Nick JonasEarlier, it was an optional feature to have a mobile-friendly website. However, the current industry has changed a lot and massively favors mobile friendly websites. As a reference, we can look at a survey which proves that almost 55% of the total internet traffic comes from mobile devices. In such an environment, a mobile site tester will have a massive role in the overall testing process for apps.
This is because the mobile site tester will be responsible for ensuring that the website is optimized for mobiles, better user experience, and search engine rankings. However, without the inclusion of the right tools, it can be a very complex process to implement mobile compatibility testing across different devices and platforms.
With this article, we will find out the importance of mobile site testing and also understand different tools available that can assist the testers with this process. Based on our analysis, we will try to find the right tools depending on the changing requirements of the testers.
Analyzing the Importance of Mobile Site Testing
We are all aware of the fact that mobile site testing involves evaluating how will a website perform on various mobile devices. These devices will include tablets and smartphones. It also involves the process of verifying the responsiveness, performance, functionality, and user experience across different resolutions, screen sizes, and operating systems.
Let us now understand some of the most important parameters that justify the importance of mobile site testing in the modern generation:
- Improved User Experience
The expectations and behavior of mobile users massively vary compared to desktop users. Therefore, a website that functions and looks perfectly well on a desktop may not be properly functional on mobile devices. So, by testing across these devices, the testers can ensure a smooth user experience throughout.
- SEO Optimization
After the huge change in the SEO industry, all the popular search engines like Google prioritize mobile-friendly websites while displaying the search results. So, if you fail to optimize the website for mobile viewing, it will automatically rank very low; this will, in turn, reduce the visibility and organic traffic on the website.
Search engine optimization is also important because various surveys show that more than 85% of users do not go beyond the first page of search results. So, ranking on the first page is crucial to meet the business requirements for our company.
- Improved Conversion Rates
A poorly optimized mobile website can lead to higher bounce rates and also massively low conversion rates. Bounce rates signify the number of users that visit the website once and never return due to a bad experience. So, by implementing mobile site testing, the testers can identify and fix these issues which are driving the users away and reducing the returns on investment.
- Brand Reputation
The competition in the mobile app development industry has massively increased in the past few years. So, by providing a bad mobile experience, the developing companies will massively harm their overall brand reputation. This is because modern users expect their apps to perform flawlessly on their mobile devices. So, any form of an issue may lead to negative reviews and wrong word-of-mouth publicity.
All the above points massively justify the importance of implementing proper mobile site testing. So, it is very crucial for the developers and testers to choose the right tool to ensure effectiveness and efficiency in the testing processes.
Types of Mobile Site Testing Tools
Before choosing the right tool, the testers must have a broad spectrum idea about all the types of tools available for mobile site testing. Each of these tools is unique and serves different aspects of the testing process:
- Responsive Design Testing Tools
Using these tools, the testers can understand how their website responds to different screen sizes, resolutions, and orientations. These tools can emulate the website’s performance on various devices without actually running them on the respective physical devices.
- Cross-Browser Testing Tools
App testers can use cross-browser testing tools for analyzing how the web app performs performance on a massive combination of operating systems, browser versions, and devices. To create these test cases, you have to include popular browsers like Chrome and Safari.
- Performance Testing Tools
Using performance testing tools, the testers can analyze the website performance and speed on multiple mobile devices. A recently conducted survey suggests that modern users expect their mobile apps to load within 2 seconds.
So, using performance testing tools, the testers can identify crucial issues related to slow loading times, which can impact user experience and search engine rankings.
- Device Emulators and Simulators
Since it is almost impossible to set up a physical device farm consisting of all the mobile devices that are currently available, the testers can use device simulators and emulators as an efficient substitute. This software can mimic the behavior of various mobile devices and operating systems.
Emulators and simulators also allow the testers to run the test cases without having physical access to multiple mobile devices.
- Real Device Testing Platforms
Although emulators and simulators can replicate the parameters of a physical device, they cannot analyze the performance based on the physical features of mobile devices. To eliminate this inconsistency, the app testers can incorporate real device testing platforms which provide access to thousands of real devices through remote servers.
