How Quality Assurance Maximizes the Value of Your Web App

What Makes Web Apps Special

Web applications, unlike mobile or desktop apps, are platform-independent. This trait means that they can run on multiple OSs and devices. But it also translates into their reliance on stable performance and system communications. Let’s use Google Docs to explain how a web application works.

1. User interaction. You open a web browser and access the URL for Google Docs (GD).
2. Request sent. The browser sends an HTTP request to the GD server, indicating your intention to enter.
3. Server processing. The GD server receives the request and identifies that you want to access their documents. The server may check if you are logged in or not.
4. Dynamic content generation. If you are not authenticated, the server may respond with the login page or prompt you to create an account. If you are authenticated, the server generates the dynamic content of GD using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. The server may fetch your document data from databases or cloud storage.
5. Response sent. The server sends the HTML, CSS, and JavaScript code for GD back to your browser as an HTTP response.
6. Client rendering. Your browser receives the response and renders the GD app’s interface. The interface typically includes a document editor and collaboration features.
7. User interaction & data submission. You interact with the GD app by creating or editing a document. When you type, format text, or perform other actions, JavaScript code in the browser handles these interactions and updates the document in real-time.
8. Client-server communication. As you interact with the document, the browser sends periodic requests to the GD server to save changes or retrieve additional data. These requests occur in the background, e.g., via AJAX, to ensure a smooth and responsive user experience.
9. Server processing. The GD server receives the requests from the browser and processes them. It saves the changes made to the document in the server’s databases or cloud storage.
10. Response sent. The server responds to the requests with appropriate HTTP responses, confirming the successful saving of changes or providing necessary data updates.
11. Client rendering. The browser receives the responses and updates the GD app’s interface to reflect the changes or data retrieval.
12. Continuous collaboration & editing. GD allows multiple users to collaborate on a document simultaneously. So alterations made by one user are sent to the server and propagated to other connected users.

While web applications vary in complexity and architecture, the reliability of client-server requests remains critical for any such product.

What a Great Web App Needs

Because web apps are highly flexible, aspects that impact their success differ from mobile and desktop applications.

• Mobile apps, most of all, need user-centricity and unique values. There are (too) many alternatives on the market. And if a mobile app has nothing distinct to offer, it has nothing to offer.
• Desktop apps require simplicity and robust functionality/performance. No user wants to compromise their device for a product that slows down everything else.
• And for web apps, it’s all about user experience and performance. If a web app works on any OS and device, then it must be pleasant to use on any OS and device. And if customers rely on the internet connection to interact with the app, it must be quick.

Here’s how to reinforce these two features within your product.

• Intuitive & user-friendly interface – easy navigation, visible features/content, and simple-to-perform tasks.
• Responsive & fast performance – fast loading time, prompt response to user interactions, and smooth and seamless experience.
• Reliability & stability – consistent operations without crashes, errors, or downtime.
• Personalization & customization – personalization features for users to tailor the app to their preferences and needs (e.g., settings, user profiles, saved preferences, or recommendations).
• Seamless collaboration & communication – coherent and efficient ways for users to interact and collaborate (e.g., real-time updates, notifications, messaging systems, and easy sharing options).
• Security & privacy – robust security measures, such as secure data transmission (HTTPS), strong authentication, data encryption, transparent privacy policies, and control over individual data.
• Regular updates & maintenance – continuous improvement via valuable upgrades, bug fixes, performance optimizations, and adding new features based on user feedback.

These seven facets demonstrate commitment to providing excellent UX, transforming an app into a gem on the market.

How QA Secures Web Apps’ Success

Interestingly, software testing services have 4 points of influence on your web application.

• Protecting software quality by eliminating issues.
• Providing feedback that you can use to further improve the product.
• Impacting user trust by letting them know the app is tried and tested.
• Presenting your audience with an image of a brand that cares about its customers.

So the result of implementing QA resources is not only a “clean” app, but also a product that is much more likely to stand the test of time.

Crucial Web App Testing Types

In practice, QA specialists refine your project by evaluating its every part – from business logic to UI.

Functional Testing

• Ensuring that all the functionalities and features of the application work correctly.
• Meeting the specified requirements and user expectations.

Usability Testing

• Assessing the user-friendliness and intuitiveness of the interface.
• Attaining easy navigation and interactions for users, leading to exceptional UX.

Interface Testing

• Verifying proper integration and communication between different components and modules of the application.
• Securing seamless interaction and data exchange.

