The Vital Role Played by QA Testing in Website Projects

In simple terms, QA testing means taking a range of steps to ensure that the finished product or service delivers the maximum quality for any end user. When it’s done properly, QA testing will spot problematic issues with the project at the earliest possible stage, before the problems in question have time to become embedded and impact on the end result in a manner which will cost both time and money.

Through QA testing, you will be able to identify errors, redundant features, and inconsistencies, ensuring that the project which is ultimately delivered will perform in a real-world environment and continue to deliver over the longer term. To be truly effective, QA testing should involve all team members involved in developing the project and should take place through an on-going process which tracks development though all stages. This article will explain the fundamentals of QA and the different methodologies which can be used for successful QA testing:

• Automated testing – this involves using automated processes to test the functional aspects of the website project. The tests in question could be based on the specifications which the project has been designed to deliver or real-world use case scenarios.
• Non-Functional Testing – this involves working through four stages of testing which examine more fundamental aspects of the project than the individual features likely to be targeted by functional testing. Non-functional testing will look at the following:
• Security – the vulnerability of the website will be analysed, with the aim of discovering bugs, loopholes and gaps in the security which might be targeted by hackers and cyber-criminals. This stage is vital as the security of any shared personal data is one of the most important aspects of a website for most end users.
• Compatibility – this stage of QA testing involves making sure that any application is completely compatible with the software and hardware it will run on. This could involve testing operating systems, plug-ins, hardware, and web browsers, to give just a few examples.
• Usability – usability testing focuses on the experience of the project for the end user. Its intention is to make sure that the project – such as a website – is intuitive to use and has an interface which makes navigation of the site simple and easy to use for all target audiences.
• Performance – performance testing involves putting the project through its paces in a variety of different sce