1. Learning Aim C

2.  Once the website is complete, you should test it using the test plan you created at the design stage.

3.  Check your website for basic functionality:  the pages should load up and all the links should work  the images should display well and all the formatting should be correct and consistent. You will need to check each page carefully to see if every element on the page is as it should be.

4.  This is a fairly subjective measure, but you should compare the site to professional sites.  Ask yourself the following questions:  Does the layout and do your colour schemes have a quality look to them or are they messy with garish, clashing colours?  Is all the spelling and grammar correct?  Are the images of good quality (high enough resolution)?  Does the home page load quickly?

5.  Check that it is clear how to navigate around your site, and that there is a way back to the home page.  You should check your website works correctly in all the commonly used web browsers, such as Microsoft® Internet Explorer®, Firefox and Google ™ Chrome™.

6.  An important part of the testing procedure is to ask for feedback from others.  Other users are more likely to be critical of your site than you are and they may spot things you have not noticed.  You need to gather feedback on the following areas:

7.  Content.  Is the content suitable for the site?  Is the text free from spelling and grammar errors?  Are the images suitable?

8.  Presentation.  Is the content presented and formatted in a neat and consistent manner?  Are the colour schemes complementary or do they clash?  Are images and other assets sized and formatted appropriately?

9.  Usability.  Usability will be extremely important for the intended audience of the website.  If possible, ask some people from that group to give you their opinion of the site.

10.  Performance.  How quickly does the site load?  Do images load reasonably quickly or is there a noticeable delay before they load?

11.  Purpose.  How well does the site meet the purpose that was stated at the design stage?

12.  You should also consider if there are ways in which you can refine your site to make it more accessible to those with visual impairments.  For example, have you provided alternative text for all your images, tables and forms?  You can also try using a text reader to look at your site to see how easy it is to navigate.  Have you enabled users to zoom in and out of the web pages? (add more on zoom features).

13.  You may also be able to improve your website's performance, making it quicker to load if you adjust the size and degree of compression of, for example, the images, animations and videos included in your site.  If you find that digital assets such as images, video or audio clips load too slowly you may need to return to the original files and see what can be done to make them smaller.  With images you need to check that their actual size matches the size they will b e displayed on the page and that their resolution is not higher than it needs to be.  Videos also may need their resolution and size reduced to make the files smaller.  Most graphics and video-editing software will allow you to adjust the amount of compression that is applied to the file when it is exported so you may need to increase the amount of compression by adjusting these values.

14.  An important way you can refine and improve your website is to add dynamic functionality such as hot spots, rollovers, navigation menus and pop-ups.  These provide additional ways for your users to interact with the site and make the site more interesting and engaging.

15.  You should document any changes or improvements you make to your site, based on the testing you do, and any feedback you get from other people.