The ever-increasing number of mobile users is expected to reach 7.26 billion worldwide by 2023. Looking at this whopping figure, it won’t be an exaggeration to infer that by 2022, mobile app downloads are predicted to touch 258 billion. Hence, the app market is getting competitive, and keeping up with the user experience is crucial as one bad review can leave a vast impact on your app’s marketing. Thus, it is always advisable to do a thorough mobile app testing before launching it.
This blog post will discuss the points you must consider before testing a mobile application.
Factors People Consider When Doing a Review for a Mobile App
An error in a mobile app such as app crashes, poor performance, or draining battery can cost you tremendously in the form of bad reviews resulting in low ratings. Here are some more features that people look for in an app:
App Intuitiveness
People value impeccable app intuitiveness, which is difficult to achieve when developing a mobile application. Mobile-unfriendly experience and overdesign can make users delete apps and feel frustrated as they don’t find it easy to use. Thus, the intuitiveness in your app must be tested throughout every stage of the development with an efficient mobile testing tool.
App Support
A thoroughly tested mobile app works seamlessly. But sometimes, the QAs may not cover every test scenario, and users may discover the bugs themselves when using the app. Users appreciate it when they get communicated about these bugs directly, which boosts trust between businesses and potential customers.
App Performance
An app’s first impression always lasts. Mobile app performance failing to meet user expectations is likely to be discarded by the users. Thus, every customer touchpoint must be tested before the app goes live.
A mobile app must be implemented correctly to get to the top of the app store, which is possible if the mobile app testing is done perfectly.
App UI/UX
With automated mobile testing using emulators, QA engineers can assess the overall app feel that a user experiences. They go through the application logic and if it is convenient to follow. It is also essential to run UI and UX tests throughout the development life cycle for greater results.
App Functioning
Mobile testing tools are used to assure that an app functions as expected under different loads, networks, and other conditions. Apps can be tested on real devices or emulators. Simulators can be preferred in the initial app development, but testing with real devices is better before launch for a smooth performance. Combining these two approaches and adding a device cloud can also be a good option.
App Sustainability
User is the ultimate aspect of an app. People enjoying an app may recommend it to others helping businesses build a strong reputation among their audiences. However, loyalty cannot be achieved when the users are enraged using your app. Therefore, it needs to be tested often.
Now that we know what a user looks like in an application, let us discuss the key consideration points to be taken into account before performing the mobile app testing.
Key Points to Consider Before Testing a Mobile Application
Mobile application testing must be executed using a well-curated strategy. Here are the points to keep in mind when planning an optimal mobile testing approach:
1. Platform Selection
When testing an application, it is most important to consider the platform it will be deployed: Android, iOS, Windows. Begin with one platform. Pick a platform such as Android and perform an Android app testing for the apps to be deployed on the Android platform and then move to other platforms.
When deciding the best platform for application testing, you need to consider certain factors such as its brand, features, pricing strategy, and target audience. Then, it will be prudent to choose the development methodology.
2. Mobile Applications Types
Presently, there are three mobile application categories to be tested:
i. Native Apps: Designed for a specific mobile platform (Android or iOS) and installed via an app store such as Google Play Store. This embodies native apps built on Java for Android or Objective-C for iOS and cross-platform native apps built using Flutter and ReactNative frameworks.
ii. Responsive Web Apps: Designed for mobile browsers. They can either be responsive or progressive, making additional features.
iii Hybrid Apps: Designed as a combination of native and web apps. They have some native functionality but work as web apps.
3. Plan
A robust business app is an outcome of continual time and effort. It passes through various stages such as app design, architecture, development, testing, enhancement, and management before deploying. Therefore, it is rightful to set a plan of action in the app development process, including monitoring and control. Then, release the app’s beta version, perform rigorous testing, and review before releasing the full version for the end-users.
4. Performance Testing
Automated mobile testing must ensure that the performance of the app is optimum in terms of the time it takes for launching, app performance on load, performance during charging and low phone battery, error messages displayed when the memory is low and during the different network conditions. You should also monitor the app live to keep its computing power in check. Other aspects of this testing stage are color ratios verification, application readability testing, ensuring consistent, logical, and structured navigation.
5. Security Testing
Common mobile app testing for android and iOS apps must entitle that the payment data for the users is secured; there is adequate security for the apps’ network protocols, app’s security breach, and app permission authentication.
Conclusion:
4 billion people use smartphones today, and around 70% use mobile apps for shopping, payments, and bookings. Thus, mobile applications are becoming an essential tool for achieving prospective business growth for any industry. Owing to the huge opportunities and high market potential, it is imperative to keep the above points for mobile app testing in mind while testing a mobile application for a phenomenal user experience so that they keep using it.
Headspin is a trusted mobile application testing solutions provider. We aim to deliver mobile apps to bring high efficiency to businesses we serve. We test and debug mobile, web, audio, and video applications remotely on thousands of devices around the world.