What Is Website Regression Testing and How Can Synthetic User Journeys Help?

What is regression testing?

Website regression testing is a form of software testing that helps to identify and fix problems with website content, functionality, and accessibility. It is a vital part of any testing strategy, as it can help to ensure that the website continues to meet user expectations.

Website regression testing typically involves running a series of tests against the website to check for any issues. The tests can be performed by an automated system or manually by testers on the development team. This allows for quick and accurate identification of problems, which can then be fixed before they become widespread.

“Regression” refers to returning to a previous state. Testing using this approach involves comparing test results from the earlier stages of a project with results from more recent stages in order to check for any changes that may have affected the quality of the website or the user experience. If a test fails that passed previously, it is an indication that something may have gone wrong in the intervening time. In this case, the site will need to be checked to see if it has regressed since the earlier tests were completed.

Regression testing is essential when maintaining a website that has been created by developers or designers working independently. As people can be prone to making mistakes, it is important that multiple checks are carried out during the testing process to prevent mistakes from being made that cannot be easily fixed at a later stage. Regression testing can also be used to verify that changes made to the software or website have not adversely affected its overall performance or functionality.

How can Synthetic User Journeys automate your regression testing?

A synthetic user journey is the recording of steps taken by a simulated user whilst using a website or app, in much the same way as a real-life user would perform these steps. These steps can then be replayed later to check any differences between how the website was intended to be used, and how it’s actually being used. This allows developers and testers to confirm that the website or app is working as expected, and that any changes made to it have not adversely affected the user experience.

This is 24/7/365, automated regression testing, and it can be used to check the following:

  • Are the users able to have a seamless experience as they navigate the site?
  • Are their interactions with it functioning properly and not causing any problems?
  • Has functionality broken that previously worked?

RapidSpike specialises in synthetic user journey scripting and testing. We use industry standard browser automation software, deployed on a global, hardened infrastructure. This allows you to be confident that our tests are running on the regions and frequency you specify to provide round the clock regression testing, regardless of what your development team are doing.

In addition to the regression testing benefits of synthetic user journey testing, RapidSpike’s software provides a number of additional features and uses:

  • Video evidence of all test sessions
  • Granular performance data for your website and everything it depends on
  • Alerting to failures, broken images, scripts or requests made from the website
  • Alerting to performance issues in hard to reach areas of the website
  • Identification of supply chain attacks, such as Magecart and form skimmers
  • Evidence to provide with PCI auditing

Regression testing is a vital part of a website, application or software test strategy. Automating this with RapidSpike allows you to remove that concern from your workload so you can concentrate on what matters, whilst also experiencing the benefits of a full-featured synthetic testing platform.