A Complete Guide to Web Testing: How to Test a Website

A single serious glitch can send users running to competitors faster than you can say “loading error.”

That is how web testing gained momentum and stays one of the most required IT services.

Bugs, slow load times, broken buttons — these are reputation killers. They’re costly. Think lost revenue, shattered user trust, or even lawsuits in case of application security in sensitive fields like fintech and healthtech.

With web testing services, you can ensure your site runs smoothly on any device, stays reliable under heavy traffic, and offers a seamless user experience that keeps visitors engaged.

So… what can be simpler? Test your web app, and everything will be fine. 

Let’s see how “simple” it actually is. 

In this guide, we’ll break down the essentials of web app testing — from static websites to dynamic apps and eCommerce platforms. 

Key Takeaways

• Reputation matters. Bugs and glitches cost more than money — they cost user trust.
• Architecture-specific testing. Tailored web application testing strategies are essential for SPAs, PWAs, and eCommerce platforms.
• Dynamic apps need agility. Frequent updates and backend complexity require expertise.
• E-commerce demands precision. Payment gateways, high traffic, and seamless UX are musts.
• Mobile isn’t a small web. Device diversity and network conditions need focused testing.
• Security first. Prevent vulnerabilities like XSS and SQL injection before they hit.
• Security, performance, and compatibility are non-negotiable in testing web applications.
• Automation aids speed. Best for repetitive tasks but not a substitute for UX testing.
• Quality pays off. Website QA testing is critical for ensuring user trust and preventing costly rework.

Ready to make your web solution not just functional but flawless? 

What Is Web Testing?

Web testing is a software practice comprising a set of techniques aimed at making a site or app perform according to a certain quality standard. This process may involve various types of activities, but the main goal is always the same – to detect as many bugs as possible and develop approaches to prevent them in the future.

Here are a number of key questions web testing answers: 

1. Does the product’s functionality meet the requirements?
2. Will it work correctly on all major devices?
3. Can the product support an influx of users?
4. Can unauthorized users access sensitive data?

To word it differently, web testing is a set of procedures aimed at finding issues that might negatively affect the functionality, usability, and performance of a web application or website.

Why Is Web Testing an Essential Process?

You can spend a lot of time and money developing an app, but its success will largely depend on its quality and functionality. Web application testing is the backbone of creating reliable and scalable digital solutions.

The thing is, how do you know what pitfalls may await you along the way? This is where website testing comes into play. By testing a software product before its launch, you can identify vulnerabilities and defects in the code and save on costly rework after launch. 

Testing isn’t just about running functions over and over, as many people wrongly think. Beyond coding errors, it helps pinpoint weak points and usability issues in your web solution, allowing you to enhance your design for a seamless user experience. 

And, as you know, user experience is everything when it comes to a web app or website. According to recent research, 88% of users will not waste time on an app that contains a bug or glitch, while 96% of them will not even report bugs, making finding fixes incredibly difficult. Therefore, no app should go live without testing.

Through thorough web testing, you can determine how logical your web solution is, whether it is easy to navigate, and whether there are any inconsistencies in the UX. You can also see how it works on different platforms and devices and ensure it can be easily accessed no matter what device people are using. 

Testing enables you to assess the scalability and performance of your application under varying levels of user traffic. By testing it through simulating real-world usage scenarios and stress-testing your system, you can see how well the app handles increased demand and work on it. 

More importantly, web testing helps save you money. While this might seem somewhat contradictory given how much time and money go into forming your QA team, the investment in testing ultimately saves you from potentially catastrophic financial losses. Only in the USA, the cost of bugs in 2022 was $2.41 trillion. If you take all other countries, this number will double or even triple. 

Website Application Structures 

Before moving further, let’s take a look at how a web application is built and structured. This will give you an understanding of the challenges that may arise while testing a web app and help you tailor your testing approach to the specific architecture and requirements. 

At its core, a web application is a software program designed to be accessed and utilized via a web browser. However, behind its seemingly simple concept lies a complex network of technologies, protocols, and components, all of which work together to deliver a seamless UX. 

Here are the core technologies that run on the client side:

• HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) – defines the structure and content of web pages.
• CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) – controls the presentation and styling of HTML elements.
• JavaScript – a scripting language used to add interactivity and dynamic behavior to web pages. 

Besides these three, there’s a whole bunch of other layers of technologies related to web app development, including server-side scripting languages such as PHP, Ruby, Python, etc., web servers such as Nginx, Apache, and more, APIs, and protocols. They all combine to hold business logic together and govern how the information is exchanged between web browsers and servers. 

