If organisations want to maximise the possibility that the website will meet its aims and objectives, then testing of various kinds should occur throughout its construction, delivery and deployment.  

The three major aspects to test during the development of the site (formative testing) and immediately prior to launch (summative testing), are:

• usability
• content
• technical solutions.  

The testing of these three pivotal aspects of the site should be critical points in the development schedule. The results should inform you as to whether or not to sign-off on the relevant milestone.  

Incorporate the requirement for testing into the contract with the web developer.  

Usability testing

Usability testing assesses how easy the target audience finds the site to use, understand and navigate through. This sounds a simple enough exercise to undertake but it encompasses testing users' reactions to the content, each design element and function on the site (eg colours, fonts, buttons, arrows) and assessing how well they complement each other.  

Usability testing is best undertaken by an independent third party that specialises in testing websites. Your team and the web developer will most likely be too intimately involved in the site to see its flaws, and perhaps not experienced enough to ask the right questions of users employed in the testing exercise.   

Ideally, the third party testing organisation is engaged by your organisation, not by your web developer. This removes any questions about the independence of the test and the report.  

Ensure that the third party testing organisation produces a comprehensive report detailing the problem areas of the site and specifying the criteria by which to judge whether the fault has been rectified by the web developer.  

The most effective methodology for conducting usability testing is simply to observe users first-hand as they use the website. It is usually more efficient to undertake this in a controlled environment in order to see what they like, what works for them, what confuses them and if and where they get "lost" in the site.  

Formative testing might entail a representative group of the target audience providing feedback on design aspects. This testing should be conducted prior to signing-off on the design of the site with the web developers. The testing should be conducted as far as is practicable using computers, browsers and connections that match the minimum configuration agreed to with the developer at the outset of the development of the site.  

The difficulty here is with timing. At the point where the first of the formative usability tests is conducted, the site will not have been completed and therefore the user may not be able to assess properly all key design aspects. An unfairly harsh assessment may result. It is therefore important to construct the first usability test such that it only tests what is possible at that stage.  The web developer should be enlisted to provide as "real" an environment as possible for this testing and to state before the testing where the limitations lie.    

The summative usability testing is conducted at the end of the development phase when the entire site is complete but before it is launched. Those testing the site must be able to access the complete, fully working site using computers, browsers and connections that match the minimum configuration agreed with the developer at the outset of the development process.  

The usability test should involve a representative group of the target audience. It should be rigorous, examining all aspects of usability as identified earlier in this section.  Click on the link to download this sample usability questionnaire into your word processor:  e-businessguide Template Document - Sample Usability Questionnaire (89kb)

Content testing

The person who collated, wrote and edited the content of the website should verify its quality and accuracy and ensure that it is uploaded to the right place.   Here is a sample checklist that you might like to adopt when verifying the quality of your website's content before it goes live.  Click on the link to download this document into your word processor:  e-businessguide Template Document - Content Verification Checklist (104kb)

Technical Testing

Technical testing is as important as testing the content and usability of the site. Technical testing is required when milestones in the construction have been reached and before the site is launched to ensure that the site functions as intended. Here is a sample checklist that you might like to adopt for checking-off the various technical aspects of your website as they pass technical testing. Click on the link to download this document into your word processor:  e-businessguide Template Document - Technical Solution Checklist (98kb)