UI Testing as a Part of the Product Development Cycle

Featured article by Hillary Walker, Independent Technology Author

No site development is considered complete without UI regression testing. Checking if the page layout is accurately matching the original mock-up is not so easy, because you need to check every element, image, and header. Moreover, testing of mobile and tablet versions requires even more attention.

In order for the actual design to be as close as possible to what was previously approved in the technical specification, a QA specialist needs to have a critical eye. As an alternative solution, you can always run automated website testing by using a special tool that analyses page design and content changes.

The Process of UI Regression Testing

Although design requirements may vary from project to project, the checklist for UI regression testing remains almost the same. It covers the following criteria:

1. Fonts;
2. Colors – The website color scheme is to be compliant with the brandbook standards – fonts, icons, lines, buttons, the background of various blocks, and navigation bars are to be tested;
3. Title (h1) – It should stand out from the text; at least, it should be increased in size and be unique for each page;
4. References – Make sure that the hyperlinks on the website are different from the main text. When hovering the mouse, there should also be a change in the anchor text color;
5. Lists – UI testing also involves formatting of bulleted and numbered content lists;
6. Paragraphs and indents – The distance between any elements on the page greatly influences the impressions that the user gets when interacting with your content and the website as a whole. That is why the distance between paragraphs, lists, and paragraphs, headings and paragraphs, indents of block elements should be checked;
7. Tables – In case any information should be represented in the form of a table in the website, following the overall brand design standards should be tested;
8. Location – It may be that one of the blocks on the page is not centered or vice versa, which mismatches the original design.

All these elements are to be checked during UI testing. Taking into account the number of aspects, this type of testing is very time consuming and requires special attention to details. To be 100% sure that your website page layout meets original website designs without spending too much time on it, we recommend you using a dedicated testing software. Thus, you will be the first to know about any UI problems and will assure top-level customer experience.

Conclusion

There is always something to check on the website. For example, testing the load speed of the website, its usability, the correspondence of meta tags and a title to a proper tone of voice will add value to the project. For this type of testing, you need to hire a competent QA specialist or just use the services of Diffy to cope with the task.