Website Test
Test your website before you add content
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How to Approach your Website Test
Start your website test by uploading web pages to your host
The website test is the last opportunity to eliminate problems with our master page and created web pages before we move on to adding content to our web pages.
A good website test will check the entire site navigation, both internal and external links, as well as compatibility with browsers.
In the last tutorial (Create Web Pages) we tested our master page on the local PC. Now we test the site as a whole, on the Host.
First you must upload all your website pages to your host. Some snags only appear when you test on the host. If you find a problem, you may need to change your master page (and recreate your web pages).
Setting up the FTP Transfer
Your web editor program probably provides an easy way of uploading your site, usually by FTP transfer. This just means that you can transfer your files in batch mode (one after the other) to your remote site.
If the web editor does not provide FTP facilities there are many free programs available on the web which do. Your host service provider will also offer their own FTP facility.
If you have a choice, it is probably best to use the web editor's FTP facility, because in future you may quite often want to upload updated pages, while working in your web editor.
You will first need to set up the remote site information in your FTP software. This will include your site URL, a directory name, and probably a username and password. You and your host service provider will have agreed this information when you signed on with them.
Make sure the FTP source folder is the local PC directory which contains your site files (including the new pages you have just created). Remove any extraneous files (which you do not want to upload) from this directory.
Initiate the FTP transfer process and watch it run, in case of errors. If all went well, your HTML pages and other files necessary to display your site should now be sitting on your host.
Website Testing - Browser Issues
Now enter the URL of your website in your browser. It should display your site exactly as it appeared when you viewed your local version. Check that your images appear correctly and that styles from your external CSS file have been applied. Check that any extras you added to your web pages are displaying correctly.
If you see errors, it is likely that the browser could not find all the files needed to display your page. Make sure that your paths are correct and that required sub-folders have been correctly created and their contents uploaded.
Check your site in both Microsoft Internet Explorer and Mozilla's Firefox. They often display things slightly differently and you'll want your pages to look good in both of them (even if they don't look identical).
Internet Explorer is the world's most popular browser, although Firefox is gaining ground. Then there are a number of other browsers you may want to use to check your site, for example Opera, Chrome and Safari.
Several free online services will test the appearance of your web pages under various different browsers and browser versions, This can reassure you that your web page can at least be viewed in these browsers versions. (It does not check navigation issues.)
Website Test - Navigation Check
Now that you have created all your web pages (though they still lack content), you can check your website navigation. Check each page.
Check that every menu button works properly. Check that all links (internal and external) work correctly. If you pick up any problems which originate from your master page, correct your master page and re-create your web pages, re-upload and retest.
Free online services and downloadable software products are available to check all your links for you. If you have a large site, these are a big help.
On completion of your website testing you should now have a fully functional site, which only lacks your interesting and informative content. This brings us to the end of the Website Test tutorial and the Build Site section of the course.
In the following tutorials we move on to consider the process of creating content. Our first tutorial deals with how to write good web text...
Links / Resources
FTP= File Transfer Protocol
Free FTP Product Reviews:
Gizmo's: Best Free FTP Client
WebmastersByDesign:5Best Free FTP Programs
Download Browsers:
Apple: Safari
Google: Chrome
MS Internet Explorer 8 (for XP)
Mozilla: Firefox
Opera Browser
Check web page in various browser versions - online test:
Browser Shots
Net Renderer
Free link checking services:
Dead-Links
W3C Link Checker
Build Site: Website Test Top Prev Next: Website Writing
Copyright © 2009 - 2011 EasyWebsitePrimer.com Last updated: September 2011
Website Test - So everyone sees your site the way you want them to.