When it comes to website testing services, you might not be smarter than the average bear. Or, you might not know if you are.

That’s OK, I can help you sort through some of the techno-babble about getting some help with website testing so you can quickly become smarter than the average bear.

You see, when it comes to software testing, hunting, farming, being a Dad, or training a dog I am smarter than the average bear.

If you ask me about psychology, event management or finance then I’m definitely not smarter than the average bear. Best we stick to the subject of website and web app testing right now, okay?

Cutting Through the Clutter of Website Testing Services

As I scanned internet articles to see what was being written on the subject, I noticed a few things that could be confusing or misleading to the average bear.

Let me sort through those things now to help you find an outsourced website testing company that work best for your unique need and business goals.

Set the Right Goal

First, set a goal. Know what you want.  A SMART goal  is great – even if you don’t know all of it.

But, you may not have a “goal” and that’s OK, too. Use these simple questions to figure out what you really want from your website testing services.

1. Do I want website testing because it’s something I “should” do or because I’m concerned about the cost of losing customers and prospects to bugs and glitches? This answer will help you (and us) understand why you want website testing services.
2. What does it cost me to get a new prospect to visit my website or eCommerce store? What is the lifetime value of one of my customers? This answer will help you understand the risk of loss from bugs and glitches that website testing can help you prevent.
3. Do I have time before I need to release my website to fix the bugs and glitches that the website testing finds? This answer will help you understand if you will get real value from your website testing work.

There are not any right or wrong answers to these questions. The answers are important but the thinking and reasoning you do while answering those questions will shed light on what you really want and we can easily help you turn that into a website testing services goal.

Here’s why knowing your goal is important. Testing is an activity – and it can be performed for as long as you want it performed – regardless and without respect to your goal.  You’re probably more interested in the outcomes of testing – defects, bugs, test plans, test cases, etc – than just knowing someone is testing it. If you know your goal before you start looking for help with website testing services, you’ll get the outcomes you’re looking for. Otherwise, you’ll definitely get some “testing” but you won’t know if it is helping you achieve what you actually want.

Don’t Be Over-Sold by Tool Vendors

Second, Tools! (Hat tip to Tim the Toolman, who always got excited about tools and machines.

Almost everything I read on the internet about website testing services seems to be about how a great tool can solve your problem.

Yeah, like having a hammer get’s you a birdhouse. Not so much. Tools are only as good as the person using them. So, this begs two questions.

1. How long will it take to learn how to use the tool?  They seem easy in the demo but have you actually tried using it?  It may not be as easy as you think.
2. Even if you know how to use the tool, will you know where to use it most effectively? Just because you can easily and quickly run a bunch of tests, how will you know they are the right tests applied to the right place in your website?

Humans are more important than tools. Tools help humans be more useful.

The Human Element in Website Testing Services

Third, Testers! Now we’re getting to the heart of the matter.

I’ve learned that there is a difference between a Tester and a Test Engineer. We don’t hire testers and you should look very carefully before you hire them yourself.

Here’s why.

Testers do very well when they are told what to do. They don’t do so well when given a testing problem to solve.  They just don’t have the mindset, education and ongoing training to come up with good alternatives or judgment to select the best course of action.

Test Engineers are seekers, finders, and solvers of quality problems. They have university level degrees in math, engineering, and computer science and are actively engaged in ongoing training in quality assurance and control. Sure, they cost a little more – so does a nice car – for a great reason. They both deliver more value per dollar than a less expensive choice – like a tester.

Name Dropping in the Buzzword Jungle

Fourth, Buzzwords like Services, Technology, Systems, Industry, Functional, Performance, Security, Usability can lure you into a trap. Remember, you’re hiring website testing services, not a copywriter.

When it comes to website testing services, having deep knowledge and experience in some set of buzzwords is far less valuable than having seen and completed hundreds of website testing projects.

TESTCo is focused solely on providing the best website testing services for your business. The buzzwords used to sell you on testing services won’t help fix bugs in your code or ensure your application works well when it’s released. We have decades of experience when it comes to solving testing problems that are similar to yours. Instead of writing about buzzwords to entice you to select TESTCo for services, we are focused on providing real testimonials and consultations so you can see our services firsthand.

If you’re looking for a match between your situation and what the website testing services company can provide, look to the references and testimonials and give them about 10 times the weight you’d give to their buzzwords matching your buzzwords. Even better, reach out and talk to the reference/testimonial yourself!

Trust Your Brand to a Crowd of Strangers? Really?

Fifth, there’s the whole crowdsourcing thing.