Furthermore, there’s a number of application structures. Depending on the nature and functionality of a web application, developers may choose from the following options:

• Single-page applications (SPAs), which contain all functionality within a single document model, minimizing page reloads and providing a more fluid user experience. Examples of SPAs include Facebook, GitHub, and Gmail.
• Multiple-page applications, where the application is divided into multiple pages accessible through various route URLs. They often use server-side frameworks and template engineers and offer inherent security benefits. Forums, blogs, and eCommerce websites that sell various products or services fall into this category of apps. A case in point is eBay and Amazon.
• Progressive web apps (PWAs), which leverage modern web technologies to deliver a native app-like experience through web browsers. They use service workers, manifests, and an app shell to provide offline capabilities and faster loading times. The best examples of PWAs are Uber, Pinterest, Starbucks, Twitter, and Spotify. 

As you can imagine, each of these application structures presents its unique challenges and considerations for testing and should be approached using different testing techniques and tools. 

Web Testing Solutions

The definition of web testing is quite broad and covers a lot of ground depending on the kind of web solution you’re building. In this section, we will cover the five most common types of web solutions and how to test them.

Testing static websites

Static websites are perhaps the simplest form of all software solutions available. They show the same content to users and don’t have any complex functionality. Basically, all we expect from a static website is to be informative and attractive so people don’t want to leave it. However, despite their seemingly simple nature, there’s a whole scope of work when it comes to testing. Here are just some of the things that need to be checked before a static website goes live: 

• GUI elements – a website should be adapted to cater to various users. The content should be easy to read, have eye-pleasing styling, and allow for changing font size.
• Errors – all links should be working properly, and there should not be any errors in CSS. 
• Scrolling – the content should be easy to scroll, both with a mouse and using a touchpad. 
• Cross-compatibility – to eliminate lags and performance issues, the site needs to be tested across different browsers, platforms, and devices.
• Integrations – if the site is connected to social media profiles or analytics services, testers need to check if forms lead to the right profiles and conversions are tracked. 
• Security – code reviews are important to identify potential security vulnerabilities and ensure all sensitive data like payment details are securely handled and can’t be breached. 
• Performance – static websites should also be tested for non-regular load. By simulating high traffic conditions, testers can see how a website copes with increased traffic and optimize it to better handle the load if needed. 

Most often, static websites are tested by software engineers who simply go through the pages manually and check the lines of code. However, you may want to employ a team of dedicated testers if your static website has a more complex nature. Here’s why.

Main Challenges:

• Testing integrations to ensure they function correctly and do not adversely affect the website’s performance or security can be rather complex.
• Static websites aren’t immune to security threats such as cross-site scripting (XSS), SQL injection, and insecure direct object references (IDOR), making skipping testing a rather risky venture.

Testing dynamic web applications

Dynamic websites are more complex than static websites. The content on them is frequently updated, requiring focus on both frontend and backend. 

The frontend testing involves checking HTML and CSS (client-side technologies that users interact with), while backend requires testing databases and systems that “run the show from behind the scenes” (most often, written in JavaScript). 

Unlike static websites, dynamic web applications are constantly changing and evolving. Therefore, they should be tested by skilled testers with expertise and knowledge of complex web app architectures, scripting techniques, specific hardware, and tools, who can regularly update and maintain them and keep them fit for purpose. 

Main Challenges:

• Finding tech talent with expertise in the required tools and methodologies can be time-consuming and expensive. 
• Dynamic testing evolves additional investments into software and tools, which may not be justified in case you only need to do a one-off or short-term project. 

Testing fintech and banking solutions

Fintech and banking solutions require deep expertise. In addition to understanding the core technologies, your QA team must have previous domain experience and knowledge of the compliance rules to ensure the product meets both functional and non-functional requirements. 

All other elements we’ve mentioned earlier such as security features, integrations, forms, OS compatibility, and so on should be checked as well. UI/UX, in particular, demands attention. A fintech product should have an intuitive design so that people can navigate it easily without a long learning curve. 

Main Challenges:

• There aren’t many testing teams with relevant technical experience.
• The local market tends to be rather expensive while not necessarily offering high quality and speed. 

Testing eCommerce websites

Just like fintech solutions, eCommerce websites require a focus on web security and UI/UX components of the site. They involve a wide range of features such as shopping cart management, payment gateways, order tracking, and product browsing, which need to be thoroughly tested to ensure seamless functioning without glitches or errors. 

In addition to the site’s navigation and overall user experience, eCommerce websites are expected to handle high volumes of traffic, especially during peak shopping periods. This requires performance testing, simulating the surge in user activities to check if the site produces correct results under non-regular load. Testing websites is more complex than many expect, but it lays a perfect ground for further glitch-free scaling.

Testing eCommerce sites involves a whole range of testing activities and can be done manually and automatically, depending on the scope of the application. However, the ideal strategy should include a blend of both.

