SERVER ERROR LOG

One of your main aids in tracking down bugs is your servers error log — look for such items as missing images, bad links, and errors from CGI scripts, just to name a few. Use this excellent tool on a regular basis and after every update to your site.

Website errors mean lost traffic. It is normal to have a few errors in your log files, but if the error rate starts to rise precipitously, then look for whats causing the problems and fix them.

OTHER ITEMS TO CHECK

Spell Check

Don’t forget to run your spell check or manually to copyedit your website’s text. Errors in grammar or punctuation jeopardize your credibility as a reputable e-business.

Hang Time

Measure the various browsers’ “hang time.” Note how long each browser configuration hangs with a blank screen before loading your web page. Is the hang time acceptable, with all configurations? If not, correct the situation.

Printing

Test how your website prints using different browsers. This is particularly important if your website is brochureware , subscription-based, or is a supplement to your technical help desk.

Some browsers can start a new page if a table won’t fit on the current page; however, tables can force page breaks when the document prints out. By using tables you can control how the pages will print.

Avoid browser-specific code since your website may not print out properly if the customer uses a different browser.

Other printing problems can occur if you use images, or a black, or a colored background. Frames seem to constantly cause printing problems. If you think that your website’s visitors will be printing your pages regularly, you might want to provide a non-frame version.

One common mistake is that contact information, support, and the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) pages are not easy to find. Always keep those links clearly visible on every page.

NOTE
For those readers who are curious about the coding used to design a specific website you can do the following: If you have a Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape browser, just click on “View,” which is located at the top of the browser, and then click “source” (page source for Netscape) in the drop-down menu.

TEST AND RETEST

Okay, youve tested the design/front-end of your site and now you are ready to put the site on your staging server. Test it again. Make a hard and fast rule to always test every time you make any change to your site just to be sure you havent accidentally introduced an error.

Other steps you should take during the testing stage include asking other people to test your website and to proofread the text. You and your staff are just too close to the project to notice what would otherwise be embarrassing errors.

If you developed a site that exists simultaneously in different formatted versions — flash/HTML, frame/non-frame — then, depending on the browser, you must test every version with every browser and with all of the possible option settings.

CONTINUAL QUALITY ASSURANCE

Once your site is live and you have customers, dont drop your QA Plan, it is just as important now. With frenetic deadlines and constantly changing requirements, it is very easy to ignore the basics of quality assurance. An active, dynamic site means your web pages will be in a continual state of change. That means that, in all probability, the pages will be revised by different people; those people will bring their own individual coding quirks , which can and will introduce HTML and other coding errors (although I am sure all will try to follow the HTML on the templates).

If your website is currently operational but was brought to the Web without a QA Plan, gather your entire staff together (including consultants ) and discuss ad hoc processes and standards that you currently have in use. In these discussions find out what causes the most problems on the site. This will give you the basis upon which to set up a QA Plan to address those issues as well as HTML and other coding guidelines. It generally is not practical to try to update your older content to adhere to the new QA Plan, but do initiate the QA Plan for all new content.

Listen to Your Customers

Listen when you are told that a customer has problems with your website. When someone takes the time to report a problem, pay attention. For every person who took the time to inform you about the problem, there are probably about a thousand others who didnt — remember competition is just a click away. Be diligent, pay attention and you will be one step ahead of most websites when it comes to neutralizing the little annoyances. After all, are you building your website to drive customer traffic to your competitors or to enhance your bottom line?

Buy on amazon.com >>

Reynolds J., Mofazali R

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