E-Commerce Testing: The Best Way To Find Out If Your Website Is Working

E-Commerce Testing

E-commerce testing is verifying that an e-commerce website is working correctly. This involves testing all aspects of the website, from the checkout process to the search function. By carrying out e-commerce testing, businesses can ensure that their website is always up and running and that customers can complete transactions without errors. Additionally, e-commerce testing can help businesses identify and fix any security vulnerabilities before being exploited by hackers.

What is e-commerce testing? Why is it important?

E-commerce testing is testing various elements of an e-commerce website to ensure that they are working properly and do not harm the site’s performance. This type of e-commerce testing can include checking the design and specifications of pages, functionalities, and features and verifying that all aspects of the website are working together cohesively. By performing e-commerce testing, businesses can ensure that their online store runs smoothly and customers have a positive experience.

Improve user engagement

E-commerce testing helps check the hygiene of page elements to improve the user experience for all types of users. There are different types of users in e-commerce applications, from authorized to unauthorized to delivery persons. E-commerce testing ensures the site is in sync with user needs. When bugs are found before launch, there’s a reduced risk of losing potential customers.

Generate marketing strategies

Marketing strategies are important for any organization, whether a small business or a Fortune 500 company. The purpose of marketing is to engage customers and create awareness about the product or service. E-commerce testing allows you to generate effective marketing strategies by identifying problematic areas of the website which can be reiterated.

Tests are also a great way to determine whether or not an e-commerce website is functioning properly. Functional tests verify that all aspects of the site are working as they should, while non-functional tests focus on performance and load time.

Reduce risks

When it comes to e-commerce, many risks can affect your business. These include low conversion rates, lost revenues, bad branding, etc. To avoid these risks, e-commerce testing is essential. This process helps provide better visibility into how any changes will affect the business. E-commerce testing can help provide a greater understanding of what significant changes may occur should they be made to your site or app. By uncovering potential problems before they happen, you’ll be able to reduce the chances of making an uninformed decision that could lead to big losses.

Increase conversion rates

When it comes to e-commerce, increasing conversion rates is key to success. This can be done in several ways, but one of the most important steps is to test your hypotheses about what users want and how they interact with your site. Tools like heatmaps, form analytics, scroll maps, and session recordings help gather information from user behavior and test your hypothesis.

Once you have gathered this data, you can use it to make decisions about purchasing on your site. For example, if you see that many users are abandoning their purchase midway through the process, you might decide to change the layout or design of your checkout process. Alternatively, if you see that users are clicking on a certain link more often than others, you might decide to highlight that link more prominently on your page.

E-commerce testing is an important part of any e-commerce strategy – always make sure that you have enough information before launching any tests!

A better understanding of visitor behavior

E-commerce downtime can cost a large company millions of dollars in lost sales. This is why e-commerce sites need to be tested regularly to ensure that they are optimized for visitors and don’t experience downtime. In addition, performance e-commerce testing helps evaluate the application’s stability under peak traffic events and determine how well it holds up to general performance requirements. Load testing simulates the performance of a system over sustained periods, while stress testing simulates an increase in workload on a service, such as during peak hours or after a hardware failure. Volume testing is used to simulate the number of users browsing particular websites, while spike testing tests for problems when traffic spikes occur.

What should you know before you run an e-commerce test?

E-commerce testing is important to ensure that everything is working as it should. There are various types of tests you can run, including functional, usability, security, and performance testing. It’s important to prioritize the order in which you want to run your tests. You should start with the highest priority items – in most cases, this will be bugs and flaws that impact everyone through mobile app workflow testing and website testing.

Understand the different types of e-commerce tests

Functional e-commerce testing is a catch-all term that includes many different sub-categories.

It’s necessary to ensure every function of an e-commerce site works as expected. This can be done through manual or automated testing. Manual e-commerce testing is when testers use their knowledge of how the website should work and test it manually. Automated e-commerce testing is when tools are used to check if the functionality works as expected automatically. Selenium is a tool that allows for automated functional tests on websites. At the same time, Appium is another tool that allows for automated functional tests on the website, with the ability to create test cases for e-commerce websites with dynamic web elements (promotions, coupons, updated product lists).

Accessibility e-commerce testing helps sites align with regulations such as Section 508 and ADA laws by ensuring all users have access to the same content and features on a website irrespective of their disabilities. Functional accessibility e-commerce testing should be done on real browsers and devices using a tool like “Axe.”

Performance e-commerce testing evaluates how the software performs under different conditions. Performance tests should check parameters such as application output, data transfer speed, network bandwidth use, load-bearing capacity, etc., across multiple browsers and platforms using BrowserStack’s real device cloud, which provides a comprehensive set of tools.

