At some point, you may have visited an online store and had the impression that it had been launched prematurely. Unfortunately, many inexperienced digital entrepreneurs are unaware of the importance of testing e-commerce functionality before it is launched.
From mobile device compatibility, content presented in the e-store to the creation of user scenarios, all are fundamental tests to make your e-commerce launch a success.
One of the great advantages of working with e-commerce is the possibility to monitor both the store and its audience and, from this monitoring, collect data and get insights for the improvement of e-commerce and marketing strategies.
For this monitoring and functionality testing there are some tools that can help the process. In this post you will better understand which tests should be performed and their importance. Read on!
The Importance of E-Commerce Functionality Testing
In addition to avoiding headaches and lost sales, the main function of functionality testing is to improve a visitor's browsing and shopping experience so that he or she becomes a customer of your e-commerce site.
Programmers and web designers need to worry about various aspects of the devices when thinking about the virtual store, such as screen size, operating system and browsers. At this time, an inadequate decision can result in serious problems regarding the operation of the store.
Added to the oscillation of connection and Internet in Brazil, different memories and processors, all these items directly impact the user experience.
Failures in the virtual store can represent significant losses in revenue. Therefore, when conducting an e-commerce functionality test, it is necessary to prioritize navigation and user interactions.
Learn What to Test Before Launching E-Commerce
Knowing if the menu is adequate to the business objective, if the search field is bringing results related to the search term, identifying if error messages are appearing next to the form box in case it is filled out incorrectly, and many others are points of attention of the tests.
In addition to these points, it is important to identify the access capacity of your site. What would happen, for example, if many people accessed your store at the same time?
1. Compatibility and responsiveness
To ensure that users can access your online store from any browser or device available, it is necessary to ensure that your platform is compatible and responsive.
A browser compatibility test will verify that your e-commerce is compatible with all browsers used - Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Safari and others. CrossBrowserTesting is one tool that can be used for this test.
A responsiveness test will show whether your sales platform adapts to screen sizes on the most popular desktops, tablets and smartphones to ensure that your store displays perfectly on all of them. For this test you can use the ResponsiveTest tool.
2. Content
Another essential point that should be checked before launching an online store is its content. And by content we mean everything that your visitor can see, read, or hear.
Presenting confusing or unprofessional content diminishes the credibility of your store and negatively impacts your sales. So be sure to keep an eye out for the following points:
- spelling and grammatical errors;
- formatting of headings, lists, and paragraphs
- size, position, and use of images;
- product information, such as price, description, images, available sizes, and the like;
- company contact information, such as address, e-mail, and phone number.
3. Features
It is no use simply looking at the pages and verifying that they have well-written text and a harmonious layout. It is necessary to interact with them, imagining different scenarios.
Some tests you should do to make sure that the basic functionalities work correctly are:
- click on all links, buttons, or images to make sure they lead to the correct page;
- test contact forms, pop-ups and the like;
- checking external links, such as those to social networks, for example
- create a test customer account;
- make a purchase using the test account, making sure that all the payment methods you have made available work correctly;
- test different zip codes;
- test different languages, if your store has other languages;
- buy in different currencies, if your e-commerce sells abroad.
It is important to remember that you should delete test orders before you launch your store, so that they do not interfere with your e-commerce metrics.
Here are some tools for testing your e-commerce
Google Analytics
This is perhaps the most popular analytics and monitoring tool on the market. Its features help you obtain information about your e-commerce traffic.
Besides presenting access data, Google Analytics also presents data about the behavior of those who access your e-commerce store.
This data is essential to measure marketing actions and to generate insights for your planning. Besides, of course, helping you to find problems and think of solutions. With this tool you will have access to data such as
- Number of people who access your store;
- social networks that most attract visitors to your e-commerce;
- number of pages viewed by each visitor;
- Location of origin of each visitor.
SEO monitor
You probably know the importance of a well-structured SEO strategy for your e-commerce business. Within this strategy is the use of keywords that allow your store to be found by potential customers.
The SEO Monitor tool was created to help you evaluate the strength of the words used in your e-commerce store. With it you can
- monitor keywords;
- compare the keywords used by your competitors
- analyze your ranking over time;
- receive suggestions for new keywords.
Testby
With Testby you can measure the problems of your virtual store, being able to map, anticipate and even predict the errors that your platform may have.
The robot will detect the errors in your virtual business and send you a report, along with a video, so that you can correct it as soon as possible. It also offers other services, such as stress testing.
This way, your e-commerce will generate more revenue, because it is optimized and will count on a planning that is always ahead of the user, foreseeing errors in your virtual store.
It is possible that your company's structure does not support an internal testing team, the time is coming to launch your store and your deadline is short. In both cases it is recommended to outsource the testing to a specialist. All so that any flaws can be identified and corrected before they reach the public eye.
Did you like our tips? If you need help with e-commerce functionality testing, please contact us! We are sure we can help you!
