Software Testing – How to Test an E-Commerce Website?

A web application’s quality needs to be guaranteed in terms of response speed, usability, user base, capacity to manage different traffic surges, the accuracy of information provided, etc. Customers may be forced to switch to a competitor’s website if any of these criteria are compromised. It can be difficult to test these web pages because many testing methods aren’t immediately relevant. Everything related to the testing of webpages comes under web testing.

The following topics of E-Commerce testing will be discussed here:

1. What is eCommerce Testing?
2. Types of testing for eCommerce System
3. Features to be tested in eCommerce application
4. Tools for a mapping eCommerce site
5. Benefits of eCommerce Testing
6. Challenges of eCommerce Testing

Let’s start discussing each of these topics in detail.

What is eCommerce Testing?

eCommerce website testing involves reviewing the website or web application for any issues before it goes live and is open to the public. A web application requires testing on various features like security, functionality, database, etc. The following types of testing will be carried out here:

• Functional Testing
• User Interference testing
• Security Testing
• Browser compatibility Testing
• Load and stress Testing
• Database Testing

Types of Testing for eCommerce System

Below are the different types of testing for eCommerce systems:

1. Functional Testing: Checking a web application’s requested functionality in the area of basic usability, its mainline functions, and accessibility is known as functional testing. BVA, decision table testing, and equivalence class testing among many other methods, may be used to create functional test cases for online applications.

The following test cases are a few of many test cases that can be considered for checking the functional testing:

S No.	Description	Inputs	Expected Output
1.	Register on the website.	Login username, password	If the inputs are then the user is registered.
2.	Search a product in the product gallery	Search string	Items searched are shown.
3.	Sign in to the website, choose the item you want to buy and how many of it you want to buy, and then add the chosen item to your shopping cart.	Login Username, password, Item no, name of the item, and its quantity	Item is added successfully to the shopping cart.
4.	Sign in to the website, choose the item you want to buy and how many of it you want to buy, and then add the chosen item to your shopping cart and delete one item from the shopping cart	Login Username, password Item no. , name of the item and its quantity	Item is successfully deleted from the shopping cart if the deletion is confirmed.

2. User Interface Testing: User interaction aspects are tested for proper operation during user interface testing. Links, tables, forms, frames, and user interface elements including text fields, radio buttons, check boxes, list boxes, combo boxes, command buttons, and dialogue boxes are some of these characteristics. User interface testing makes ensuring the program responds appropriately to mouse and keyboard inputs and displays hyperlinks, tables,  menus,  error message boxes, dialogue boxes, frames, buttons, and toolbars.

There are mainly 2 types of user interface testing:

Navigation Testing: All internal and external links are tested for functionality during the navigation process. Websites must be tested for their ability to deliver reliable, well-organized links, as well as other navigational choices like site maps and search engines. The following checklist can be considered for navigation testing of an e-commerce site:

S No.	Description	Expected Output
1.	Check every link on the site.	An appropriate page should open.
2.	Click on the back button	An appropriate page should open.
3.	Click on every link to see how the material appears on each web page.	The website’s contents can effectively be read since appropriate horizontal and vertical scroll bars are available.

Form-Based Testing: Forms on websites must be tested to ensure that all fields function properly. These types of forms on e-commerce sites can be seen while the user is registering or when the user is filling in billing and shipping details. Form-based testing checks the following concerns: 

• Correct use of the tab key to go from one form field to another.
• Verifies that the data submitted in the form is in the correct format. 
• Verifies that all necessary fields are filled out on the form.

S No.	Description	Inputs	Expected Outputs
1.	Navigate using the tab key for changing the field.	–	The correct sequence is followed while navigation.
2.	Check the maximum and minimum value of the length of string that can be put in the field.	Log in username password and confirm password (for the registration page which contains login username, password, and confirm password field. )	Information is added if it is within the range otherwise error message is displayed.
3.	Check all mandatory fields log in are entered in the form.	Log in username password and confirm password (for the registration page which contains the login username, password, and confirm password field. )	If all mandatory info is entered into the form then information is added otherwise an error is displayed.

Browser Testing: There are several browsers available, and each of them behaves differently. Although testing the web application with all browsers is impracticable, it is vital to validate the web application with defined and prioritized platforms to assure proper operation. A browser compatibility matrix may be developed to test the web application on multiple browsers.

Browser	Safari	Chrome	Firefox	Brave
Audio
Video
Text

3. Security Testing: Security is the process of protecting data from numerous attacks. When interacting across a network, it is necessary to secure sensitive and critical information and data. The user wishes to have a safeguard in place to protect personal, sensitive, and financial information. We want data that is accurate, dependable, and secure against illegal access.

The primary areas of requirement include:

1. Authentication: Is the data sent by an authorized user?
2. Access Control: Is data secure against unauthorized users? 
3. Transparency: Does the user receive exactly what is sent? 
4. Delivery: Is the information reaching the intended recipient? 
5. Reliability: How frequently does a failure occur? How long does it take for the network to recover after a failure?