Main Challenges:

• Not all companies running eCommerce websites have access to a whole range of physical devices needed for compatibility testing. 
• A lot of the content on eCommerce websites, such as prices, promotions, inventory, reviews, and so on, changes every day, requiring consistent monitoring and maintenance.
• Validating third-party integrations requires a lot of strong tech skills. 

Testing mobile websites or applications

Somewhat similar to desktop web testing, mobile web testing involves the familiar HTML, CSS, and JavaScript unit testing, and covers the same problem areas and typical bugs. However, the process of testing isn’t identical. Given the huge variety of mobile devices and platforms available, it requires a greater focus on UI/UX testing, performance, and security. 

Usability takes center stage in mobile web testing. The final UI should not deviate from the approved design, requiring thorough testing of the web solution across various screens and resolutions. If your app is integrated with any third-party systems or platforms, it will also need to undergo performance testing and API load testing. 

Naturally, security and OS compatibility testing are crucial aspects of mobile testing as well. Testers need to ensure that the mobile website or web application is working properly across different browsers and devices, providing a consistent user experience. 

Main Challenges:

• There’s a ton of mobile devices and device brands, not to mention OS versions that are getting updated all the time, all of which need to be tested. 
• Since mobile applications rely on different network types such as 3G, 4G, 5G, and Wi-Fi, addressing network-related issues is vital to ensure robust data exchange and seamless user experience. 
• When developers fix something, it usually takes a bit longer to update mobile applications compared to web based applications.

Tailored Web Testing Techniques for SPAs, PWAs, and MPAs

Modern web applications often fall into one of three key architectural categories: Single-Page Applications (SPAs), Progressive Web Applications (PWAs), and Multi-Page Applications (MPAs).

Each architecture presents unique challenges, requiring businesses to follow specific techniques in web testing to ensure performance, scalability, and security. Here’s how checking your web application can be tailored for different types of solutions.

Testing Single-Page Applications (SPA)

SPAs are dynamic web applications designed to run within a single browser page, reducing reload times and enhancing user interactions. Testing SPAs requires addressing complex data flows, API integrations, and user state management.

• Gmail: Needs real-time functionality for email updates without reloading.
• Trello: Manages multiple data points dynamically while maintaining user interactions.

Technical challenges

• Cypress: For automating responsive testing of SPAs.
• Postman: For validating API responses and ensuring they work smoothly with frontend components.
• Lighthouse: To perform automated visual testing for performance, SEO, and accessibility.

Tools and methodologies

• Tools
  • Cypress: Ideal for end-to-end testing of dynamic user interactions.
  • Postman: For API testing to ensure proper data handling.
  • Lighthouse: For performance and SEO testing. 
• Approach
  • Automate end-to-end tests for core user journeys (e.g., login, task updates).
  • Use mock APIs to simulate backend data during development and test how changes made to the application affect performance.

Testing Progressive Web Applications (PWA)

PWAs deliver a hybrid experience of web and native apps, combining offline functionality, responsive design, and cross-platform compatibility. Testing PWAs focuses on ensuring seamless operation across devices and browsers, even in low-connectivity scenarios. In the end, web testing services are indispensable for PWAs that require offline functionality and seamless cross-browser performance.

• Uber: Provides offline booking functionality and quick load times even on low bandwidth.
• Spotify: Allows music caching for offline listening.

Technical challenges:

• Offline testing. Ensuring functionality in offline mode, including cached data integrity.
• Service worker validation. Testing service workers to confirm they handle caching, push notifications, and background syncs properly.
• Cross-browser compatibility: Ensuring consistent behavior across browsers that support different levels of PWA features.

Tools and methodologies

• Tools
  • Lighthouse: For PWA compliance and performance testing.
  • WebPageTest: To simulate varying network conditions.
  • Workbox: To debug and test service worker behavior. 
• Approach
  • Test offline scenarios by enabling offline mode in browsers or using tools like Charles Proxy.
  • Validate caching and security of a web application, ensuring stored data is encrypted.
  • Simulate push notification workflows for various scenarios (e.g., user subscribed/unsubscribed).

Testing Multi-Page Applications (MPA)

MPAs are traditional web applications with distinct pages for various functionalities, such as product listings, checkout processes, or user profiles. Testing MPAs involves ensuring smooth navigation between pages, efficient backend performance, and robust integration of third-party services.

• Amazon: Manages a vast number of product pages with diverse functionalities.
• LinkedIn: Offers distinct user flows for different pages, like profiles, messaging, and job boards.

Technical challenges

• Interlinked functionalities. Testing navigation flows across multiple pages, ensuring state is preserved.
• High server load. Ensuring the backend can handle multiple page requests simultaneously.
• Third-party integrations. Validating payment gateways, social media logins, and other external APIs.

