After months of talk, and development your software or website is finished. Amazing work everyone let’s go live. Not so fast. We need to test the site. There is nothing that puts a manager or executive in a worse mood than to discover something supposedly completed is not really complete at all. Enter website testing tools to the rescue.
The truth is that in the long run you stand only to benefit from these tools. They will stress your site out and see if it breaks. Then if it does break you can swoop in and solve the problem. It’s a win win.
These are tools that will help your site functionality, security, usability compatibility, all the “it’s” actually. For the sake of this list, we are going to keep it at the free tools because free is fun.
Free Website Testing Tools:
Soap UI
This Java-based tools is free and open sourced. It works across different platforms and is used to test service-oriented architectures (SOA) and representational state transfers (REST). It tests your API and helps to perform functional/regression and load testing.
GTMetrix
If your site takes more than 3-4 seconds to load most users are out of there. This tool can address the cause of a site-wide slowdown. Simply create an account and add some pages so that you can get monthly speed reports. The tool identifies script CSS and Image errors so they have got you covered.
UXPunk
Which is as good a name for a website testing tool as it is a professional wrestler, is a card sorting app. With a permanent free version that will help you to create different menus and categories thereby making your site easier to use and more friendly to visitors.Improve Usability While Lowering Support Costs and Incoming Helpdesk Requests
Improve Usability While Lowering Support Costs and Incoming Helpdesk Requests
Google Content Experiments
This one is for landing pages. Use it to set up an analytics-enabled website and test up to 5 versions at once. Happy Converting!
iPerceptions
Survey your users by inviting them at the beginning of their visit to take a small survey at the end. That will bring a lot of valuable information directly from your users.
BroweserShots
No I am not only choosing website testing tools with cool names. This one will show you how your website functions on different browsers. This can be invaluable when you want to test accessibility.
Zurb
This is a multiple tool provider. Use Spur to test your design. Clue will let you know what people remember about your site. And Axe will show you what designs are some of the worst.
Web application performance tools like the above are used to test websites and apps. They are sort of like a car safety test for your website. Some website testing tools will look for errors. Some will simulate extreme circumstances in order to see if the site can hold up under the stress. In any case they are a necessary and important link in the chain between the creation of a website and the amazing and beautiful day when you finally plug in and go live.