4. Performance Testing: Performance tests, including load and stress testing, must be carried out to make sure the web application can handle the demand during peak hours and serve the user in a timely and dependable way. 
The ability for several users to view an eCommerce web application at once is one of its main benefits. As a result, thorough testing and monitoring of the application’s performance at peak times is required.

Factors that influence performance testing are:

1. A number of users.
2. Response time.
3. Network Bandwidth.
4. User type.
5. Memory available. 
6. Time spent averagely by a user

Performance testing includes:

Load Testing: Load testing comprises simulating several users accessing the web application at the same time to test the web application under real-world conditions. It puts the web application through its paces by overloading it. Load testing plans should be developed as early as practicable in the software life cycle. Load testing includes the following measures to guarantee adequate performance during peak hours: 

1. Defining the load test environment that simulates the e-commerce website.
2. Defining the testing approach and calculating the number of users. By roughly calculating the proportion of visitors who visit specific parts of the website, the total number of users may be determined.
3. Identifying suitable metrics enables the practitioner to determine the system performance with respect to the established quality benchmarks. These metrics are webpage view per hour, day, and week, the number of concurrent users, wait time, elapsed time, etc.
4. Choosing the correct tool and running the load test. Complex online applications may be tested using Microsoft’s Application Center Test (ACT) or Empirix’s e-Test tools.

Stress Testing: Stress testing is running a web application under more than maximum and changing loads for extended periods of time. Unlike performance and load testing, stress testing assesses the system’s response when it is subjected to a load that exceeds its defined limitations. It is also used to monitor and test the dependability of a web application when available resources are being exploited beyond their maximum capacity. The system’s behavior is observed to identify when the system under stress test fails and how it recovers from the failure.

The web application may be subjected to stress testing for the following reasons:  

• CPU and memory utilization.
• Response time.
• Backend database.
• User types.
• Concurrent users.

5. Database Testing: E-commerce is database-driven, it is critical that these apps function effectively and protect the user’s sensitive data, such as personal information and credit card information. Data-centric web applications must be tested to ensure error-free functioning and greater client satisfaction. Consider the following scenario: you want to buy something from an online retailer. When a user does a search using keywords and pricing preferences, the database server generates a database query. If the query does not take into account the customer’s price choices owing to a programming error, the results will be incorrect. During database testing, several types of defects must be verified and eliminated.

The following checklist can be considered for database testing:

Description	Yes / No
Are the database operations carried out correctly?
Does the database return to a consistent state after a crash recovery?
Are backup and recovery processes designed to assure the user’s uninterrupted service?
Is concurrent user access to the database handled correctly?
Does the database have adequate capacity and memory to store records and manage various administrative and user operations?

Features To Be Tested in eCommerce Application

The following are some of the features that can be tested in eCommerce websites:

• Home page: The links to important pages should be visible and functional, correct images and text are visible on the main page.
• Payment function: At this step, security testing comes into the picture. A number of variables need to be tested here like Debit/ Credit card details, can the customer pay in installments, the generation of order confirmation and receipt, etc.
• Order processing mechanism: At the time of placing the order, the users should be able to select the preferred shipping method, the address should be correctly mapped to the order, etc.
• Product Catalog: All the products should be clearly listed on the site with all the explanatory images, clear product descriptions, images should be of good quality, Add To Card option should be easily visible, etc.
• Search engine: Users should be able to search the desired product seamlessly and should be directed to the exact product page, should be able to navigate to important sections like product categories, cart, etc with few clicks. 

Tools for Testing eCommerce Site

• Google Analytics Content Experiments:- Experiments allow you to test how well different versions of your sites perform in terms of encouraging your users to complete specified tasks. Test up to five different versions of a page at different URLs to determine which one generates the most conversions. It helps in usability and performance testing.
• Silverback: Silverback is a Mac-only usability testing application. It enables you to capture screen activity, record usability testing sessions,  assign assignments, and highlight significant moments within a session.
• UserTesting.com: UserTesting.com offers usability testing on demand. Use one of the configurable templates to create your exam. Choose participants by selecting demographics for your intended audience. View videos of participants using your website, get written responses, and ask follow-up questions.
• Monitor.us: Monitor.us lets you help in performance testing.
• Concept feedback: It gives expert opinions on usability testing. 
• HotJar: This is the tool that reveals the online behavior and voice of the users.

Benefits of eCommerce Testing

• Attract more customers as the website is more tested and thus more efficient and optimized.
• It will enhance the overall user experience.
• It reduces the risk of eventualities like site crashing and data breaches.
• Evaluates the website against the possible incoming site traffic.

Challenges of eCommerce Testing

• Security standards need to be very high since personal information including card details is saved.
• Scalability of the applications.
• User interference should be very smooth and simple.
• Accessibility to reach different domestic markets.