A responsive web design is essential as more users switch to mobile phones to browse websites and use applications.
What Is a Responsive Web Design?
Simply put, a responsive web design accommodates any website or application to any screen size or device. In essence, it eliminates the need to create multiple versions of apps for various devices.
According to Statista, US mobile eCommerce sales will reach $710 billion by 2025. In fact, as of November 2022, mobile phones accommodated 60.28% of web traffic. Organizations that understand the significance of mobile phones are investing in responsive web design (RWD). Enterprises are also adopting a "mobile-first" strategy for their product development initiatives.
Here are some of the business benefits of adopting a responsive design:
- Cost efficiency
- Improved user experience
- Easier and faster to make any changes
- Improved SEO score
- Easy app or website management
To implement a responsive design, product companies need a clear responsive mobile web testing strategy.
Best Strategies for Responsive Mobile Web Testing
With responsive mobile web testing, product companies can ensure the consistency of their web content and UI elements across all devices, screen sizes, and browsers. An effective strategy for mobile testing is necessary for test coverage. It can also increase the efficiency of parallel testing.
It's noteworthy that user environments are constantly changing due to the following reasons:
- Changing screen sizes of mobile phones and other devices
- Constant changes in network environments
- Website pop-ups and other interruptions
These reasons (and more) can easily impact mobile user experience. For the best strategy, organizations must first analyze how mobile users are using their apps or websites. For example, what is the typical screen resolution and size of devices used to interact with apps? Based on this information, organizations can work on a testing strategy that includes the following five mobile testing techniques:
1. Functional Mobile Testing
This testing approach evaluates the functional elements of any app or website by answering questions like:
- Does the app function according to the pre-defined requirements?
- Does all content, including videos and images, appear as expected on all mobile devices and browsers?
Here are some of the important considerations for effective functional testing of mobile apps:
- Application installation and initiation
- User sign-up and login process
- Functioning of UI elements, including text boxes, buttons, menus, and icons
- Push notifications
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2. Visual UI Testing
For mobile apps, visual testing is the most precise and quickest technique to test UI elements. A visual testing strategy can address important questions, including the following:
- Are the app navigation and UI elements “intuitive” when presented on mobile devices?
- How are the visual changes monitored and reviewed?
Through visual UI testing, QA teams can check if a UI element provides the desired value through various properties. Some of the properties include color, position, and frame.
3. Usability testing
Usability testing helps determine the ease of use of a website. In essence, this form of testing is performed to check:
- If fonts are legible or consume too much space on the mobile device
- The proper use of UI elements like buttons, boxes, and color panels in conveying information and user instructions
- Corporate or brand messaging through the use of the company’s logo, appropriate colors, and the company’s brand statement
For mobile apps, usability testing involves testing the application with actual users. As a result, it helps companies assess the difficulty level of the user's navigation and support their key marketing message.
4. Performance Testing
Be it any mobile app or website, high speed and performance are crucial to attracting and retaining customers. Performance testing on any mobile phone or device comprises of measuring the following three elements:
- Device performance: Device performance is about measuring the start-up time of any app, battery consumption (when using an app), and memory usage.
- Server performance: Server performance includes critical factors like server response time, number of API calls, and server downtime.
- Network performance: This comprises the app performance on different networks and network configurations. Performance testing on networks includes checking for any data delays, packet losses, and mobile network speeds on 2G, 3G, and 4G networks.
5. Cross-Browser Testing
Also referred to as browser testing, cross-browser testing encompasses objectives like:
- Comparing and analyzing websites & mobile apps across various browser environments.
- Checking if the web application, website, or even a single web page functions as expected for users across many browsers and devices.
Through cross-browser testing, organizations can check the overall functionality of their website or mobile app. Using automated cross-browser testing, product companies can access multiple devices for testing their mobile apps or websites.
How can test automation augment a responsive web testing strategy? Let's discuss that next.
How Test Automation Can Augment Responsive Mobile Web Testing
Here are some benefits of test automation for responsive mobile web testing:
- Complements both continuous testing and Agile practices
- Ensures proper cost management
- Faster and 24/7 web testing, thus improving time management
- Improved test coverage, thus delivering high-quality apps
- Real-time reviews that lead to improved collaboration between development and QA teams
- Seamless scalability based on testing requirements
- Better cost efficiency thanks to automation and reusable test scripts
There are multiple test automation tools and frameworks used for mobile application testing on Android and iOS devices. To that end, here are some considerations for choosing the best test automation tool:
- How easy (or difficult) is it to learn about the test automation tool or framework?
- Does the automation tool or framework cover all mobile testing requirements?
- How cost-effective is it to implement mobile test automation in your company?
Why ACCELQ Is the Best Choice for Responsive Web Testing
With its cloud-powered codeless test automation platform, ACCELQ offers the best solution to perform mobile test automation on various mobile devices and platforms. Here are some reasons why you should consider the ACCELQ platform:
- Support for multiple mobile app development frameworks, including Apache Cordova, React, Android, and Apple iOS
- Zero setups and coding required for creating a mobile test automation environment
- Use of AI technology to identify mobile elements
- Codeless test automation designed to manage real-life complexities
- Expertise in different types of mobile app testing, including functional, performance, and visual testing
Are you looking for the right responsive web testing strategy for your mobile applications? Our team of consultants can guide you with the right recommendations. Reach out to us for a personalized product demo today.
GEOSLEY ANDRADES
Director, Product Evangelist at ACCELQ.
Being a Test Automation enthusiast, Geosley helps provide ACCELQ with innovative solutions to transform test automation to be simpler, more reliable, and sustainable for the real world. As a passionate Community Builder, Geosley drives Q Community – A Global Community of Test Automation enthusiasts, empowering testers to embrace Test Automation and helping them solve real-life complex testing challenges.
