Due to rapid changes in the retail e-commerce industry, testing e-commerce platforms is vital. One of the most notable changes in customer interaction from 2021 to 2022 is how much time they spend browsing a website before purchasing. According to a statistic by Oberlo, there are 2.14 billion people who shopped online in 2021 and is predicted to increase this year. Furthermore, a secondary study concluded that 58% of customers stop using platforms because of poor customer experience. This happens because developers miss the crucial quality assurance phase and hurriedly publish the website online leaving behind multiple bugs and unresolved errors.
In order to compete in the retail e-commerce industry, it is absolutely necessary to test every aspect of your e-commerce platform before launching. This puts a lot of pressure on creating the perfect platform for your e-commerce business. The simple truth is no matter how well a website is designed, it is useless if it does not function properly. The easiest way to determine efficiency of your website is by testing various aspects of its functionality. This guide will help you understand, identify and implement the testing process for an e-commerce website.
Common Issues With Ecommerce Websites
Here are some common problems that most e-commerce website face:
- Poor Interaction with Images
Reduced image quality leads to a poor interaction with viewers. Viewers are likely unable to determine what the actual product looks like and will question the validity of the product image.
- Issues with Loading Speed
A web page that has a huge number of media files can take a long time to load. E-commerce shops often lag in loading.
- Problems with Payment Gateways
Payments gateway errors mostly occur due to errors in integration. Due to this, the payment feature often gives multiple errors.
- Challenges in Integrating 3rd Party Services
Handling 3rd party plugins and integrating them with e-commerce platforms can become a challenge. They often give rise to errors and problems.
Testing an e-commerce platform as a single entity can seem overwhelming. And there are several different aspects that require testing in an e-commerce platform. This is why most of the platforms are divided into different modules and the type of testing performed varies for each one. Following are some of the types that are required to perform in the testing phase.
1. Performance Testing
This is the most important type of e-commerce platform testing. The success of an e-commerce web page depends on how quickly a response is generated on the website. In fact, HubSpot estimates that the website conversion rates decrease 4.42% with every second it takes to load a website. While checking the performance, keep these factors in mind:
- The average amount of time the system takes to process (throughput) an input or information.
- The amount of time taken by the system to respond to the input.
- The time it takes to load a page after clicking.
2. Functional Testing
A thorough understanding of the platform and its architecture is necessary before diving into the process of functional testing. The websites are composed of different pages. Here are somethings to keep an eye on during the functional testing of each page:
- The webpage works well and corresponds to each query generated on the page.
- There are no errors being returned.
- There are no missing or broken links in the page.
- The flow of the website from one webpage to another is smooth.
- Each functionality works individually and with other functions as well.
3. Usability Testing
Usability plays an important role in ensuring that the viewer of the website stays on the page and eventually converts into a customer. Here are the things every testing team must keep in mind when it comes to usability:
- The design and color scheme of the website is straightforward and interesting enough to capture the attention.
- The navigation of the whole website is simple and does not create any confusion.
- The product catalogs are scrollable and easy to navigate for all types of audiences.
- There is a clear sign indicating any additional support with the staff of the e-commerce platform.
- Ensure that the process of using a cart and processing an order is smooth.
4. Session Management
Session management plays a vital role in collecting data on visitors. This can later help in understanding the behavior pattern of potential customers. Following are some of the important aspects of session management:
- The session does not expire at inappropriate times.
- The session is stored in the right place and is available for use later on.
- There is enough storage space available for session management in times of heavy traffic.
5. Database Testing
All the data about items and customers needs a storage place which is a database in most e-commerce platforms. This is why testing the integrated database is vital as well. Focusing on the following can help in testing of a database:
- The database is connected properly.
- The database adheres to the ACID (atomicity, consistency, isolation, and durability) properties.
- The transactions, triggers, and other constraints are operational.
- Data is mapping correctly in the front and back end.
6. Browser and Device Compatibility Testing
There are hundreds of different options available when it comes to browsers and devices that a user can utilize while interacting with your platform. According to a survey conducted by Think with Google, 48% of users say they feel frustrated and annoyed when they get to a site that’s not mobile-friendly. It is vital to ensure that your platform works across all platforms.
Device compatibility
- Make sure to test your e-commerce platform on various devices such as a Macbook, Windows Laptop, iPhone, Android Phone, and any other operating systems, before launching the website.
- Ensure all web pages are responsive on multiple devices.
- Test for speed and latency on all the different types of available devices.
- The web page design for each device must be consistent and not all over the place.
Browser Compatibility
- Remove any inconsistencies or issues that arise while using the application on different browsers.
- Ensure that the website performs at 100% of its potential with multiple extensions enabled on different browsers.
7. Scalability
To understand how the e-commerce platform performs with a surge in users, it is important to test the scalability. Here are some things to consider when checking the scalability of the platform:
- Observe the website behavior when there are multiple users on the website and requests.
- The ease of website functionalities enhancement or reduction as per the needs of the organization.
The visual representation of important functionalities to test an e-commerce platform.
Interested in enhancing the scalability of your business? Read the blog on Unlimited SKUs by UpStart Commerce here.
