Category: Quality Assurance

301 Redirect

When a site is redesigned most often the page URLs change on the new site. Search engines store old page URLs until the site is completely re-indexed. 301 redirects are used to redirect old page URLs to corresponding new URLs. Setting up 301 redirects is best practice for SEO and reduces 404 page not found …

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A/B Testing

A/B testing (also known as split testing) is the process of comparing two versions of a web page, email, or other marketing asset and measuring the difference in performance. You do this giving one version to one group and the other version to another group.

ADA 508 Compliance

This refers to the Americans with Disabilities Act. Section 508 of this act covers electronic communications, specifically that web pages need to be understandable to people who are hearing, visually or otherwise impaired. For example, images on a web page need to have a text description (Alt Tag) so that a screen reader can translate …

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Browser Spec

This refers to the set of browsers that the site needs to work properly on. It includes browsers e.g. Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer as well as operating systems and screen resolutions. As of 2014, there are close to 300 devices that access the Internet and hundreds of browser and operating systems. We use the tool …

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Constraints

Intentional parameters surrounding what a user can do on a site, ensuring a low likelihood of errors and confusion. Constraints are used to optimize the smaller set of actions a user can perform.

Deployment Phase

Action items for this phase include final revisions, testing, QA, 301 redirects, analytics set up, training and deployment (making the site live).

Development Phase

Action items for this phase include setting up the web server, installing the CMS, coding the design ‘theme’, mobile development, developing all features, content integration, SEO infrastructure set up, internal testing and quality assurance. The milestone for this phase is releasing the Alpha site for the client to review.

Quality Assurance

At the end of the Development Phase, the QA person will review the site. They will use a link checker as well as look at each page to determine if the design has been accurately implemented and there are no technical errors. They will also use tools such as Browser Stack that displays the site …

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Revisions

After an Alpha site is released, there are typically revisions. This is due to the fact that until an actual website is released it’s hard to know fully how it will look and work. The different types of revisions include preferences for how a page responds on a particular mobile device to how a page …

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W3C

This stands for the World Wide Web Consortium which is the international governing body for the web. Tim Berners-Lee, the director of the W3C, is also one of the original inventors of the World Wide Web. W3C’s primary activity is to develop protocols and guidelines that ensure long-term growth for the Web. W3C’s standards define …

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