Cross-browser e-commerce testing is the only way to ensure a website renders properly across all browsers and device configurations. Testers need to test on multiple unique browser-device-OS combinations. BrowserStack’s cloud-based infrastructure allows for a more cost-effective, efficient way to test for cross-browser compatibility.

Mobile web traffic is on the rise, and with it comes the challenge of fragmentation – different devices running different versions of operating systems, making it difficult for developers to create software that works seamlessly across them all.

Understand the user experience and how to test it

Usability e-commerce testing is a way to check if websites provide an optimal user experience. By understanding how users interact with a website, you can answer questions related to the website’s design, navigation, and core functions. Additionally, testers can cover everything from how easy it is to navigate the site if all pages load quickly, and what type of support options are offered.

A detailed product description of the test case is important for two reasons: so those running the test have a clear understanding of what they’re looking for and what they should do. Those observing the test can understand what’s happening without having to ask too many questions.

Assumptions and preconditions are crucial points to outline in any good test case as they provide information on how the tester plans on conducting the test. Precise steps must also be included to avoid ambiguity about what needs to happen during testing. The expected outcomes should be included to measure success or failure against your goals.

Understand how to test responsiveness and functionality

To ensure that your e-commerce site functions as it should and looks great on different devices, you need to test it responsively. This means testing not just on mobile devices but across all platforms.

Responsive design has become an important factor in e-commerce stores, as more and more people are buying goods and services online. In fact, according to a Statista report from 2016, 2 billion people worldwide are buying goods or services online in an e-commerce store. That same year, e-retail sales surpassed 4 trillion US dollars worldwide.

Due to the increase in popularity of e-commerce stores, new guidelines are needed for running an effective e-commerce test. Make sure to test your site on different platforms and devices with a responsive design – it could make or break your business!

Test using different browsers and devices

Now that you know what to test, it’s important to understand how to test it. Different browsers and devices should be used for testing the e-commerce application. The application should also be tested on different operating systems.

The testers must use different browsers such as Firefox, Chrome, Safari, Internet Explorer and Opera Mini.

Know how to assess page performance and usability

When working on an e-commerce website, it is important to ensure that the site is responsive and cross-browser compatible. To do this, you should use actual devices and browsers to test your website. You can also use simulators to check how the website looks on different devices. However, remember that not all WordPress websites are truly responsive, even if they look good in a simulator.

Another thing you need to consider when testing your e-commerce website is page load time. The page load time varies depending on the operating system, screen size, and internet speed of the device used for testing. To optimize the page load time for desktop computers, follow these tips:

• Use a larger hero image that has been compressed using the correct algorithms
• Minimize HTTP requests by combining files whenever possible
• Lazy load JavaScript and CSS files

What are some key issues related to e-commerce testing?

Several key issues come into play when testing an eCommerce website. One of the most important is making sure that the user experience is as good as possible. This means making it easy for users to navigate around your website, find what they are looking for, and complete their purchases. Several factors go into creating a good UX, including customer journey phases such as the first click on a product and adding items to the shopping cart.

Testing for bugs

Just as there are many challenges for developers, testers also face several issues while trying to identify and fix bugs. The most common problem on e-commerce sites is missing product data.

The best way to prevent this issue is by having a checklist of products and detail for every product uploaded onto the e-commerce site. Another common bug that needs to be fixed during testing is images not loading correctly.

Test the site on various devices and browsers to see if it functions well on all platforms. Invest in professional photos before uploading them, as this will increase sales. Google indexes sites based on the speed at which they load, so ensure high page loads by optimizing images and other elements on the page

Testing conversion rates

Conversion rate optimization is a complex process, but it’s important to get it right to boost sales. The first step is to identify what you want to test. Ensure to data back all decisions, regardless of how intuitive they seem – as even the simplest change can significantly impact conversion rates. The next step is to test and gather available data and form a hypothesis. Tools like heatmaps, form analytics, scroll maps, session recordings, etc. can help analyze user behavior and provide useful information about how people interact with your site. Once you have this data, you can start A/B testing, split testing, and multivariate testing on your pages to determine the duration of a test on your site – and see significant improvements in conversion rates!

Which site areas and elements should you test?

When testing your ecommerce website, it is important to test a variety of areas to get an accurate picture of how the site is performing. Some key areas to test include the site’s navigation and search and its conversion rate. You can use various tools and techniques to run these tests, such as A/B testing or user feedback surveys.

Updates

It’s important to test website updates before rolling them out. This will help ensure that there are no errors and that the site looks and functions as it should. In particular, e-commerce websites should be tested for changes in color scheme, themes, and banners – these elements can be critical in attracting customers’ attention. Additionally, all site elements should be checked to ensure they are presented properly. Testing is crucial for website maintenance and should not be limited to certain areas.

