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Planning: Informal testing - Is what we've planned so far good?

Web sites are usually tested for usability, accessibility and quality assurance. These areas of testing can come at any stage of developing a Web site, but it is in the planning stage that you must develop a testing plan.

Optimally you want to test all three areas. Test usability at the beginning of a redesign or the end of a new design. Test accessibility after template creation and content creation. Test quality assurance right before the site goes live.

But these are not hard and fast rules. Accessibility and quality assurance can be conducted as content is created and reviewed again prior to a launch. A usability test can be done during development to make subtle but effective improvements to a design.

The important point is to be aware of the need for testing in the beginning of a project and allow time to conduct these tests throughout the development of your site.

The Webmaster Resource Center has developed a usability and accessibility section separate from the process of developing a site. These sections indicate when would be the most effective point to implement that test to get the results.

Quality assurance is listed as the last step of development and should never be taken out of the development process. A site will always need a final review. Whenever you are adding changing or reorganizing content during maintenance, quality assurance should be conducted.

See Also:

• Accessibility
• Quality Assurance
• Usability Testing