Ready to dive into the world of eCommerce and create a top-notch online shopping experience for your customers? Well, hold on just a minute! Before you launch your website, you need to make sure it’s seamless, speedy, and error-free. Because let’s face it, nothing kills the buzz of online shopping like a website that’s slow to load or glitchy. And with so many options available to consumers, you need to make sure your website is engaging and captivating from the get-go. Did you know that a one-second delay in page response time can lead to a whopping 7% reduction in conversions? But fear not, with comprehensive testing, you can ensure that your eCommerce site is a top-performer that keeps customers coming back for more.
Comprehensive testing is essential for ensuring a seamless and successful eCommerce website that converts visitors to buyers. Testing an eCommerce website involves checking the website’s core features, functionalities, user interface, and user experience to ensure that everything works perfectly at all stages of the purchasing process. This article will outline the major sections of an eCommerce website and what kind of errors one should correct to ensure an excellent user experience, customer satisfaction, and conversion rates.
Key Sections to Test When Conducting eCommerce Website Testing.
1. Home Page
The heart of a shopping website is its Home Page. If the homepage is not appealing or not working at its best you may lose potential customers right there!
Normally on every eCommerce website homepage, we will have a hero image which is a large banner image seen at the top of the homepage. It is the visitor’s first glimpse of your brand or what you offer. Hence, it is crucial to ensure that correct and appropriate texts and images are displayed on the banner image section. The same is also true for the rest of the homepage, whether static or dynamic. Links to vital pages, e.g. catalog, account login, shopping cart etc, should also be visible and flawless.
2. Searching & Navigation
Users should be able to search for relevant terms and navigate to the exact page they are looking for. They should also be able to navigate to important sections (product categories, shopping cart, account information, etc.) with just a few clicks. To ensure this you should test for bugs that may prevent a smooth experience.
3. Product Description/Details Page
Once a visitor finds a product they are searching for, they should be directed to the product info page right away. Once your target audiences land on this page, they’ll decide whether to proceed further to the checkout page or not. Thus, it’s essential to ensure that the product details page is uber cool, engaging and attractive enough to lure in the visitor and make him finish the buying process.
For starters, the product images should be of high resolution and display the product in the best light possible. The image should be easily expandable and the ‘Add to Cart’ option should be seamlessly responsive. Remember, adding videos always gives a better idea about the look and feel of products.
To make your website further appealing, keep an eye on elements like price of products, product description, product specs, shipping info, various color or other variations options, etc.
Breadcrumb navigation is another important factor. Don’t forget to include reviews and testimonials to further push your visitors towards taking the final shot. When they see reviews from past and existing customers, who have found your product helpful, they’ll be more convinced to bring it home. Lastly, make sure to include essential details like check-out and delivery options, in-stock/Out of stock status etc. According to Econsultancy, 61% of customers read online reviews before making a purchase.
4. Shopping Cart
Your shopping cart is the second last stage of the buying journey. Significantly it is the stage right after which the buyer commits to the purchase.
When testing the shopping cart, it’s essential to test whether processes like adding products to the cart and carrying on with further shopping are running smoothly. Moreover, when a buyer adds multiple numbers of the same item to the cart, the rise in the item count along with that of the price should be clearly displayed in the shopping cart. Your eCommerce site should also allow buyers to add or delete products even after putting them in the cart.
The shopper is expected to head to the checkout/payment page from here. To make things simpler for your customers, make sure to display shipping costs with diverse shipping options along with taxes to their specific location. According to the Corporate Executive Board (CEB), 20% increase in simplicity results in a 96% increase in customer loyalty, 86% increase in the likelihood of purchasing, and 115% increase in the likelihood of recommending.
Other than this, the visitors should be able to take out items from the cart even right before the checkout and close the site without checking out and should be able to return later. The website should nevertheless maintain the items in the cart.
Finally, check that the “Proceed to checkout” process is working fine and the “Apply Coupons” part can be handled without hassle.
5. Checkout or Payment page
This is where your audiences will finally make the purchase. The final checkout or payment page is one of the most crucial aspects of your eCommerce site. Hence it needs to be thoroughly tested. The users might abandon the carts if they get stuck at this stage – this is something that should be avoided by any means.
To start with, ensure that you provide different payment options so that your users always have the ease to complete the payment, the way they want. If you are permitting “Guest check out,” ensure that the purchase is getting completed and try to offer a choice to register for an account towards the end.
Security checks are performed at this step. The test includes several variables including Debit/credit card details, allowing customers to pay in installments, generating order confirmations and receipts, etc.
6. Post-order tests
The customer should be allowed to cancel, change, track, and return their order.
7. Social Media Integration
Social media is a vital cog that determines the success of your eCommerce app or site. To leverage it fully, you need to ensure that social media integration is completely aligned with website architecture and workflow. Your eCommerce website testing is an ideal way to test social media workflow and functionality. According to Conversionista, social media drives 31.24 % of referral traffic to websites. Conversion rates increase when your goals and your users’ goals meet.
Industry experts typically recommend ten highly effective tests for an eCommerce website
A recommended list of test types to consider during the planning phase of an eCommerce project, is listed in detail in another blog section by Mozanta. (Link)
It is important to note that testing an eCommerce website requires a comprehensive approach that takes into account the functionality, usability, performance, security, and compatibility of the platform. By testing all of these aspects, eCommerce businesses can ensure that their website provides the ultimate user experience and also that customer data is protected.
Common Bugs in eCommerce Website Testing
A crucial element of website testing is bug identification. Testers must have a thorough understanding of the common bugs that can arise and affect eCommerce websites, in order to detect and fix them, ensuring optimal website performance and a positive user experience.
Some of the typical bugs that testers keep an eye out for when testing eCommerce sites are:
- Broken Links: Broken links can occur due to changes in website URLs or pages, leading to 404 errors. This can lead to a negative user experience and loss of trust in the website.
- Checkout Process Bugs: The checkout process is a critical aspect of eCommerce websites. Bugs in the checkout process, such as not being able to add products to the cart, incorrect pricing or shipping calculations, and problems with payment gateways, can lead to users abandoning their carts and not completing the purchase.
- Product Catalog Bugs: Bugs in the product catalog, such as incorrect pricing or product descriptions, missing images, or broken links can lead to confusion and negative user experience.
- Mobile Responsiveness Bugs: 65% of consumers begin their buying journey on their mobile phones. This highlights the importance of having a mobile-friendly site (Source Yotpo).
With this phenomenal increase in mobile-phone shoppers, eCommerce websites must be extremely mobile-friendly. Bugs in mobile responsiveness, such as not being able to access certain features, or difficulties in navigating the site, can lead to poor user experience and lost sales. - Performance Bugs: Slower page load times, prolonged server response times, and poor performance under heavy traffic can also frustrate the user and lead to loss of trust in the website.
- Security Bugs: This is a critical aspect of eCommerce websites. Bugs in security, such as vulnerabilities in login or payment processes, can lead to hacking, fraud, and theft of user data.
- Compatibility Bugs: Bugs in compatibility with different devices, platforms, and web browsers can lead to inconsistencies in website functionality and formatting, along with poor user experience.
Mozanta has extensive experience in providing comprehensive testing services to numerous eCommerce firms. With their expertise in this field, they have helped their clients achieve high levels of quality and customer satisfaction. Mozanta is well-equipped to help eCommerce firms deliver a seamless user experience, improve their website’s performance, and ensure their systems are secure from potential threats.