While it is important to test every area of an e-commerce website, the following pages and processes are top priority.
1. Homepage
This is perhaps the most important part of your website. Most traffic will land on the homepage and decide from there if they want to continue to the rest of the website or not. Ensuring your homepage works perfectly is crucial when testing your e-commerce platform. Here are a few things to focus on when testing the homepage area:
- Homepage scrollability is vital for customer interaction. Viewers should have the ability to navigate to the bottom of the page without glitches.
- Everything on the homepage must load in the blink of an eye. A delay of a few seconds can result in huge loss.
- Each click on the homepage must generate the appropriate response.
- The page content loads without any issues.
- All the images and their resolutions must be constant in different browsers and screens.
2. Product Pages
In a brick and mortar store, the organization and positioning of your products are essential to a buyer’s purchasing decision. Placing the right products, in the right shelf location, at the right time of a shoppers journey, will produce a higher buy rate. Product pages in an e-commerce platform are similar to shelves in a store. It is necessary to display and provide product details in the appropriate manner to capture the attention of viewers. Important things are important to keep in mind while testing the product page:
- Price of the product is displayed clearly.
- Shipping details are clearly mentioned in the details or in a separate box.
- Pictures or videos of the product load quickly and are high resolution.
- Options such as zooming work properly on each product page.
- Mention every product detail such as color, dimensions, and other properties.
- The availability of the product in the stock is clearly visible.
3. Search and Navigation
It is impossible to place everything a customer wants in front of their eyes immediately. This is why search engines are vital for the success of your e-commerce platform. You need to make sure that they run smoothly and each query generates appropriate results.
Search Engine
- Does the query return relevant search results?
- What time does it take for the results to be retrieved?
- Can users navigate through different result pages easily?
- Is there a way to sort results on the basis of different properties i.e. brand name, product name, price, and other similar attributes?
Looking to implement a search engine on your e-commerce platform. Employ the services of Clotho. Learn more about it here.
Navigation
Without the ability to navigate through your website, the platform is pretty much useless. Here are a few things to focus on while testing the navigation aspect:
- Clear buttons and fields should be present for the user to navigate the website and catalog.
- Make sure that each button is linked to the correct page and URL.
4. Cart and Checkout
Users will commit to buying items from your e-commerce site after placing everything they like in the cart. However, a poor cart or checkout experience can lead to high cart abandonment rates and incomplete checkouts. It is important to test both processes to improve them wherever needed.
Cart
- The count of items in the cart should increase as the number of products added in the cart increases.
- Users are able to add multiple items in the cart. They can also add the same item multiple times in the cart.
- Total price of the cart updates automatically as the number of items increase.
- Items are easy to remove from the cart.
- The page of the cart loads without any issues and does not take a long time.
Check Out
- The option of adding a coupon with the purchase is available.
- The total taxes are displayed separately from the total cost of items.
- Any shipping charges are explicitly mentioned at the time of checkout.
- The fields to fill out the information about shipping such as address, contact number, and others are explicitly mentioned and work properly.
- The method of payment is visible on the page and users have multiple options to select from.
A visual representation of the four important site areas to test an e-commerce platform.
If there are still any doubts about why it is important to perform testing on e-commerce platforms then consider these reasons:
- Enhance Customer Retention
A statistic provided by SemRush indicates that 89% of companies say that excellent customer service plays a huge role in customer retention. This means that a well designed and thoroughly tested website that has minimal glitches will increase the chances of a customer coming back to purchase from the e-commerce store.
- Increase Customer Conversions
A thoroughly tested platform will have fewer bugs and errors. Minor issues will not hinder the customer in their searching and looking for a new item process, instead this will increase the chance of customers following through with their purchase of all the items in their cart.
- Analyze Visitor Patterns
While performing different tests on the e-commerce website, you can understand the consumer behavior and pin-point the places which de-track your customers from their shopping. This can raise patterns on the issues that make the customer leave your website and you can easily overcome them.
Look into the following aspects of e-commerce platform testing while diving into the whole process:
- Don’t Leave Out A/B Testing
A/B testing is vital in e-commerce platforms because most of the products are displayed in images and videos. Test different formats for media as well as content and observe the kind of response viewers generate.
- Focus on Customer Feedback
Keep a sharp eye on what the customer says in their feedback. Focus on all the issues that a customer had to face. They will definitely talk about it on social platforms along with your own reviews and feedback section. The reviews can be a great guiding tool.
- Continuously Improve Usability
Testing and development is not a one time thing. Ensure that you regularly test the website. Do not shy away from making changes.
Conclusion
An e-commerce platform is a huge project. This is because they are accessible via websites and mobile applications. You must perform testing on the platform so thoroughly that your e-commerce store should run on every device and browser. The platform should be responsive and secure. Remember, a platform without errors, bugs, and glitches is the only way to convert and retain customers.
At UpStart Commerce we value the importance of quality assurance. Apart from providing headless, API-driven platforms to our customers, we provide support in testing the platform thoroughly and to our customer’s satisfaction. Start your 30 day free trial to see what UpStart Commerce can do for you!