Sure, some things might be better, faster and cheaper when crowdsourced. But, when what you’re interested in crosses the line from “opinion” to “expert advice”, you’re probably going to get better and more valuable results from an expert rather than “the crowd”.

I know (and so do our clients) that a dedicated QA Team with a QA Manager and a Test Engineer, even for a tiny project of a day or so, can deliver a far more valuable set of results than a semi-random group of internet users.

Crowdsourcing your brand can lead to unpleasant outcomes.

Customer Churn: The entire focus of testing is to make sure that your product is as smooth as possible when it’s released. Relying on crowdsourcing can lead to significant customer churn due to unresolved bugs. All of the marketing efforts it took to make users choose your product will be wasted if there are bugs whenever your release a new version of your product.

Technical issues: Crowdsourced testers are compensated if they find bugs or issues within your application. Generally, most testers are not as qualified as test engineers and cannot deduce the core root issues within your application. Hiring crowdsourced testers may lead to you overlooking the fundamental issues that are causing bugs. This will continue repeatedly until the core issues are resolved.

Confidentiality: One of the biggest drawbacks of crowdsourcing your testing is the breach and lack of confidentiality. When you crowdsource your testing, there’s no incentive for testers to be loyal to your brand. This can lead to the leakage of sensitive business information and other trade secrets. A competitor can offer one of your crowdsourced testers money in exchange for critical information. This can lead to the demise of your business.

Automate All the Things!

Lastly, there’s automation. Automation really means using test automation, AI or Machine Learning software to perform a task. If you believe what you read, then literally everything can be automated – especially “low skill” activities like data scrubbing, sending emails and software testing.

There are 2 challenges to successfully automating anything with these tools.

1. Automation Tools don’t run themselves. Someone has to instruct or configure the tools. Even then, an incorrect or old instruction can cause a bucket load of False Positives. This might cause you to spend more time diagnosing and fixing your automation tool than just performing the task with a human in the first place. If you’re going to use Test Automation, you might want to consider that you’re writing more software to test your current software. Who’s going to watch the watcher?
2. Website Testing is a “low skill” activity. I beg to disagree with this idea. Yes, Testers, doing what they are told and manually running a known set of regression tests for the 32nd time is a low skill activity that should be automated. But, that’s not a common problem and probably not your problem. Most website testing challenges aren’t known and aren’t covered by a test case that you know about ahead of time. Most of the defects discovered during website testing aren’t covered by a test case. Testers will seldom find these defects because they aren’t obvious. Test Engineers, however, will definitely find them! Quality and Test Engineering are definitely not “low skill” activities.

Automated testing provides several hurdles for business prior to even getting testing started.

Initial cost: The initial cost of using automated testing is very high. For automated testing to work properly for your products, it will have to be configured and tailored to your business operations. This configuration along with the staff needed to make this happen often costs more than the budget for testing. In large corporations this may be cost-effective, but for the average business this is very detrimental.

Maintenance: Automated testing isn’t a one-time service, it requires continuous upgrades and maintenance just like many parts of your business. The key difference in maintaining automated testing is that it will likely require additional personnel on top of your current payroll. The hardware, software and staff needed to maintain automated systems will easily add five figures to your current payroll each month.

Expertise: In-house automated testing will require the additional staff you hire to have technical backgrounds. Basic programming skills and knowledge will be required because scripts will need to be completely understood. The tools that are used for automated testing may have their own defects, so staff must be able to resolve that as well.

So, before you drink the flavored punch that say’s “automate all the things”, double check your goals and constraints. You might not have the time and budget to “automate all the things” and you probably won’t be happy with your first set of outcomes, either.

The Things You Really Want

What you really want with website testing services is confidence and speed. You’re at the end of a long journey building a new website and you’re not in the mood for a long, drawn out, testing phase just when you’re ready to launch you new “look”.

You’re probably not sure but suspect that there might be a few bugs or defects in your website. You’ve done your testing but still aren’t sure. You want to know that your website will be flawless for everyone that visits.

You’re also probably tired from all the hard work and concentration that it’s taken to get your website to this stage. You’re ready to be done and you’re not in the mood for a bunch of back-and-forth with a website testing company that just doesn’t understand where you are and what you want.

When we talk with you about your project, we’ll get a keen understanding of your risks and concerns and build a plan and proposal to complete our work quickly and efficiently so that you can move your website project forward and claim your new customers and prospects.

At TESTCo, we believe in honoring promises. We take the time to make sure our testing work focuses on and delivers the value you need to achieve your business goals. Here’s a page about our website and web app testing services.

We want to help you achieve your business and technology goals.