Tools and methodologies

• Tools
  • Selenium: For automated browser testing across multiple pages.
  • JMeter: For load and stress testing.
  • Burp Suite: For security testing, particularly for third-party integrations.
• Approach
  • Perform testing of a website starting with navigation paths, ensuring broken links or failed state transfers don’t hinder UX.
  • Stress-test API calls during high traffic scenarios.
  • Validate link consistency and breadcrumb navigation across the site.

Tailoring your testing efforts to the application architecture is essential for a successful web-based project. Whether you want to test the web solution for dynamic interactions, offline capabilities, or seamless navigation, understanding the difference between a mobile website and a web app is key to selecting the right tools and methods.

Integrating accessibility testing, automated visual testing, and security validations ensures that your web solution not only performs efficiently but also delivers a user experience aligned with business goals. By addressing challenges proactively, testing makes applications scalable, secure, and ready for diverse user demands.

Types of Web Testing

Now that we’ve covered some of the most common web solutions and the testing effort required for each of them, let’s see an overview of the different types of web testing that can be applied across web solutions. 

Unit testing

Unit tests are the first tests at the bottom of the testing pyramid. They are easy to create and are usually run concurrently with development to detect flaws in software build. The main distinction of unit testing compared to system testing is that it is aimed at testing single units of code (program modules, objects, classes, functions, etc) in isolation, not the entire system. Thanks to that, it’s easier to detect flaws in a programmer’s implementation and identify any missing parts in code that would be too difficult to catch in subsequent stages of testing. 

As a rule, unit testing is carried out in the development phase and can be done in two ways – manually or by automated tools. Manual testing, while possible, isn’t very popular due to its time-consuming nature and associated costs. Instead, development teams turn to automation testing that helps significantly accelerate the process of isolating code units and testing them.

As more companies are following the trend of a shift-left testing approach, creating security unit tests has become a popular practice. Now, instead of waiting for the completion of development before addressing security concerns, developers can start early by testing the smallest testable security units to ensure that security controls are in place and work as intended. 

Integration testing

The goal of integration testing is to monitor how different modules work together when combined and tested as a group. Integration testing serves as an evaluation of the compliance of the systems and components of your web solution with its specified functional requirements.

There are four different approaches that can be used when planning integration testing:

1. Big bang. The development process assumes that the modules and system components are interconnected. They’re combined and tested together.
2. Bottom-up. This one focuses on low-level systems at first, both together and separately. In plain English, you start performing checks from the lower levels, reaching the most critical elements.
3. Top-down. In contrast to the previous technique, this one is aimed at testing all the high-level modules first, gradually going down to the very bottom.
4. Hybrid/sandwich. This is a mish-mash of the previous two methods. The modules on top are tested separately, while the lower ones are integrated and validated with the high-level modules.

Functional testing

Functionality testing is the process of evaluating the functionality of your entire web solution. It is done to ensure that the product works correctly and everything from the registration process to the logout procedure is functioning as expected. 

During functional testing, various scenarios are executed to validate the behavior of the web solution under different conditions. This includes testing user interactions, data processing, error handling, and compliance with functional requirements specified for the system. 

One of the key benefits of functional testing is that it can provide a holistic view of the web solution’s performance from an end-to-end perspective. By simulating real-world usage scenarios, it allows testing teams to see if there are any discrepancies between the expected and actual behavior and address issues before they impact user experience. 

Functional testing demands a lot of resources, yet it’s one of the most important types of testing in ensuring the quality and reliability of your web solution. At the end of functional testing, you should get a product that has a coherent interface, is integrated with API, and runs smoothly across different browsers, devices, and operating systems. 

Smoke testing

Smoke testing allows teams to run quick checks of the software to identify any issues or bugs in it. The test passes if the software proves stable and bug-free and can proceed to the next testing phase. Unlike functional testing, smoke testing is run pretty often and therefore, it’s easier and cheaper to perform. 

There are a few types of smoke testing:

• Manual – testers create test cases for each generated product and manually go through them. If everything works fine, functionality testing follows. In case of a test failure, the software build is returned to the development team for further investigation and fixes. 
• Automated testing – these tests are executed using automation tools, significantly increasing the efficiency and speed of the testing process. They also help save a good amount of time and resources that would otherwise be spent on manual testing. That said, you don’t always need to rely on automation. With smoke tests, automation proves beneficial when the project has a rather tight deadline. 
• Hybrid tests – this type of testing combines manual and automated testing approaches. In hybrid testing, some of the test cases can be tested manually, while others would be checked using automation tools. Because this method combines the benefits of both testing methods, it usually yields the best results.

Sanity testing

Sanity testing is often confused with smoke testing, but they have different goals. While smoke testing is aimed at checking the functionality of the web application, sanity testing is carried out to ensure no errors slip into the build after that. 

