Responsive Web Testing

Introduction

 

Nowadays, websites can be accessed from a wide range of devices including smartphones, tablets, laptops, desktops, etc., Each of these devices has different screen sizes and unique aspect ratio. To reach a wide range of audiences for the website and to get positive user feedback, it is crucial to make our website look good and function properly across all these devices. This is where responsive website design and responsive testing come into play.

 

Responsive Web Design

 

Responsive web designing is the practice of creating websites that can dynamically adapt to various device screen sizes, orientations, and aspect ratios. This responsiveness is achieved by using fluid grids, flexible images, and CSS media queries, which allow the layout, typography, and visibility of content to adjust based on the user’s screen size.

 

Responsive Testing

 

Responsive testing is the process of validating that a website’s design, functionality, and components perform consistently across a wide range of devices and screen sizes, as well as in both landscape and portrait orientations. The testing process involves assessing the website’s layout, images, navigations, and interactive elements to validate that all content is accessible and functional, regardless of the device used.

 

Importance of Responsive Testing

 

Enhanced User Experience: Responsive testing verifies that the website delivers a consistent and seamless experience across all devices, maintaining both aesthetic appeal and functional integrity.

Expanded Reach: Ensuring the website is accessible and functional on all screen sizes and devices, helps to attract more users and increase the engagement with the website by providing a consistent experience across devices.

Cost Efficient: Maintaining a single responsive website for both desktops and mobile phones saves time and resources. It simplifies the process of adding new functionality to the website.

Improved User Experience: Having a separate mobile site might not offer the full range of features available as the desktop site. The responsive design avoids this issue by providing a consistent experience across all devices.

Key Components to Focus on Performing Responsive Testing

 

Here is the list of components that need to be considered for the website’s optimal performance and user experience across all devices.

 

Layout and Design:

- Ensure that the grid system adjusts correctly based on the screen size of the user device and maintains a clean and functional layout.

- Verify that the space between HTML elements such as text input boxes, buttons, tables is consistent across various devices and ensure a cohesive visual experience.

 

Navigation

- Check all the buttons and navigation menus are accessible when the screen size is reduced.

- Verify dropdown options and submenus operate properly across different devices.

 

Images and Media

- Ensure that all images on the website adjust correctly for different screen sizes and load efficiently.

- Chat video players resize appropriately and maintain the functionality of the devices.

 

Text and Typography

- Verify font size, line height, and text wrapping functionality work correctly.

- Ensure text alignment is accurate and text does not overflow, overlap, or get cut off.

 

Forms and Input Fields

- Ensure all checkboxes, radio buttons, dropdowns, and other input elements are accessible on all device sizes.

- Verify form validation and error messages display correctly across different screen sizes.

- Verify that buttons are in the appropriate size for touch interaction and that clickable areas are accessible with both a mouse and finger touch.

 

Performance and Loading Speed

- Verify the website's performance on different devices and under various network conditions. Ensure that images, scripts, and other resources are optimized for fast loading.

 

Third-Party Integrations

- Check that third-party widgets, plugins, and embedded content (such as maps and video players) are displayed correctly and fit within the layout.

How to Test the Responsiveness of the Website?

 

The purpose of the responsive testing is to confirm that the website looks and functions correctly across various devices, screen sizes and orientations. Follow these steps to effectively evaluate the website’s responsiveness. 

Perform Testing on Physical Devices

Start by identifying the devices commonly used by Target Audience then use those physical devices to test the website’s layout, grid structure, functionality to validate that all the web elements work as intended across various devices. This process helps to evaluate how the website performs in the real world across different devices and screen sizes.

Cross-Device Testing: 

Having a wide range of physical devices is not possible at all times. In this situation, we can use Emulators which can mimic both the hardware and software components of the required device and Stimulators which can mimic the software environment of the required device. These tools help to create device environments and screen sizes virtually.

Cross-Platform Testing: 

While testing Mobile or Desktop applications it is essential to verify that the application looks and functions consistently across different operating systems and their supported versions. For mobile applications, this involves testing across various Android and iOS OS versions. For desktop applications, it includes testing on Windows, macOS, and Linux, along with their respective versions. This practice ensures compatibility, optimizes performance, and identifies any OS-specific bugs.

 

Cross Browser Testing

 

Confirm that the Web application's layout and functionality are consistent across different browsers in both desktop and mobile operating systems.

For Desktop: 

All the available browsers in Windows, macOS and Linux

For Mobile: 

All the available browsers in Windows, Android and IOS. 

Document and Address Issue

While testing the website, document all the bugs encountered in the process. Prioritize the issue based on the impact of the website.

Continuous Monitoring and Testing

New Devices are released continuously and websites also evolve consistently. So Responsive testing should be an ongoing process to make sure that the website is optimized for all user devices. 

 

Tools for Responsive Testing

 

Here are some tools available for testing the responsiveness of the website. 

- Chrome DevTools is a built-in developer tool available in all Chromium-based browsers, which allows users to emulate a variety of devices and screen sizes to test website responsiveness.

- BrowserStack is a cloud-based platform that allows users to test the responsiveness of a website on 3000+ real devices. 

- Screenfly is a web-based tool that is useful to simulate different screen sizes and different resolutions.

- ViewPort Resizer is a browser extension that enables users to emulate different devices and screen sizes of the website.

- LT Browser by LamdaTest is a Chromium-based browser that helps to test the responsiveness of a website across 50+ pre-installed devices.

 

Conclusion

 

In the competitive market, a visually appealing website with excellent user experience can reach a broader audience. This makes responsive testing a crucial aspect of web development, to achieve consistency and optimal user experience across all devices. By understanding responsive web design principles, testers can pick the right tools and select the required techniques to verify that the website looks good and functions correctly on all devices.