What is Software Testing and why is it so Important?

Our development team takes testing seriously and they’ve put some words together to explain our process of testing websites. Software Testing is a process of evaluating the performance of any software application. Something to help find any bugs within the software.

As technology is ever-increasing and we are using machines more often than before it is important that we regularly test to provide consistent functionality. Software Testing evaluates a system to identify any errors or missing requirements. There are 2 types of testing – Functional and Non-functional. Firstly, we need to make sure that the functionality of the website is working as it should – therefore we apply this before non-functional testing.

Functionality Testing

Without functionality, a website is arguably useless. The user must be able to browse, read, shop and interact as swiftly as possible. When we’re testing for functionality, we are checking that all links (external and internal), forms, database connections, shopping baskets, images and animations are all working properly.

For example, if we’re testing an eCommerce website, we need to check that items can be added to the basket and totalled correctly.  A recent story made headlines after a teenager managed to remove everything that makes up a McDonald’s cheeseburger through the app, and it still cost him 99p!

 Non-functional Testing

Non-functional testing is just as important as functional testing. Its purpose is to quality check that a website provides an enjoyable, pain-free experience to users. This sort of test will expose a really good, well-built website, from one that simply ‘works’.

It checks for things like:

• The speed for a website to load
• The responsiveness of a website on various sized devices
• The quality of the documentation and whether it matches up properly with the website
• How secure the website is
• Whether the website is simply usable
• Ensuring the website to handle a large amount of traffic

It’s completely normal to find bugs and errors. However, leaving them unaddressed is what can lead to serious issues. Regular and thorough Software Testing prevents these issues and allows for enhanced user experience, leading to a win-win outcome that’s smarter and more profitable in the long-run.