Furthermore, if smoke testing checks the product stability, sanity testing delves deeper into the logic and behavior of the application, confirming that recent modifications and bug fixes have not introduced new errors or regressions. 

As a rule, sanity testing is conducted after smoke testing or as a part of regression testing to provide additional confidence that the software build is stable and ready for release. In most cases, it’s done manually, without any automation tools.

Mobile Application Testing Vs. Web Application Testing

For someone relatively new in the field, it may seem that there’s not a lot of difference between web app testing and mobile app testing. However, it’s only at first glance. Once you delve deeper, you’ll see that the difference between the two is more than prominent. 

Mobile app testing examines the quality of the app’s performance on various devices and operating systems. This type of testing focuses on functionality, behavior analysis (including support for device-specific functionality such as touchpad controls), Quality of Service compliance, usability, security, and privacy.

On the other hand, web app testing aims to see how your application works across different browsers. Unlike a mobile app, it typically provides access to basic server functionality through a mobile thin client. This way, in addition to analyzing the above, web app testing also considers connectivity and interaction.

When it comes to UI testing, mobile application testing should cover older phone models as well as flagship devices, multimedia content and graphics, and features, such as gesture recognition. In turn, UI testing for web applications should focus on thin web clients, downloadable clients, and browser support for multimedia content and graphics.

There are also certain differences in usability testing. Testing mobile applications involves validating gestures, content, interfaces, and typical user activities such as interactions with the camera, GPS module, or fingerprint sensor. Web application testing focuses on validating the GUI content and user flows.

How to Test Web Applications

Testing web applications can be a real pain in the neck without a comprehensive test plan. Therefore, it’s vital that the team invests time in devising a solid strategy for testing your software solution. Let’s look at the testing types and techniques that can be applied to test a web application or website.  

Step 1. Functional testing

Functional testing covers several aspects of testing, including database testing, security testing of web applications, API testing, user interface testing, client and application server testing, and basic features of the site. This test starts by checking a website for evident faults like broken links and test forms. Testers carefully go through each page of the site to ensure they are all loading correctly and there are no mistakes that may impact UX. 

Cookie checking follows interface testing. Testers need to ensure that cookies are deleted when the date is expired, or the cache is cleared and the site requests credentials the next time users visit the page. 

Functional testing also involves validating HTML and CSS. It’s important to ensure that the site has readable color schemes and contains no syntax errors that may prevent it from being crawled by search engines.

In the end, the site gets tested once again for business logic. Testers simulate the actions of users, executing several usage scenarios, where they take predicted and unexpected steps. As a result, they may reveal some minor issues that might have been overlooked at the planning stage of web application development.

Step 2. Usability testing

The next step is to test the app for usability. This involves checking website navigation and testing the content. The site should have well-readable elements that can be easily found. If you have several buttons, they should be visible and contrast with each other. If you have links, they should be clearly identifiable as well. 

The content plays as important a role in the usability of web applications as navigation. It has to be legible and contain no spelling or grammatical errors. Otherwise, it will send bad signals to Google and won’t convert no matter how much money you invest in development. Testing the content can be done using tools like Clixpy, Chalkmark, and similar solutions. 

Step 3. Interface testing

Further down, testers need to conduct interface testing, which embraces the following three areas: application, web server, and database server. 

• The former is responsible for ensuring that test requests are correct and if any errors are being detected, they are only displayed to the administrator. 

• Web server testing involves examining the performance of the web server, checking for any server-side errors, and ensuring that the application responds promptly to user requests. 
• Database server testing, in turn, focuses on verifying data integrity, proper data storage, and how the data is retrieved. 

These three systems must work seamlessly together to ensure that the end user sees the right message on the screen. 

4. Compatibility testing

With so many browsers, platforms, and devices available now, it’s become increasingly important to run compatibility tests. Compatibility testing helps identify issues related to rendering the app on various browsers and operating systems, as well as their combinations, and ultimately increases its attractiveness by making it accessible across different platforms.  

Most often, websites and web applications are tested using Dynatrace, BrowseEmAll, or IETester tools.

5. Performance testing

Once the compatibility of the site is checked, it must be tested for how well it works under unregular unloads. For this purpose, testers usually use either JMeter or LoadRunner tools and perform the following series of tests:

• Load testing – this is the most common type of performance testing that shows the app’s response and capacity under specific load conditions.
• Stress testing — this one helps define the stability of your application by bombarding it with user requests beyond normal operational capacity.
• Soak testing – this test is used to check the stability and performance of the system over long periods of time. If stress testing is a sprint, soak testing is a marathon.
• Spike testing – spike testing tests the app under different sudden and extreme loads to determine its behavior at different levels and find out its operational capabilities.

