Leads & bookings
Test your site before customers do
You will have a seven-line test list, a record of what failed and fixes for the most serious problem.
Before you start
- A website, form or booking page that is live or nearly live
- A phone and a laptop
- Someone else to try it, if you can
Why test the plain things
Most lost customers are lost on simple things: a button that does nothing, a form that fails or a page that will not load on a phone. These are quick to find if you look.
Step 1: Write the test list
List the jobs a visitor must be able to do. Seven is plenty. For example:
- Open the home page and understand what you offer.
- Find your prices.
- Find your contact details.
- Submit the enquiry form and get a confirmation.
- Book or buy, if you offer it.
- Open the site on a phone and read it without zooming.
- Click every link in the main menu.
Step 2: Run it twice
Run the list on your phone and then on a laptop. Note the result for each line: pass, fail, or odd. Add what you did and what you saw for any failure.
Do not enter real payment details on a live test. Use the test mode of your payment provider, if it has one, or check up to the payment screen only.
Step 3: Fix the worst first
Here are the problems I found when testing my website: [paste notes] Rank them by how likely they are to lose a customer. For the top one, suggest three things I could check and one simple fix. Tell me if you would need more information.
Fix one, then run the whole list again. A fix can break something else.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Only testing on your own laptop
- Testing once and never again after changes
- Using real payment details to test
- Fixing small things before the serious one
Final checklist
- I wrote a seven-line test list
- I ran it on a phone and a laptop
- I fixed the worst problem
- I ran the list again