Database Testing

• Validating the integrity, accuracy, and reliability of the data stored in the database.
• Checking data consistency, validation, effectiveness of data retrieval and manipulation operations.

Performance Testing

• Examining a web app’s responsiveness, scalability, and stability under different loads and conditions.
• Guaranteeing it can handle varying user traffic and mitigating performance bottlenecks.

Compatibility Testing

• Confirming an app’s seamless functioning across different browsers, OSs, and devices.
• Supporting consistent UX regardless of users’ chosen platform.

Security Testing

• Identifying and addressing vulnerabilities.
• Safeguarding sensitive user data and preventing unauthorized access, data breaches, and potential security threats.

Manual Testing for Web Apps

For web applications, manual testing delivers user-centricity. It helps uncover issues that automated tests may miss, ensuring intuitiveness, met (and exceeded) user expectations, and high-quality experience. Manual QA has a few unique perks that give an edge to your web app.

• Exhaustive exploration – QA engineers can freely explore the application, uncovering hidden defects and unexpected behaviors.
• Focus on the user – QA experts can assess the user experience directly by replicating customer behavior.
• Adaptation to changes – QA professionals can quickly adapt to software alterations and validate their impact on the application.

When Web Apps Need Manual Testing

Whether to make use of manual testing depends on project specifics. But generally, it is beneficial when you need to:

• Support the app in the early stages of development when most features are in active deployment.
• Cover unanticipated changes in the development process.
• Provide testing flexibility for active or short-term projects.
• Run exploratory testing or test cases that need one round of execution.
• Gain deeper insight from the end-user perspective.
• Assess the app’s security from an attacker’s viewpoint, primarily via ethical hacking.

Automated Testing for Web Apps

At the same time, test automation is more about optimizing your web app’s development. It enables faster, more efficient and reliable testing processes. For instance, automated tests outplay manual QA in the following aspects.

• Efficiency and speed – automation reduces the time and effort required to run tests, enabling quicker feedback on the app’s quality.
• Accuracy and consistency – automated tests are executed uniformly and precisely, reducing the chances of human error.
• Scalability and reusability – test automation can be easily scaled to handle many cases or scenarios, making them ideal for testing complex systems.

When Web Apps Need Test Automation

Automation can be a part of any project. Yet it is most valuable when you need to:

• Increase testing efficiency after achieving software stability.
• Advance the QA team’s productivity by offloading them from tedious tasks.
• Reduce the need for human intervention by gaining upgraded testing speed and accuracy.
• Achieve fuller test coverage in shorter timelines.
• Handle repetitive and time-consuming tests.
• Secure effective scalability and continuous integration/delivery (CI/CD) pipelines.

Securing Thorough Web App Testing

Exhaustive web app testing is one tailored to your project. QA specialists must fully immerse themselves in your product to maximize its potential. Still, these three methods are optimal for most applications.

Combine Manual & Automated Testing Services

Manual testing banks on human touch for user-driven testing. And automation helps speed up the SDLC and enhance accuracy. By combining both, teams can leverage the strengths of each technique, ensuring thorough coverage and faster test execution.

Among apps that rely on this approach is Airbnb. The company can automate stable functions, promptly check upcoming updates, and attain first-class UX with precise manual QA.

Use Browser Testing Tools

Web applications must work with various browsers and versions to provide consistent experiences. So relying on browser testing services is desirable. Such tools simulate different environments, allowing to easily validate the app’s functionality, layout, and responsiveness across multiple platforms.

As of 2023, among the top 10 popular browser testing tools are:

• TestGrid
• Selenium
• LambdaTest
• TestComplete
• BitBar
• Katalon Studio
• QA Wolf
• Headspin
• Tricentis Testim
• Sauce Labs

Implement Continuous Testing

Continuous testing (CT) offers three main power-ups for web applications:

• Early bug detection.
• Faster feedback loops.
• Reduced lead time.

CT ensures that each change is comprehensively tested, improving overall software quality and minimizing the risk of regression. It is also an integral part of CI/CD, promoting faster development cycles and enhancing the ability to deliver reliable, high-performing web applications.

For instance, Google capitalizes on CT not only to deliver refined products, but also to uphold the image of a tech giant that is an expert in balancing functionality and simplicity.

To Sum Up

Web app development is a popular choice for businesses as it’s faster and more economical. But the desire to accelerate time-to-market shouldn’t overshadow the fact that quality is the priority. Delivering high-grade products is not about speed. It’s about caring for user needs and implementing your resources smartly.