The Importance of QA in Web Design

What is Quality Assurance?

Quality Assurance (QA) testing is a crucial process that ensures the functionality, performance, and usability of a website before it goes live. It involves systematically checking every aspect of a webpage to identify and rectify any defects or issues that could negatively impact the user experience.

How does Noodlesoup apply Quality Assurance with their clients?

At Noodlesoup, to perform Quality Assurance on our clients' websites, we use a checklist where certain parameters must be ensured within the webpage. These parameters include:

1. Functionality

2. Usability

3. Accessibility

4. Performance

It's important to note that these parameters are the main ones to consider when conducting quality control tests (QA testing). Therefore, they will help you test any type of website you are working on, whether it's an e-commerce site, a service site, a blog, or a news portal.

 Note: Even if one is not an expert in the field, any member of your team can perform Quality Assurance for a website, because we can all notice the errors it might have. In short, some may see errors that you don't.

To make sure these parameters are being fulfilled, we ask ourselves a set of questions:

Functionality:

 Do all the features of the website work as expected?

When we work on a client's website, we start studying it from the wireframing stage. Consider scenarios like adding a CTA that directs users to a third-party app calendar to schedule a video conference appointment. If it's a good idea, we make sure this function works as intended once the prototype is ready.

Can all the elements on the website be found easily?

It mainly focuses on ensuring that users can easily find the sections of the page. For example, if the website has a services section, it should provide detailed information. It should also allow users to fill out a contact form or subscribe to a newsletter if the page offers these features. An e-commerce site should allow users to select their favorite products or services and then view them in a separate section of the page.

Does the website load quickly without errors?

This parameter is closely related to performance because when conducting quality control for a website, it should load within 1-4 seconds, according to Portent, to ensure that the user stays on the site.

Regarding errors, ensuring that the page looks good, meaning there are no errors in the text, that multimedia files appear correctly, etc.

Does the website function across different browsers and devices?

When working on our client's webpages, we place a significant emphasis on responsive design because we understand that currently, users consume information through their mobiles.

We always take the time to ensure that the page looks good and loads quickly on these devices. According to Google, a page load time of 10 seconds on a mobile device increases the bounce rate by 123% compared to a load time of 1 second. To achieve our goal, we seek references to understand what works and what doesn't in terms of typography, elements, animations, multimedia, etc.

Usability:

Is the website easy to use and navigate?

This point is of utmost importance, and we'll illustrate it with an example: When we visit Airbnb, we expect to find: What are the destinations? How can we make a reservation? The dates we want to book, the number of people going.

Some pages have a lot of advertising or pop-up windows that degrade the browsing experience and limit your ability to consume content. That's why good navigation is key. It allows visitors to quickly find the information they're seeking, increasing user satisfaction and the likelihood they'll stay on the site longer. Airbnb nails this perfectly.

It's crucial that users can easily find all the important information on the website. Clear and simple navigation reduces user frustration and boosts the chances of them coming back later.

Is the website design clear and attractive?

Remember this: Less is more. We always prioritize website design elements that add value to the parameters mentioned earlier: usability and functionality, meaning it should be minimalist. 

Some experiences we've had can serve as examples: 

• We removed an animation that, despite being eye-catching, wasn't adding anything to the website.

  
  

• We also ensure that users don't spend too much time scrolling to find the information they need and ensure that page elements don't distract them from their focus.

Regarding attractiveness, being on a website with disproportionate content or lacking a clear visual hierarchy can overwhelm you, prompting you to leave. Conversely, when you're on an attractive website, it instills confidence and gives you the impression of valuable information, encouraging you to stay.

Is the website well-written and easy to understand?

Taking care of the writing on your website helps effectively convey the message and prevents misunderstandings that could arise from grammatical or punctuation errors. Additionally, it reflects professionalism, which builds trust with users and enhances their perception of the content quality and the site overall. To achieve this, we rely on our content team to ensure the information is well-written. 

The website also needs to be easy to understand, meaning that if we're addressing an audience from another part of the world, the words used should align with their vocabulary, and the tone should match what the website aims to convey.

Are the Call to Actions (CTAs) clear and visible?

CTAs are crucial because if the website is about a service, ideally all users should be able to request that service quickly and efficiently. As experts in design and development, we ensure that users can click and get what they need in different sections. Most of the time, we place the CTA in the hero section, as it is 99% effective. 

The CTA should never go unnoticed by the user. That's why we use the rules color combination to create a good color palette. For example, if a brand's colors are green, blue, and black, we apply a proportion of 60-30-10, ensuring that the color assigned to the 10% is used in the CTA.

Accessibility:

Is the website accessible to people with disabilities?

We pay close attention to the target audience; for example, if they are individuals over 55 years old, they may have visual difficulties. Therefore, we ensure that the elements and colors of the website are more legible to accommodate their needs.

Does the website have alternative text for images?

This is related to the performance parameter. When an image fails to load for any reason, we often see there's alternative text provided, giving the user an idea of what might appear when the image is loaded or, if there's a connection issue, letting them know what to expect.

Can the website be navigated using a keyboard?

Some individuals may have difficulty using a mouse due to physical disabilities or motor limitations and rely on the keyboard or other assistive tools to navigate the web. 

We always ensure that our websites can be navigated using the mouse or keyboard. This way, we guarantee that users can access all content and functionality effectively.

Performance:

Is the website fast?

While working for a client, we noticed that the homepage took a long time to load. To address this issue, we reduced the file size of the images and replaced videos with static images that conveyed the essence of the page. Additionally, we ensured that the images loaded quickly.

Keep in mind that a website that loads faster has a greater chance of ranking higher in search results, for boosting its visibility, and driving more organic traffic.

Are there elements that are optimized?

Performance optimization helps retain users by providing a smooth and uninterrupted experience, increasing the chances of them coming back in the future. A great example would be when:

You're reading an online blog, and every time you try to scroll down to continue reading, the content takes several seconds to load, interrupting the reading process. But if the blog is well-optimized and the content loads quickly, you can read smoothly and enjoy a more pleasant experience.

 Is the website hosted on a reliable hosting server?

Choosing a good hosting server plays a crucial role in this parameter. A good hosting server offers higher speed and faster loading times for your website. Your website will be available to visitors, which is essential for business continuity and your brand's reputation.

Furthermore, a hosting server typically has more robust security measures to protect your website and user data. This includes firewalls, SSL encryption, and other advanced security measures that help prevent cyber attacks, intrusions, and data theft.

Conclusion: Why should you conduct Quality Assurance on your web pages?

Improves quality: We can identify and correct errors and potential issues before the website goes public.

Time and money savings: Identifying and fixing these problems allows us to save time and money because otherwise, we would have to spend resources addressing these issues after the website has been launched.

Ensures consistency: The Q&A checklist can help ensure that all website pages meet the same quality standards. This helps create a more consistent user experience.

Enhances communication: A clear list of requirements allows all project stakeholders to work together to ensure compliance.

Increases trust: A well-designed website with clear navigation and accurate information builds trust with users, demonstrating the website's reliability. 

Our final recommendation is that Quality Assurance should not be solely the responsibility of the person conducting the development process. If there's a team working on the same project, everyone should be involved to ensure the product is efficient and meets the objectives.