e-Commerce Testing: How to Test an e-Commerce Website?


I guess you won't find someone who hasn't shopped online in today's world. E-commerce/Retail is a type of business that relies on internet clients to succeed. There are numerous advantages to shopping in person versus purchasing online. Convenience, time savings, and quick access to products all around the world, for example.

Its success hinges on a competent E-commerce/Retail site. It has to be a worthy match for the storefront. Because when you go shopping in a physical store, you've already committed to coming in and giving the brand a chance.

There are numerous options available on the internet. As a result, unless the user is engaged from the start, the user may abandon the site.

The higher the quality of the website, the better the business.

Because the program is responsible for so much, it is vital that it be thoroughly tested.

What is Ecommerce Testing and How Does It Work?

e-Commerce testing is the process of putting an e-Commerce (online shopping) application through its paces. It aids in the prevention of errors and provides value to the product by ensuring that it meets the needs of the client.

The goal of testing is to check that

  • The dependability of software
  • Quality of software
  • Assurance of the System
  • Maximum capacity usage and performance

Setting up an e-Commerce system is a complicated process that is influenced by a variety of market-specific factors. Testing is now required to preserve the integrity of the E-Commerce system.

E-commerce applications/sites can also be web or mobile applications. As a result, they are subjected to all of the standard tests.

  • Functional Testing
  • Usability Testing
  • Security Testing
  • Performance Testing
  • Database Testing
  • Mobile Application Testing
  • A/B testing.

Retail sites, on the other hand, are quite dynamic. There are fresh promotions, new products, new bestsellers, and sales, among other things. This indicates that the site isn't static for long periods of time. As a result, many people may find it overwhelming.

Checklist for E-Commerce Testing

Important components and test cases for e-Commerce website testing are described below.

Homepage - Best Image

The homepages of retail websites are crowded. They have a lot on their plate. However, nearly all of them have a Hero Image −

This is the type of clickable image (sort of a slideshow) that takes up the majority of the page.

Here are a few things to look into −

  • Is it going to scroll automatically?

  • If so, how frequently will the image be refreshed?

  • Is it still going to the next one when the user hovers over it?

  • Is it possible to hover over it?

  • Is it possible to click on it?

  • If so, is it directing you to the correct page and deal?

  • Is it loading at the same time as the rest of the page or does it load last in relation to the other elements?

  • Is it possible to see the rest of the content?

  • Does it look the same in different browsers and at different screen sizes?

Perform a search

Because we can't always put what customers want to see directly in front of their eyes, search algorithms are critical to the success of a retail site.

The following are few examples of some tests −

  • Search for a product by its name, brand name, or, more generally, by category. For example, a Canon EOS 700D camera, electronics, and so on.

  • Relevant search results are required.

  • Various sorting options must be offered, including Brand, Price, and Reviews/Ratings, among others.

  • How many results per page should be shown?

  • Are there any options for navigating to multi-page results?

  • In addition, searching takes done in a variety of locations. When validating this functionality, please consider the search drilling down into various levels.

Product Information Page

The user will be brought to the product information page after finding a product through search, browsing, or clicking on it from the homepage.

Check the following −

  • The product's image or images
  • The product's cost
  • Specifications for the product
  • Reviews
  • Consider your alternatives.
  • Options for delivery
  • Information on shipping
  • Availability (in-stock/out-of-stock)
  • Options for multiple colors or variations
  • The categories' breadcrumb navigation (highlighted in Red below). If such a type of navigation is used, make sure that each element works properly.

Shopping Cart

This is the final stage before the user makes a purchasing decision.

Perform the following tests −

  • Continue shopping after adding goods to the cart.
  • If the user continues to shop while adding the same item to the cart, the item count in the shopping cart should be incremented.

  • In the cart, all goods and their totals should be visible.

  • Location-based taxes should be applied.

  • When a consumer adds new goods to their cart, the total should remain the same.

  • Update the contents of the cart; the total should also reflect this.

  • Remove the products from the shopping cart.

  • Proceed to the payment page.

  • Calculate the cost of shipping using various shipping methods

  • Make use of coupons

  • Don't check out; instead, close the site and return later. The products in the cart should be kept on the site.

Payments

Examine several payment choices.

  • If you're enabling guests to check out, just finish the transaction and give them the opportunity to register at the end.

  • Customers who come back - Check out by logging in.

  • User registration

  • If you're storing a customer's credit card or other financial information, make sure it's safe by performing security testing. (Compliance with the PCI DSS is required.)

  • Make sure the session hasn't run out if the user has been signed up for a long time. Every website has its own threshold. It might take up to ten minutes for a few. It could be different for some.

  • Confirmation emails/text messages with the order number generated

Other Tests

  • Related or Recommended Products/Categories/Featured Products

  • After You've Placed Your Order
  • Login
  • FAQs
  • Contact Us page
  • Customer Service page etc.

E-commerce Website Automation Challenges

To be on the cutting edge and offer the desired outcomes to your clients, you must focus on the quality and functionality of your E-commerce website while reducing the timeline as much as feasible.

In general, Automation Testing begins with the selection of the appropriate test automation framework, which has a direct impact on the test automation project's outcome. Test scripts and scenarios for various automated processes must be included in the framework.

The testers can quickly conduct the tests and acquire appropriate results by generating test reports using the framework. However, choosing the correct tool to automate E-commerce might be difficult. The success of a website is determined by a number of important factors. It's critical to assess various tools based on essential criteria such as functionality, performance, extensibility, licensing costs, maintenance costs, and training and support.

To automate more testing efforts without investing additional dollars, you must make use of several open-source test automation solutions.

  • Because the nature of e-commerce websites is so complex, automating each operation is impossible because we can't predict the customer's behavior.

  • E-commerce expectations are constantly changing. To keep track of the effects of change, run regression test suits every day.

  • Always use Automated Integration scenarios, which should cover everything from picking a link on the main page through checkout and payment gateway pages. By automating the regression cycle, you can at least cover the maximum user experience with your E-commerce Website, allowing for adequate testing.

  • Don't waste time automating an unreliable program. A minor alteration will have an impact on all of your test suits, and you will have to reconstruct them.

  • E-commerce Home Page The importance of a website is that it contains a wealth of information and 1000s of links related to each product, and these links continue to develop every day as new deals or products are added to a page. So, before moving on to regression testing, it's a good idea to double-check each link on the website using the HTTP status code.

  • When you're simultaneously running test scripts in two different browsers. When a product is added to or deleted from a shopping cart, the information should be mirrored in other browsers as well.

  • When performing tests in parallel, your script will definitely fail. In this case, you will need to refresh your page on a regular basis to save your card information. You may encounter this scenario in real-time, where a consumer uses both a mobile e-commerce app and a mobile e-commerce web application.

  • Don't forget to double-check each product's specifications and pricing, whether there are ten or a thousand, to ensure that they meet the seller's requirements. This is the stage where you may make or break a customer; even a minor blunder might result in a significant loss.

  • Create a lot of interrupted scenarios that users commonly encounter, and make your script very strong so that it can handle them while still running and passing the script.

For example, suppose you entered all of your card information and then hit submit, but the application became stuck due to a low charge or a network difficulty. You should validate this email or message in a test script if a user is updated about his transaction progress via email and message to the phone.

Updated on: 17-Aug-2021

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