The proliferation of tablets and smartphones has led to extensive mobile web testing. Businesses don’t want to leave any stones unturned while trying to convert mobile users into loyal customers. As the sophistication in mobile technology increases, so do the expectations of customers regarding their experience.
This makes optimizing a mobile website more crucial than ever. The potential of a website doesn’t matter if the execution is poor. Before releasing a website to the public, it’s vital that you determine the quality of the user experience. This is where mobile web testing comes into the picture. Thanks to the wide variety of operating systems, versions, network dependencies, screen sizes, and resolutions, there are many factors capable of causing an impact on testing.
Many business owners are unable to separate fact from fiction. They waste precious resources working on a dead-end strategy and lose customers along the way. The reason is that they believe the rampant list of myths that kills user experience. So, to address this issue we have created a list of 7 myths about mobile web testing you should never believe. Let’s dive into the details.
It’s enough to test on simulators and emulators
Don’t get me wrong. No one is denying the importance of simulators and emulators for mobile web testing. But you should know that they are not sufficient to offer valuable information for the long haul. Since they don’t comprise any hardware whatsoever, it’s extremely tough to get the bigger picture as far as performance on different models of a device is concerned. Moreover, developers will also find it harder to get an idea of how a site will perform with various chipsets.
Both Android and iOS emulators are there to mimic the functionalities of devices. In other words, all they are are software programs incapable of testing external conditions. Some of these conditions include the visibility of mobile screen outdoors, overheating, battery drainage, and so on.
But that doesn’t mean you completely shut the doors on emulators and simulators. They can be more useful than you think in the initial phases of testing and development. But it’s important to realize that they are only a part of the mobile web testing process, not the entire process. The bottom line, it’s important to test across real devices to ensure your seamless working of websites on mobile devices. One way is to test the mobile website on a real device cloud.
Features are not as important as the looks
Whoever said that the first impression is the last impression obviously didn’t take into account the entire user experience on mobile devices. While first impressions are important to an extent, no one likes anything pretty and pointless. An ideal mobile website is a tactful blend of ease-of-use and visual appeal. Nothing you ever do should compromise the core functionalities of a site. Design is just one aspect of your website you should be focusing your tests on. But it shouldn’t be at the cost of important features that determine the fate of your business.
If it comes down to a beautiful design with compromised features and a minimalistic design with smooth functionality, you should always choose the latter. Always remember that the back button is very easy to reach. Once a user clicks on it due to the lack of website functionality, more often than not, they would never return.
Testing comes after development is over
Do we still rub two stones to make fire? If not, why should we follow a concept that is as old as a historic arcade building? In the olden days, testing always used to come after development. But in today’s world, the software development and testing life cycles have evolved and old isn’t gold. The time has come when we value practicality over rigidity.
Therefore, in the new IT world, testing and development go hand in hand. By incorporating testing during development, you give quality assessment teams a chance to identify and report errors sooner. This facilitates quicker fixing of bugs. Those who eliminate testing in the development phase extend the entire development testing cycle. In the long run, it results in higher costs and slows down the time to market.
One device type is sufficient to test
Whether we’re talking about iOS or Android, both markets are super diverse. Testers have to consider OEMs, chipsets, resolutions, screen size, and other vital factors. Building on that, the biggest myth a tester can ever get caught up in that it’s enough to test on some popular Android and iOS devices. But the truth is that the behavior of a website can differ according to the OS version.
The best-case scenario would be to test on every device ever manufactured. Of course, that’s not affordable. But you should try using as many devices as possible. A good start would be to select devices with the highest popularity among your target audience. You can choose these by tracking user behavior and finding out the kind of devices are using. While you can’t necessarily test on every single device, testing on the most used ones will ensure greater user satisfaction. The aim here is maximum market coverage instead of a hundred percent perfection. Alternatively you can try LT Browser for Mobile View Testing and Debugging on 45+ Device Resolutions.
Device management and in-house infrastructure are easy
Having an in-house infrastructure helps companies in organizing the testing process. Since everything is under one roof, it’s easier to keep tabs. But what most firms tend to ignore are the management and maintenance charges. There is a chance that you might end up depleting significant monetary resources and time for creating an unsatisfactory web product. So, why not use those precious resources elsewhere?
It takes more time and money than you can imagine managing tons of devices. Not to mention, you have to update them with the latest operating system. This makes cloud solutions for simulators, emulators, and real devices viable. Since the responsibility to update devices to the recent OS is on the cloud vendor, you can focus on the progress of the company. Moreover, this is a highly scalable solution.
Everyone uses high-speed internet
There is nothing more irritating than slow internet. But not everyone is fortunate enough to be hooked to a 4G all the time. Did you know that when users enter a dead zone the network usually drops to 3G? Public Wi-Fi is also don’t offer high-speed internet all the time. Now that different tiered data plans are in place, internet users switch to a public connection as often as they can. The conclusion here is that not all users have access to high-speed internet 24/7. So, if you aren’t performing mobile web testing on slower connections, you are losing a valuable customer base.
No one uses outdated smartphones anymore
The key rule to being frugal is that if it’s not broken, it doesn’t need fixing. The second rule is that if it’s broken, it can be fixed. All in all, not everyone replaces their smartphone every other year. Skyrocketing inflation causes users to maintain their current devices for a longer time and getting them fixed in case something is wrong. That’s why you should never consider old devices outdated. ‘No one uses it anymore’ is one of the biggest myths. Therefore, don’t rule out devices to test on. There might be more users for those than you think!
Final words
The one thing we can all agree on is that every action should generate a positive impact on your business. Everyone realizes that an optimal mobile experience is crucial to gain more customers. But as long as you are caught up in these myths, your business can never bloom to its full potential.
According to Statista, the third quarter of the year 2020 accounts for 50.81% of website traffic from mobile devices all over the world. That’s right! There is a burning need to bust these myths for the sake of progress. Moreover, from these statistics, you know what portion of the population you would be disappointing if you don’t provide users with a killer mobile browsing experience.
Mobile web testing is an intricate process. But it’s not as complicated as one might imagine. Even if a wide variety of factors impact testing strategies, you can stay a few steps ahead by not paying heed to the above myths. Always remember, the growth of your business is too precious to be sabotaged by pointless misconceptions!