Using these platforms, the testers can also run the test cases from anywhere in the world while having access to outdated browser versions and legacy devices which are no longer available in the market.
Choosing the Right Tools for Your Needs
To choose the right tool as per the testing requirements, the developers must go through some of the most vital parameters of the tool. To simplify this knowledge for the newcomers, we have mentioned some of the most important factors that need crucial consideration:
- Features
The first step involves understanding whether the chosen tool has the features required for executing the current test cases. The testers must also look for tools which offer some of the most advanced testing processes, like cross-browser compatibility testing, responsive design testing, performance testing, and real device testing.
- Ease of Use
The testers must also verify that the tool is user-friendly and easy to navigate. This inclusion will allow the testers to run the test cases efficiently without going through a steep learning curve. A steep learning curve not only slows down the overall development process but also reduces the quality of the development cycle.
- Compatibility
The chosen tool must be compatible with all the technologies used on the website. Some of the most important considerations include the chosen programming languages, frameworks, and content management systems. During this process, the testers must also plan for all the other tools that they are going to include within the app infrastructure in the long run.
- Scalability
Since modern apps go through frequent updates to add or remove features, it is important to consider scalability as one of the most important parameters for choosing the mobile site testing tool. The testers must choose such a tool which can scale depending on the needs without compromising the overall performance of the testing cycle.
- Cost
Finally, the testers must consider their budget and the pricing model of their chosen tool. In case you are an individual developer or a startup company, the best possible option is to go for open-source tools as it does not require any expenses for using their features.
There are also other tools which offer free versions with limited features, while others require a subscription model or one-time payment for accessing them.
Well-Known Mobile Site Testing Tools
A quick survey of the modern application development industry will reveal that there are hundreds of mobile site testing tools that are easily available in the market. However, the testers must remember that they must choose their preferred tool based on all the factors that we discussed in the earlier parts of this article.
To further simplify this process, we have mentioned some of the most well-known mobile site testing tools that are currently available:
- Google Mobile-Friendly Test
This is a completely free-to-use tool that comes directly from Google. Using this tool, the testers can quickly check whether the website is mobile-friendly. The reports generated by this tool are very simple to understand as they mention whether the test case has passed or failed during the execution process.
Google Mobile-Friendly Test also includes various suggestions for improving the test execution process and the overall performance of the application.
- LambdaTest
Lambda test is a cloud-based automation testing platform which provides access to more than 3000 different combinations of real devices, operating systems, and browser versions. This platform integrates Appium to run automated mobile app testing.
While using this platform, the developers can also use parallel test execution to run more than 50 different test instances at the same time. The artificial intelligence and machine learning features of LambdaTest can efficiently orchestrate and execute the best instances.
After running the test cases, LambdaTest will automatically generate a comprehensive test report consisting of various screenshots and videos. Using all these data, the testers can easily navigate to the faulty elements for performing the required debugging and troubleshooting processes.
- Appium
Appium is a tool to initiate automation testing on modern mobile apps. Using this tool, testers can verify the functioning of native apps, hybrid apps, and cross-platform mobile apps. Appium also supports the execution of mobile test cases on Android, iOS, and Windows platforms.
The unified API of Appium ensures that testers can reuse the existing mobile test scripts and do not have to rewrite test cases for every instance. Moreover, since Appium has an open-source infrastructure, the testers can access all of its features without worrying about expensive subscription models.
The Bottom Line
Conclusively, mobile site testing is a very important part of ensuring a smooth user experience and maintaining the visibility and reputation of the website. By properly choosing the right testing tool, the testers can streamline the testing process. This implementation will also help them to identify and fix crucial issues before they can impact either the deployment process or the end user experience.
So, whether you are working on cross-platform apps, desktop apps, or a combination of both, there are plenty of options available in the present market to fit your budget and requirements. We advise the testers to invest a justified amount of time in researching the market and selecting the tool which fits their requirements. By performing this process, the testers can provide the highest end-user experience to their customers.
