Compatability testing
Compatibility testing is a method of testing your website across a range of different platforms and making sure it performs as expected on each platform.
There are two main types of compatibility testing that should be performed:
Browser testing
A website should be tested on all the main popular internet browsers:
- Google Chrome
- Mozilla Firefox
- Internet Explorer
- Edge
- Safari
- Opera
Some of these browsers are exclusive to certain devices, this is another aspect to consider in your testing.
Device type
A website should be tested on as many different devices as possible. This is to ensure thatthe website will perform as expected whatever device accesses it.
Devices that should be tested are:
- desktop computers (with varying monitor sizes)
- smartphones (Android, iOS and Windows Phone)
- tablets (both Android and iOS)
A huge number of different devices are available, so it is important to test as many devices as is practically possible.
Compatibility testing can expose the following problems:
- Changes in user interface
- Changes in font sizes/font types
- Alignment issues
- Changes in CSS
- Scrolling issues
- Overlapping