Traffic

Content marketing is a strategic approach to creating and distributing content, such as blog posts, videos, or social media updates, that educates and informs potential customers intending to generate leads and sales.

It can be difficult to break through the noise of all of the competing messages in today’s marketplace. However, content marketing offers a chance to cut through the clutter and reach your target audience.

DevSecOps is an idea that security is now focused on every team member to increase velocity. The goal is to have everyone working together to ship features faster while still maintaining security standards.

Cloudways provides meaningful insights about website traffic, sales conversion rate, average order value, revenue by traffic source, percentage of returning customers, and more. Without analytics and testing, you lose your chance to gain a reliable basis for assessing your business strategy.

Discounts and promo codes

It’s that time of year again when retailers offer discounts and promo codes to attract holiday shoppers. When preparing for Black Friday Cyber Monday (BFCM), it is important to test your promos before they are made available, ensuring that they work properly on the site and that your customers can use them as intended. Promo codes can be a great way to increase traffic and sales on your site, but only if implemented correctly. E-commerce functional testing can help you verify the functionality of key areas such as Login, Search and filters, Search result page, Order details page, Shopping cart, Deals, and promo codes.

Shopping journey

Start your test by adding products to the cart and going straight to checkout. This is the most common path that shoppers take on an e-commerce site.

Use BigCommerce’s abandoned carts statistics to determine which steps are the most important for you to focus on in testing. For example, website abandonment is a common issue with online shopping carts, so it’s important to focus on these areas.

An A/B test was run on checkout pages of an e-commerce site to see which design would increase conversion rates more, and the control and variant showed which design increased sales more. In this case, a small change to the design of the checkout page caused an uplift in conversions. The important thing is to instill a testing culture into your company and experiment to discover what works.

VWO is a tool that allows you to test different areas of your site for errors. This article gives examples of specific areas where this tool can be used: such as product pages, category pages, search results pages, and homepages.

Responsiveness testing

When it comes to website testing, one of the most important things to check is how responsive your site is. This means making sure that it loads up quickly on all platforms – desktop, laptop, tablet, and mobile phone. You can use various tools to test this, such as Google’s PageSpeed Insights or TestMySite by WebPagetest.

In addition to responsiveness, you should also test specific products and ensure they are visible on all platforms. For example, if you have an e-commerce website, make sure that the product pages are accessible and look good on different devices.

Search testing

When it comes to e-commerce stores, the search algorithm is more advanced and precise today than ever before. This is why online retailers need to test their site’s search bar. The goal of testing is to identify whether the search results are relevant or not.

A few things need to be checked when performing these tests. First, check the availability of different filter options and parameters, like price or brand, when testing a site’s search bar. Second, test engineers should focus on products that are a direct match or related when searching for keywords such as product name, brand name, and category name.

For example, they were filtering for products using the brand. Another example would be sorted by price high to low and price low to high. Additionally, there should be an option to display several results per page and navigate between results pages when necessary. Finally, remember that users appreciate being able to add items directly from the search results page onto their wishlist/favorite list with one click; this feature is known as “Add to Compare.” It enables users to compare prices and features of various outlet stores to find the right deal–hence the function’s name.

Recommended products

Testing products after a purchase is a crucial step to building loyalty. Below is a sample featured products section from Amazon, including relevant testing ideas.

Products that are recommended should have relevance to the purchase made by the client. In such cases, it makes perfect sense for customers to be directed towards similar or relevant items they might also be interested in purchasing.

Check if the recommendations given to customers are relevant products that will interest the client. Also, check to see if the recommendations shown on the page immediately after confirmation is made.

Payments

When testing payments, test the whole cycle, not just the gateway or checkout. Have a robust payment gateway and avoid pricing glitches, mistake fares, security breaches, etc. A good way to ensure a smooth payment experience is through testing every step of the user journey.

The different types of tests will help you identify potential problems before they become an issue. Testing your site in 10 target countries can help identify improvement areas and create more responsive products for global audiences.

Shopping cart

One of the most common abandonment causes is when the checkout process is too long. Poor customer service or a complicated payment process are also common causes of abandonment. There are many areas of an e-commerce website that can be tested, one such area is the shopping cart.

A 12% uplift in conversion rates was seen due to testing this one aspect for the checkout page on Zalora. Testing aims to improve conversions, and VWO allows for easy testing, which makes it a great start for your company’s test culture. Credit card payment options and security logos can increase conversion rates; social proof, more product options, and better layouts will also help to improve conversions.

Home page

When testing a website’s homepage, you should focus on specific areas and elements. For example, the test you could perform on the homepage would be to check the “postal address,” contact information, payment options, and previous customer reviews. In addition, confirm whether the login is successful or not and check for password reset options and session inactivity time. These are just some of the many tests that can be performed on a website’s homepage.