Test Drive Your Website Before Taking it Live

Thursday, April 11th, 2013
2 Flares Filament.io 2 Flares ×

keyshotWould you buy a car without test driving it first? Your business is a considerable investment. Don’t take your website live without making sure everything is in working order. Here are some steps to focus on that will avoid customer frustration and ensure your website has a thorough run through:

Check Content – Keep your website professional by ensuring there are no spelling or grammatical errors.

Test Browsers – Thoroughly and carefully check all pages and links on different browsers (including Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, Safari, etc.) to make sure the pages look right and the links take you to where they are supposed to go.

Test Mobile – If you have a mobile-friendly site, make sure to test that on several mobile devices (including iPhone, Android, etc.) to ensure that it looks right, that checkout is working properly, that customer notices are being sent properly, and that the products and shipping are calculating properly.

Test Forms – If you are gathering customer information with forms, make sure these are in working order on each page and that the information is populating the underlying database properly.

Test Store – Begin by placing fake orders with various product combinations to various states to ensure the ordering process is intuitive and easy. Confirm shipping rates are calculating properly and product pricing is calculating properly for all customer types. Next, make sure customer messaging along the way and in confirmation emails is clear and complete. It is also important to ensure the right people in the business get proper notification, the credit cards are authorizing and charging when they should, shipping labels are produced and printing properly and shipped emails with tracking information are going out properly.

NOTES:
*Make sure your payment gateway is active, and no longer in “test” mode.
*If you do not have a payment gateway or want to shop for a better rate, regardless of whether you are a Nexternal customer, contact complete this form to get a better rate.
*If you are offering PayPal as a payment method, test this as well.

Don’t wait for a customer to complain about your website. Instead, be proactive and test your website by following the steps above. This will ensure you will not have any frustrated customers or missed sales.

Shauna has a background in information technology and is currently a Senior Account Executive at Nexternal . She has been creating and cultivating client relationships with brands since 2007, offering her clients both eCommerce and online marketing insight.