Conducting performance testing is important to ensure that when the site scales and starts attracting more traffic, it will work efficiently and reliably without experiencing any downtimes. It is also a must for eCommerce applications where seasonal peaks are the norm. 

6. Security testing

Security testing is a must for pretty much every web application that stores personal data, but it’s particularly important for banking platforms and eCommerce solutions dealing with credit card transactions. Security test approaches may vary slightly, depending on what solution you’re building, but most often they come down to the following:

• Vulnerability assessment – this involves checking the web app for known weaknesses and vulnerabilities, such as SQL injections, cross-site scripting (XSS), cross-site request forgery (CSRF), and all other insecure authentication mechanisms.
• Penetration testing – also known as pen testing, this approach involves simulating real-world cyber attacks to identify potential security flaws in the web application. In this type of testing, testers use the vulnerabilities in the system to gain unauthorized access or manipulate sensitive data. This testing type is best performed manually to reveal security risks that automated tools can overlook. 
• Code reviews – by reviewing the source code of the web application, testers can identify its weak points, such as insecure coding practices, improper input validation, insufficient data encryption, and so on. 
• Data encryption testing – this type of testing helps testers evaluate if the data is encrypted both in transit (using HTTPS/TLS, etc.) and at rest (using algorithms like AES), mitigating the risk of data breaches and unauthorized access. 
• Session management testing – during this testing, QA specialists assess if sessions are properly authenticated, encrypted, and invalidated after logout or idle periods. 

Security is critical when you test websites that require users to fill in forms with sensitive information.

Challenges of Testing Complex Web Apps

As web development grows bigger, the competition becomes more fierce every day. Now, it’s important not just to come up with a new app but to ensure that this app works smoothly across all devices and has something truly outstanding about it.

The key challenge is, there’s a ton of devices that people use to access web applications. They come from different brands and have different screen sizes and resolutions, making compatibility testing a real nightmare. 

Emulators were introduced to address this issue. However, as good as they are, nothing beats testing on physical devices. This is exactly exactly where the problem lies. Unfortunately, only a scarce amount of companies have access to all the devices they need for testing, which can significantly slow down their progress. 

Another challenge relates to the integration of different modules and components. It’s hard to make everything fit and work right, especially when you’re also trying to maintain your app’s compatibility with other browsers and devices. In most cases, this attempt leads to bugs and mistakes. 

Rigorous testing is key to mitigating these issues and maintaining web quality while also delivering exceptional user experience across diverse devices and platforms. 

Websites Vs. Web Applications: The Core Differences

Most users view URLs they visit as websites. However, that’s not always the case, as some sites are, in fact, web apps. But how are they different? 

To put it simply, websites primarily serve informational purposes and have a simple structure: a few web pages linked together into a single resource. They have a rather simple HTML-based architecture. The only complex element you can find on the site is an embedded video. Websites don’t usually have any interactive components, and there’s no way for users to access its content beyond filling out a subscription or contact us form.

Web applications, in turn, are interactive programs that allow users to enter, receive, and manipulate data. They closely interact with the server (backend), constantly sending requests to it. They can be embedded in web pages, or web pages themselves can be the apps. Think of Facebook, Gmail, or YouTube.

 Here’s a brief breakdown of the key differences between a website and a web application:

• A website is mostly static, while a web app is interactive.
  
• Website user interfaces are generally easier to test due to simpler functionality, tasks, and UI.
  
• A web application can be an integral part of a site or a separate resource.
  
• Developing a website is easier and less expensive than building a web application.
  
• Website development is an easier and less expensive process.
  

A web application is more resource-intensive than a website.

What Is Website Testing?

Website testing involves checking and assessing the functionality of a website to ensure it complies with requirements. QA teams need to perform a whole scope of work, including simulating various real-life usage scenarios and analyzing the behavior of the site under stress. Once an issue is discovered, testers report it to the development team. After the error is resolved, the website is re-tested. 

Why Test a Website?

Launching a website without prior testing is always a huge risk. Even if you manage it to get it working over time, the damage to your company’s reputation would be irreparable. Therefore, it’s always worth investing a bit more time at the beginning than spending countless hours later trying to fix issues that could have been prevented with proper testing. Besides these obvious reasons, there are at least four benefits that make website testing an important part of the development process:

Validating the functionality

When deploying a new website, there’s always a risk that it might not perform as expected. Broken buttons, links that lead to nowhere, and broken pop-up forms – these are just a few of the problems that often arise due to lack of testing. Website testing helps mitigate these issues and ensure that all features and functionalities of the website work correctly. 

Minimizing errors

Although sites aren’t as complex as web apps, this doesn’t mean they can’t have issues with backend. Issues with data processing, server-side logic, database interactions, and API integrations can still occur. By thoroughly testing the backend components of the website, developers can ensure that data is accurately processed, stored, and retrieved, and that all backend processes function as intended. 

