Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Can you and your business afford to be left behind by your competitors in the ever-growing and competitive market today? With so many competing for consumers’ attention, offering a product or service that does not perform well in the users’ eyes will lead to drastic failure.
As more and more consumers switch to websites or mobiles for all their needs, whether to buy groceries or luxury items, a highest-in-class digital experience is imperative. In fact, 67% of consumers cite bad experiences as a reason for churn.
One way to ensure that your website or app loads fast, has a seamless UI and boosts your conversion is to include Digital Experience Testing (DXT) before releasing it.
Related: Stop Overwhelming Your Online Customers With Information Overload — Hook Them In By Revamping Your Website In This Way.
DXT translates as a business advantage
An exceptional digital experience can lead to several benefits for your business. According to Zippia, for every dollar spent on providing a good UX, businesses receive $100 in return — a 9,900% ROI.
One of the major benefits of performing digital experience testing is achieving happier customers, brand loyalty and advocacy. For instance, it can help you identify and address usability and performance issues like loading times and fixing problems with the payment gateway earlier on, which can ensure a seamless UX.
Performing DXT earlier in the SDLC cycle can help fix bugs and errors before any launch and help maintain the brand reputation. Further, by identifying these issues early on, businesses can save both time and money. According to IBM, fixing a bug found during the implementation stage is approximately six times more expensive than fixing one identified during design. Interestingly, this cost keeps increasing exponentially as the software reaches the end of the SDLC.
Related: The Key to Building a Captivating Platform That will Leave Your Users Wanting More
With several devices and new models introduced periodically, regular testing helps to identify and address emerging issues. Ignoring this can lead to bugs, errors and a decline in user satisfaction. It’s vital to check the compatibility of your app with various devices and models, as a distorted or malfunctioning platform on certain devices creates a negative user experience and can push customers to your competitors’ websites or apps.
DXT can help your app or website stay up-to-date with WCAG and Accessibility requirements as they change over time. By applying these standards, your company not only gains more customers but also shows that it is inclusive. In the final phase of its operation, DXT provides an understanding of your users’ behavior that can prove useful in many circumstances and assist in enhancing experiences.
Here are my some tips for a successful DXT implementation at any organization:
- Building a DXT strategy beforehand: Creating a successful DXT strategy means aligning it with your business goals, setting clear KPIs and making sure that it resonates with your audience. Build a comprehensive testing framework that covers functional, non-functional and usability aspects and integrates DXT seamlessly into your development cycle. This approach helps in early bug detection, accelerating time-to-market while enhancing overall customer satisfaction.
- Leveraging automation for efficiency: Optimize your digital experience testing with automation. First, identify the test cases based on frequency, risk and complexity. Next, choose the right tool based on your requirements and team expertise. Integrate automation tests into your CI/CD pipelines for early defect detection and faster feedback loops. Finally, focus your automation efforts on high-risk areas to maximize ROI and reduce manual testing. This strategic approach guarantees an efficient, effective and comprehensive DXT.
- Personalization and localization: Personalization and localization are key to engaging digital experiences. Testing these aspects ensures relevant content delivery in multiple languages and in multiple regions. Next conduct performance and usability checks to ensure that your web/app is capable of handling high traffic without crashing or getting slow.
- Ensuring comprehensive test coverage: It is crucial for DXT to guarantee that each necessary test is performed sufficiently so that all the potential intersections are covered. Identify functional, non-functional and exploratory tests. Testing tools help you recognize weaknesses in your testing strategy and rectify them. This will help to guarantee that every section of your application is checked to the maximum, reducing the possibility of having bugs and inconsistencies.
- Robust infrastructure and reporting: To ensure a robust infrastructure for your DXT implementation, utilize scalable environments that mimic production conditions to get good results. Implement continuous monitoring and logging to catch issues early. Further, leveraging detailed reporting mechanisms to track test results, coverage and performance metrics helps stakeholders understand the quality status and make informed decisions.
- Building a culture of user-centricity: Deliver seamless digital experiences by crafting a user-centric approach. Conduct proper user research to understand pain points and use these insights to design effective test cases. Next, usability and accessibility testing will be performed to ensure that the app/website is user-friendly and inclusive. Integrate customer feedback to enhance satisfaction and create empathy maps to understand user emotions. This approach ensures your digital products resonate deeply with users, driving engagement and satisfaction.
- Training your team to deliver top-notch experiences: The general concept is to develop a competent testing team. Begin with a crew that includes QA Engineers, Program/Software developers, Graphic designers and UX Researchers. Ensure that they attend training sessions and evaluations periodically, as this will keep their abilities in check and also encourage teamwork and feedback. Finally, state measurable goals to foster motivation and to ensure that your team is always in line with the new trends in delivering excellent digital experiences.
Related: 3 Customer Experience Breakdowns That Buyers Hate
The path ahead
As we think about the future of digital testing, it becomes apparent that there is much in store for the future. AI, AR and VR are already impacting how users engage with digital interfaces, and the testing approaches need to adapt to the change. One piece of advice here is to adopt AI-driven test automation, early and continuous testing and hyper-personalization.
To be successful, an organization should implement AI and automation, promote Dev & QA synergy and remain focused on the user interface.
If these issues are addressed and quality is emphasized, then there is a huge possibility that businesses can deliver excellent digital experiences that exceed expectations. The prospect for an increased level of digital experience testing in the coming years is evident, and making appropriate efforts today will be immensely fruitful.
