayed in various browsers. The mobile browser compatibility test should also be performed because, as the name implies, it verifies that the app functions properly on all mobile browsers.
Various app parts are shown differently by different operating systems. It is crucial to test compatibility on as many different operating systems as possible, particularly the most widely used ones like Windows, Mac, and Linux, as well as the most widely used browsers like Chrome, Internet Explorer, Safari, Firefox, and others.
5. Performance Testing
When you publish your web application online, there will be moments when it draws many users due to global or current events. For instance, an e-commerce site will get increased traffic during a Christmas sale compared to a typical day. To ensure that your application can handle this traffic volume, test it.
When there is a great demand for your application, you wouldn’t want it to malfunction. You put the application under stress to prepare it for that. You exert a lot of pressure on it to see how it reacts. Once you’ve identified the weak area, you can choose whether to improve the system for more reliability or if the current configuration is adequate. You must pay attention to performance testing principles while testing your application.
6. Security Testing
One of the most crucial components of any program is security. You’ll store many user and application data when you create a web application. Sensitive data may be present in this data. It would help if you guaranteed that your application is safe from hackers.
When you test your security application, you can identify any weak security spots. The most popular methods for doing this are automated security testing, ethical hacking, and penetration testing.
7. Crowd Testing
Another way of testing web applications is crowd-testing. To do tests that a small group of employees would ordinarily run, you will choose a sizable group of people (the crowd). Crowdsourced testing is a fascinating and emerging idea that helps find numerous hidden flaws.