Making the website look professional

Spelling errors, faulty HTML structure, and conflicting CSS selectors aren’t always easy to spot. However, these are the mistakes that rarely escape the attention of users. Therefore, it’s important to carefully test the website’s frontend on different browsers to ensure it contains no mistakes and reflects your business as best and professionally as possible. 

Boosting website security

Users don’t like buggy websites. If they encounter security vulnerabilities or – worse than that – experience data breaches while using your website, they are likely to lose trust in your company and may avoid using your services altogether. Website testing helps prevent that. By testing your site, you can detect security vulnerabilities before they can be discovered and used by malicious actors. 

Core Elements Necessary When Testing a Website

Below, we go over the key elements of the site and areas of testing that should be given utmost care to ensure maximum effectiveness and user satisfaction. 

A/B test your content

Comparing page performance is one of the most efficient ways to optimize user engagement. Here’s how it’s done: you craft page A, then copy it, then tweak certain elements such as the title, button text, or image. Now you’ve got page B. Next, you split your test group control into two parts and show them different versions of the page. The page with the higher conversion rate is a winner and can be used for further testing. 

Check your CTAs

As with web page design, testing your CTAs can help maximize their effectiveness and drive user action. Start by assessing their placement and wording. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different colors, sizes, and positions to determine which combinations generate the highest click-through rates. Additionally, test different phrases to see which ones resonate most with your audience. By continuously evaluating and optimizing your CTAs, you can achieve a boost in user engagement and improve conversion rates. 

Groom your user interface

The website interface should reveal the full potential of your website. Make sure the graphic design standards were taken into account during the development. Give the color, style, and layout a good look to eliminate any inconsistencies in your UI. Also, don’t forget about usability. The site should be not only visually appealing but also easy to navigate. 

Refine your landing page

It’s not a rare occasion that people visit the site but can’t understand the nature of the company’s business due to vague landing pages. Make sure this doesn’t happen. Your landing page should clearly say what your offer is from the moment users land on your site. 

Automated Software Testing: Benefits and Practical Implementation

• Web performance
• API testing – API tests
• Cross browser testing
• Automated web testing tools

Automated testing is often used as part of a testing strategy to speed up development. This is no wonder, given the many benefits automated software testing brings to the table.

Here are just some of the advantages of automated software testing:

• Speeds up the testing process – Repetitive tasks can be performed a few times faster, allowing you to bring your products to market faster.
• It’s cost-effective – Automating testing allows you to save money by reducing the number of manual testers required.
• More accurate results – Test automation delivers more consistent and precise results, uncovering critical issues difficult to detect manually.
• Better use of resources – By automating test cases, QA teams can focus on more strategic and creative tasks.

When it comes to web application testing, test automation plays a vital role in improving efficiency and reducing maintenance costs. However, selecting the right tools and understanding the limitations of automation is crucial for success.

Selecting the right tools for automation

Not all tools are created equal, and choosing the wrong one can result in inefficiencies and additional costs. Here’s how to determine the best fit for your project:

Application Type

Website testing tools

• Uptrends is a great testing platform for monitoring the uptime of your website.
• LoadView is one of the best solutions for performing website load testing.
• Browser Shots allows you to get snapshots of how your site looks on different browsers and operating systems.
• TryMyUI is a great tool for online usability testing. Setting up even the most complex test takes no more than a few minutes.
• Optimizely is a universal A/B platform where you can track your website traffic and conversion statistics.

Web application testing tools

• Selenium embraces a whole suite of web testing solutions designed to automate a wide range of processes.
• Google PageSpeed Insights is a reliable service that supports both desktop and mobile apps and allows you to analyze your web application’s usability.
• Katalon Studio is a framework for automating testing of APIs, web applications, and mobile and desktop apps with a fairly rich set of features.
• Watir is a tool that mimics the behavior of a regular user when interacting with your application.
• WebLOAD is one of the best web application testing tools for simulating loads.

Team Expertise

• If your team has strong programming skills, Selenium offers unmatched flexibility.
• For teams new to automation, Cypress provides a beginner-friendly JavaScript-based framework.

Project Requirements

• Short-term projects benefit from low-setup tools like TestCafe.
• Long-term projects requiring scalability are better suited for robust frameworks like Selenium.

Integration with CI/CD Pipelines

Ensure your chosen tool integrates seamlessly with CI/CD pipelines to maintain a mooth development lifecycle.

Practical examples: Implementing Testing Platforms

Selenium
Selenium is widely used for browser-based automation, making it ideal for compatibility testing.

