Do-It-Yourself Web Site Tests & Tips
Posted by Mary Gammel on March 14, 2009 under Website Testing | 
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Here are some basic tests you can perform yourself on your web site. For best results, run these tests on every page of your web site whenever changes are made. Take notes and share the results with your web site designer.
If you just want to see how your web site stacks up, then try these tests on your home page. If you’re writing a web site test plan, you can use these tests as a basis for some test cases.
1 – Check Web Page Titles
The page title shows in the title bar of your browser window, it’s usually is part of the header when you print out a web page, and it shows upon in search engine results. See our article for more information on optimizing web page titles.
For each page on the site, examine the page title for the following criteria:
- The page title should be unique for the site.
- The page title should contain the business name.
- The page title should identify what is on the page being viewed.
- The page title shouldn’t contain the web site URL address, unless the URL is also the business name.
- The page title should be less than 65 characters.
2 – Test Navigation and Links
For this step, you can use an automated link checker or Quality Web Site Testing’s Link Checker Worksheet. To be thorough, you’ll want to systematically check every navigation, image link, and hyperlink on every page.
Keep in mind that links that work may refer to the wrong page. To test for this case, you need to examine where every link goes.
For every link on every page, note the following:
- Link Type – image or text
- Link Text or Image Alt Text for that link
- Destination Page Title after link clicked
- Destination Full URL after link clicked
- Note if the link is broken
- Note if the link goes to the wrong page
- Note if the link text makes sense for the destination
Hint: After you click a link and note the results, use the browser’s back button to return to the original page.
3 – Test Browser Window Size Changes
People view web pages on different size windows under different screen resolutions. Some web pages are designed to shrink and grow based on screen resolution and browser window size, but others are not.
As of January 2009, the most popular screen resolution is 1024×768 (36% of users). Find the most popular screen resolutions based on current market data.
Note your observations for each page while you perform these tests:
- Note the screen resolution being used. Your expectations may change for different screen resolutions, so pick a default resolution where you expect the page to display properly and work from there.
- Maximize the browser window.
- Shrink the browser window vertically and horizontally.
- Expand the browser window vertically and horizontally.
Things to note are:
- Left/right scrolling in default resolution and maximized browser
- Changes in layout as you grow and shrink the page – the page looks different in different size windows. Keep in mind that you want the page layout to remain intact.
- Identify items that are cutoff or that change size, shape, or position unexpectedly within the layout
4 – Test Printing
Even though many people print pages for future reference, testing how web pages print is often overlooked when a web site is designed. Screen layout elements don’t always translate well to paper. So, you’ll want to test printing your site.
Keep in mind that black and white vs. color and ink jet vs. laser printers can print differently. So, you might want to try the following tests on each.
For each web page, print it and note the following:
- Areas of the web page that are cutoff in the margins
- Large gaps or white space
- Printing of background colors and images – you can turn this feature on and off in most browsers
- Do big blocks of background only get printed?
- Is the page readable?
- Is important information missing?
- Is there company contact information on every page?
Hint: Use a printer CSS style sheet for your web site to dictate what elements of the page should print and how they should be formatted.
5 – Proofread your Pages
Check each page for spelling, grammar, and accuracy. If you aren’t good at this, then have someone else do it. Don’t forget to check:
- Page Titles
- Meta Descriptions
- Meta Keywords
- Image Alt Text
- Text Embedded in Images and Animations
- Navigation Buttons and Menus
- Content Accuracy – including contact information and prices
Other Tests
There are many other tests that can ensure the proper operation of your web site and maximize your search engine placement. Find out how Quality Web Site Testing can perform the above tests and more on your web site:
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