Web Applications Testing

Web-based applications present new challenges, these challenges include:
- Short release cycles;
- Constantly Changing Technology;
- Possible huge number of users during initial website launch;
- Inability to control the user's running environment;
- 24-hour availability of the web site.

The quality of a website must be evident from the Onset. Any difficulty whether in response time, accuracy of information, or ease of use-will compel the user to click to a competitor's site. Such problems translate into lost of users, lost sales, and poor company image.

To overcome these types of problems, use the following techniques:
1. Functionality Testing
Functionality testing involves making Sure the features that most affect user interactions work properly. These include :
· forms
· searches
· pop-up windows
· shopping carts
· online payments

2. Usability Testing
Many users have low tolerance for anything that is difficult to use or that does not work. A user's first impression of the site is important, and many websites have become cluttered with an increasing number of features. For general-use websites frustrated users can easily click over a competitor's site.

Usability testing involves following main steps
· identify the website's purpose;
· identify the indented users;
· define tests and conduct the usability testing
· analyze the acquired information

3. Navigation Testing
Good Navigation is an essential part of a website, especially those that are complex and provide a lot of information. Assessing navigation is a major part of usability Testing.

4. Forms Testing
Websites that use forms need tests to ensure that each field works properly and that the forms posts all data as intended by the designer.

5. Page Content Testing
Each web page must be tested for correct content from the user perspective for correct content from the user perspective. These tests fall into two categories: ensuring that each component functions correctly and ensuring that the content of each is correct.

6. Configuration and Compatibility Testing
A key challenge for web applications is ensuring that the user sees a web page as the designer intended. The user can select different browser software and browser options, use different network software and on-line service, and run other concurrent applications. We execute the application under every browser/platform combination to ensure the web sites work properly under various environments.

7. Reliability and Availability Testing
A key requirement o a website is that it Be available whenever the user requests it, after 24-hours a day, every day. The number of users accessing web site simultaneously may also affect the site's availability.

8. Performance Testing
Performance Testing, which evaluates System performance under normal and heavy usage, is crucial to success of any web application. A system that takes for long to respond may frustrate the user who can then quickly move to a competitor's site. Given enough time, every page request will eventually be delivered. Performance testing seeks to ensure that the website server responds to browser requests within defined parameters.

9. Load Testing
The purpose of Load testing is to model real world experiences, typically by generating many simultaneous users accessing the website. We use automation tools to increases the ability to conduct a valid load test, because it emulates thousand of users by sending simultaneous requests to the application or the server.

10. Stress Testing
Stress Testing consists of subjecting the system to varying and maximum loads to evaluate the resulting performance. We use automated test tools to simulate loads on website and execute the tests continuously for several hours or days.

11. Security Testing
Security is a primary concern when communicating and conducting business- especially sensitive and business- critical transactions - over the internet. The user wants assurance that personal and financial information is secure. Finding the vulnerabilities in an application that would grant an unauthorized user access to the system is important.

Following is the strategy we used in one of my projects:
1. From the requirements, list the priorities of testing.
2. Use a Link Checker to check all the broken text and image links. This will alert you on missing or broken links but not links that have been pointed to the unintended locations/files. But ignore such links for now this is just one of the cursory checks. Report the results.
3. Collect as many scenarios of real users browsing your site. If you are testing an already existing site you can get them from the site Stats. These will probably cover all your existing user base. If your site needs to target additional user base that is a whole other task.
4. Test using the scenarios.
5. From your testing priorities, list the test cases not touched in your previous test scenarios. If you want a complete list or have time to create one, just go ahead or else you can also list them and note the result from your tests earlier in here. We just listed a short description of each test case, it's input and output. It'll be helpful to record your results if you've a column in there to record your results when testing.
6. Start testing using the test cases and record the results.
7. Prioritize and Report the defects. If you don't have time for testing, there might not be sufficient time to fix them all and re-test the defects either. Prioritizing them will help fix at least the major bugs and/or issues. The rest will be fixed or ignored depending on their priority and your project deadlines.