Imagine Testing an eCommerce website. Create scripts for workflows like product search, checkout, and cart management. Run these tests across Chrome, Firefox, and Edge using Selenium Grid for parallel execution.

Cypress
Cypress is designed for JavaScript-heavy applications, excelling in end-to-end testing.

Let’s assume we are testing a single-page application (SPA). Automate login, dynamic data updates, and real-time interactions. Use its time travel feature to debug test failures.

Despite the many advantages of test automation, not all processes should be automated. For example, if your project only lasts 4-5 months, automating the testing processes from scratch may be an overkill. For one, it will take you almost as much to set up automated testing. And for two, the cost savings may not justify the initial investment. 

Limitations of automation testing

While automation is a powerful approach for almost any web-based project, it comes with its own set of challenges:

Initial setup costs

Building an automation framework requires upfront investment in tools, infrastructure, and skilled resources. For small or short-term projects, these costs may outweigh the benefits.

Maintenance overhead

Automated tests require regular updates to accommodate changes in application code, which can increase maintenance time and cost.

Limited scope for dynamic and UX testing

Automation tools excel at repetitive tasks but often fall short in evaluating dynamic interfaces, visual elements, and user experience improvements.

Complexity with third-party integrations

Testing scenarios involving payment gateways or external APIs can require extensive configuration of the testing system and custom scripts.

What’s in the Future of Web Testing?

Website QA processes must adapt. To ensure applications meet quality standards, testing will include new approaches and tools that address emerging challenges across all types of web applications. Here’s what we’re seeing shape the future of web testing, including web page testing:

AI-powered testing evolution

The global AI in testing market is projected to reach $109.7 billion by 2030, growing at 23.6% CAGR. Key developments:

• Autonomous testing. AI models now generate and maintain test scripts, reducing manual effort by up to 40%;
• Predictive analytics. ML algorithms identify potential failure points before they impact production;
• Self-healing tests. Tools like Testim and Mabl adapt to UI changes automatically, cutting maintenance costs.

Extended Reality (XR) testing challenges

The AR/VR testing market is expanding rapidly as XR adoption grows:

• Global AR market reached $97.76 billion in 2023; 
• Over 40% of enterprises now require XR testing capabilities for their web applications;
• Key testing areas:
  • Multi-device compatibility;
  • 3D rendering performance;
  • Spatial computing accuracy;
  • User interaction validation.

Modern web architecture testing

The shift toward modern web architectures demands new testing approaches:

• PWA testing. Focus on offline functionality, push notifications, and background sync.
• Microservices. End-to-end testing across service boundaries.
• API Testing. Growing annually due to microservices adoption.

Test automation evolution

Automation is becoming more accessible while growing in sophistication:

• 72% of organizations now automate over 50% of their testing;
• Low-code testing platforms growing at 28.1% CAGR;
• Key trends:
  • Codeless test automation tools;
  • AI-assisted test generation;
  • Shift-left testing integration;
  • Continuous testing in CI/CD.

Emerging testing priorities

New focus areas reshaping web testing:

• Security testing. Significant increase in automated security testing adoption;
• Accessibility testing. Required by law in 40+ countries;
• Performance testing. Focus on Core Web Vitals and UX metrics;
• Cross-browser testing. Supporting new browser engines and versions.

This evolution in web testing reflects broader changes in software development. Success in web application testing now requires expertise across multiple testing domains, from traditional functional testing to emerging technologies like AI and XR.

Wrapping Up

Testing may separate successful web products from those that fail. Poor testing leads to real consequences: lost revenue, damaged reputation, and security breaches that can take years to recover from.

But here’s what effective testing delivers:

Confident releases. You’ll know exactly how your site performs across devices, how it handles traffic spikes, and whether it’s truly secure before going live.

Better ROI. Finding bugs early in development costs up to 15 times less than fixing them after launch. When done right, testing isn’t an expense — it’s an investment that pays off.

User trust. Users don’t care about your tech stack or development process. They care about having a seamless, secure experience. 

Ready for scale. Whether you’re building a static site, dynamic web app, or complex eCommerce platform, proper testing ensures your solution can grow with your business.

The success of your digital product hinges on effective testing strategies. Testing web applications helps you deliver confident launches and build long-term trust with your users.

From simple static websites to complex dynamic applications, website QA testing ensures your solution meets the highest quality standards.

Making testing work for you

The most successful web projects share a common trait: they treat testing as a core part of development, not an afterthought. This means:

• Choosing the right testing types for your specific needs
• Balancing manual and automated testing effectively
• Having clear testing processes before the first line of code
• Working with QA teams who understand your business goals

Testing web solutions isn’t simple, but it’s far less complex than dealing with failures in production. The key is starting right and staying consistent.

 Our team specializes in crafting testing approaches for everything from simple websites to complex web applications.