Web application testing is a mandatory skill for Software test engineers these days. The advancement in web technologies like Java/J2EE, JavaScript, HTML5, PHP, AngularJS, Node.js, and React is the leading force driving companies to produce more and more web applications.
Not only the websites but also there are locally hosted enterprise-level applications that are using web technologies. Web applications are easily scalable, support multiple browsers, and can run on a variety of devices. Also, they are platform independent, easy to use, no need to install, not require admin rights, and moreover, reduce the cost of sales.
Bundled with so many capabilities, a Web Application had to pass through a series of validations to ensure quality. Not only do all the UI flows require testing but also the interfaces like SOAP and REST APIs which enable customization at the client end.
Must Read: Web Testing Interview Questions For QA Engineers
Hence, a tester can adopt some or all of the web application testing techniques mentioned in the below section. These are time-proven methods that are frequently used across the testing world and are known for delivering results.
How to Perform Web Application Testing Effectively?
1. Functional Testing
It is one of the most common testing techniques to check if the product works as the customer intended for and fulfills the requirements recorded in the developer’s documentation. It includes the following tasks.
Also Read: Latest Selenium Interview Questions and Answers
1.1. Testing UI Workflows
Every web application has several business workflows which a tester can know from the requirement specification document. However, in the Agile model, there occur product grooming meetings to discuss the functionality. So, the tester here can write test cases to cover different scenarios and set success criteria.
1.2. Testing Hyper-Links
A web page may contain many types of links like the alternate, archives, external, help, icon, search, and tags. A tester needs to ensure all of them are working fine or else to report any dead link.
1.3. Input Field Validation
Input fields mostly appear on web forms to ask for information from users. Some of them can be left blank and some can’t. A tester has to verify the right behavior associated with them.
- If there are text fields on the page, then check if they have a default value or not. If it is a drop-down list, then ensure it is getting populated with options.
- There could even be AJAX fields to verify that change values at runtime.
- Also, a tester should not forget to check the error messages that appear on the screen.
1.4. Cookie Testing
When a user accesses any website, the browser caches its session information inside a cookie. It is to save him from the hassle of logging in every time he visits the site. A couple of things to verify:
- Make sure the cookie gets cleaned after clearing the browser cache or after its expiry.
- A tester should also check by clearing the cookie and see if the website is asking for credentials or not.
1.5. Validate HTML. CSS & XPath
To ensure a website will run smoothly, it should have a clean HTML structure complemented with optimized CSS and unique XPath. If it lacks any of that, would result in incorrect workflows and a bad user experience. There are standard W3C practices for using HTML and CSS which the website should adhere firmly to.
2. Usability Testing
Usability testing confirms that the web application provides a pleasing user experience. Not only the testers but also the actual users or the customers of the product perform the usability testing. While traditional testing is carried out by a developer, designer, or project manager, usability testing avoids any bias by taking feedback from the end user. There are usually three types of usability testing to conduct usability analysis.
2.1. Comparative Usability Testing
Intends to analyze the usability of one website with another. Such tests are usually run to compare a website against peer or competitor sites.
2.2. Explorative Usability Testing.
Here, the users test a range of different services where they verify possible end-to-end scenarios. It helps in highlighting any gaps and points out where to focus the design efforts.
2.3. Usability Evaluation
It is suitable for testing a new or updated product in the pre or post-launch phase. This test makes the users aware of the new design to ensure it is easy to use and brings a positive user experience. Its aim is to identify any potential issues before the product launch.
3. Interface Testing
Whether in waterfall or agile, interface testing is essential for ensuring a positive user experience. There are three main areas that a tester should target.
3.1. Application
An application may give access either through the UI or via the SOAP/REST APIs. So, both interfaces need thorough validation. Testers should ensure that all the requests reach the database and that the response renders correctly at the client end.
3.2. Web Server
The web server is the backend processing all the client requests. Proper checks should be conducted to ensure that it does not decline any request made either via UI or the REST API.
3.3. Database
First, the database should respond to all queries sent via UI or APIs. And any change in data should not violate the data integrity. Also, need to check if the data returned from the database is displaying correctly or not. Next, it should not permit any direct access instead should return a proper access denial message.
4. Compatibility Testing
Compatibility testing confirms the website design is compatible across different browsers and also on a variety of devices. It includes the following tests.
4.1. Browser Compatibility Testing
This test makes sure that the web application can render successfully across different browsers like Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Internet Explorer. It helps in finding out HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and AJAX-related issues.
4.2. Device Compatibility Testing
This test confirms that the web application is responsive and works on devices of different shapes and sizes. Please note that it’s not a native application test. Instead, it runs using the built-in device browser.
Must Read: 20 REST API Interview Questions and Answers
5. Performance Testing
Performance testing intends to trespass the boundaries of standard testing and aims to verify the application response time and throughput under various load conditions. Usually, we can group these tests into four categories.
5.1. Load Testing
It is the most common form of performance testing that observes the system under specific load conditions. Load testing helps in measuring the response time of business-critical transactions and the capacity of the underlying database and application server.
5.2. Stress Testing
Stress testing aims to test the application beyond the expected maximum load. With it, we can determine the threshold limit of the system and also document the behavior when it goes past the limit.
5.3. Soak Testing.
Another name that we call soak testing is endurance testing. It proposes putting the application continuously under high-load conditions and suggests monitoring parameters like CPU and memory utilization.
5.4. Spike Testing
Spike testing goes by its name and proposes to measure the application performance when there is a sudden increase in the volume of users accessing it. Its purpose is to check if the application would handle the sudden spike.
6. Security Testing
Security testing is crucial for all types of web applications. It makes sure the application won’t allow unauthorized access to any of its resources that could break the site itself. And more importantly, it ensures that the sensitive information is safe and won’t cause any social or financial damage to its users. Here, we are sharing some of the best security testing techniques that a tester can apply to uncover security issues.
6.1. Privilege Escalation
It’s an act of exploiting a bug, design flaw, or misconfiguration in the web application to gain direct access to the reserved resources.
6.2. SQL Injection
It is a technique that takes undue advantage of ambiguities present in the web application and bypasses ambient security checks. The input fields (text boxes) are the prime targets for implanting SQL injection. To prevent such attacks, the application should either not allow Special characters or use them properly.
6.3. Unauthorized Data Access
It is a technique that proposes to gain unauthorized access to data within an application. Such data leaks take place on servers or are launched via networks.
6.4. URL Manipulation
This method modifies the website URL and steals important information. It happens when the application uses the HTTP GET method to exchange data between the client and the server. The information is passed in parameters in the query string. The tester can change a parameter value in the query string to check if the server accepts it.
6.5. Denial of Service
It is a method to prepare conditions that make a machine or network resource unavailable to its legitimate users.
6.6. Identity Spoofing
Identity spoofing is a method where the tester uses the credentials of a user or device to launch attacks against network hosts, steal data, or bypass access controls.
6.7. Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)
Cross-site scripting is a computer security flaw found in web applications. It enables attackers to inject client-side scripts into Web pages viewed by other users.
6.8. Vulnerability Scanning
Testers can use an automated computer program to identify security loopholes in web applications and determine where they can be exploited and/or threatened.
Summary – Web Application Testing Techniques
Being a web tester, you must note that testing a web application requires certain important steps to ensure the quality of the product. But there is always a continued pressure on testers to release early.
So, you must jot down the plan for web application testing before you begin testing. Hopefully, the above tutorial will help you learn the intricacies involved and build a better plan for testing.
Best,
TechBeamers.
