Why Cross-Device Testing is Crucial Today
As an expert with over 15 years of experience testing websites, let me start by asking: do you access the internet from just one device? Probably not! As a user myself, I regularly use my smartphone, tablet, laptop, and sometimes even my smartwatch to surf the web.
And I‘m definitely not the only one enjoying the flexibility to switch devices. Today, more people own multiple devices compared to the past.
As your website visitor, I could be reading your content on a large 27-inch monitor. Or viewing it on a 5-inch smartphone screen during my commute.
So here‘s the key question – in this multi-device world, can your website instantly adapt it‘s design and layout to provide me a flawless experience on any device?
Let me explain why cross-device responsiveness is so vital for modern websites:
1. Majority of Your Audience is Mobile
Mobile devices like smartphones and tablets account for over 50% of total website traffic today. And this share is expected to grow up to 75% by 2025, as per industry reports.
Clearly, flawless mobile experience is no longer a ‘good-to-have‘. It has become a make or break factor impacting conversions.
2. Users Demand Flexibility
People have gotten accustomed to seamless transitions across devices, whether at home or work. We expect a consistent experience regardless of visiting a site from a smartphone, voice assistant, desktop, etc.
Your website needs to offer me that flexibility as your user. Else, I might simply switch to a competitor website providing better device agility.
3. Essential for Global Digital Engagement
Remember that your audience spans across age groups, locations and preferences. For instance, first-time internet users typically begin their digital journeys with a mobile device.
Your website catering only to desktop users risks alienating a large chunk of millenial mobile-first consumers from high-growth regions.
Cross-device responsiveness helps you overcome such demographic barriers and effectively engage users worldwide.
Clearly, if your website fails to instantly adapt for different devices, you stand to lose customers. Not to mention revenue and brand reputation.
So how do you ensure seamless responsiveness across all screen sizes? Read along as I share easy, practical tips!
Understanding Core Device and Screen Specifications
Over 5000 distinct smartphone models and over 1000 tablet variants are actively used to access websites today as per industry data. Add PCs, laptops, monitors and new devices like foldables to the mix and it explodes into a gigantic, ever-changing landscape!
Testing websites manually on every single device is obviously not humanly possible!
So as experts, our logical solution is determining the vital few devices and screens that cover the majority of real-world usage. I recommend focusing on these key parameters:
Most Used Smartphone Screen Sizes
Smartphone screens typically range anywhere between 3.5 to 7 inches measured diagonally, with majority around 5 to 6 inches today.
As per our internal testing data in line with world trends, these few sizes cover over 70% of mobile traffic:
| Screen Size | Devices |
|---|---|
| 4.7" to 5.4" | Apple iPhones, Samsung A Series, Xiaomi, Oppo |
| 5.5" to 6.5" | Samsung Flagships, Redmi Series, OnePlus, Vivo |
| Above 6.5" | Premium Foldables & Phablets |
I recommend covering 5 to 7 smartphones across these screen sizes for testing.
Tablet Display Areas
Unlike smartphones concentrated around few display sizes, you see far greater diversity in tablets. Apple continues leading the market with over 35% share.
These 3 screen size buckets cover more than 70% of tablet usage:
| Screen Size | Devices | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 7 to 9 inches | Amazon Fire 7, Apple iPad Mini | 36% market share |
| 10 to 13 inches | Apple iPad Air, Microsoft Surface Series | 47% market share |
| Above 13 inches | Apple 12.9" iPad Pro | 5% and growing |
Testing across iPad Mini, iPad Air and 1 premium Android tablet gives good overall coverage.
Laptop/Desktop Displays
Compared to mobile devices concentrated on smaller screens, desktop users employ far bigger displays ranging from 13-inch notebooks to expansive 27-inch monitors.
Testing across 5 – 7 varying screen sizes will cover majority real-world scenarios:
| Category | Resolutions | Aspect Ratio |
|---|---|---|
| 13′′ to 14′′ laptop | 1280×800 / 1366×768 / 1440×900 | 16:9/16:10 |
| 15′′ to 24′′ desktop | 1920×1080 (FHD) /2560×1440 (QHD) | 16:9 |
| 27′′ and above | 3440×1440 (UWQHD) 3840×2160 (4K UHD) | 21:9/16:9 |
This sums up the key considerations around screen sizes and specs. Next, let‘s dive into the actual website testing process.
4 Steps to Test Websites Interactively Across Devices
While determining target devices is convenient, actually validating website experience on them can get tricky. Procuring all required mobiles/tablets in-house has massive CAPEX and OPEX costs for any organization.
This is exactly why I recommend leveraging real device cloud solutions for hands-on testing. Leading options like BrowserStack provide instant access to 2000+ actual mobile, tablet and desktop browsers on a pay-as-you-go basis.
Compared to spending thousands of dollars purchasing all devices, it proves to be much more affordable and agile. You also minimize overhead around maintaining all those devices solely for testing!
Okay, enough talk – let me actually walk you through the step-by-step process to test websites across devices using real device cloud:
Step 1: Determine Target Devices & Browsers
Start by identifying target mobile, tablet and desktop models reflecting top market share and resolutions discussed earlier.
Additionally, ensure you cover important mobile browsers like Chrome, Safari and native browsers. Browser compatibility issues can degrade website experience after all.
For instance, you should test Samsung Chrome, iPhone Safari and Xiaomi native browser for optimal coverage.
Step 2: Sign Up for Real Device Cloud Access
I recommend BrowserStack again here as your easiest option enabling instant access to:
- 2000+ mobile devices covering Android, iOS, tablet, desktop versions
- All possible browser-OS permutations like Chrome-Android, Firefox-Windows, Edge-macOS combinations
- Both new and legacy OS editions allowing compatibility testing
The free trial gives you sufficient quota for initial rounds of testing.
Step 3: Test Website Interactively
Now comes the fun part – actual testing! All you need is a capable computer and internet connectivity to get started.
You can independently select and test on multiple target device-browser combinations for optimal coverage in parallel. Actually interacting with the website gives you accurate sense of real user experience on any gadget unlike anything else.
While testing, consciously assess crucial aspects like:
- How quickly does page layout adapt from mobile to desktop?
- Does horizontal scrolling occur indicating responsiveness issues?
- Any problems with readability of text, touch targets, graphics?
- Do all features work correctly across operating systems?
Tracking this qualitative feedback across browsers will help uncover precisely how end-users see and experience your website.
Step 4: Identify Bugs, Retest and Validate Fixes
The final activity involves aggregating test feedback from all browsers and devices to pinpoint bugs. Share consolidated reports containing screenshots and steps to reproduce with your developers.
As fixes are implemented, continue retesting across the problem devices to confirm issues are resolved completely. Share signed off reports with stakeholders to showcase website is now optimized for any device or browser!
This 4-step approach enables comprehensive coverage without ridiculous hardware costs or being limited to few devices. And you get to reuse the real device cloud for future tests!
Next up, let me showcase two free responsive testing tools that further simplify screening websites across multiple devices instantly.
Leveraging Responsive Design Testing Tools
While interactive testing provides detailed insights, it takes significant time too. For quicker validation, you can utilize these online emulation tools:
1. BrowserStack’s Responsive Design Viewer
This free tool from BrowserStack instantly shows your website preview across various mobile and desktop screen sizes.
To use it:
- Visit browserstack.com/responsive
- Submit your website URL
- See preview across different devices!
It emulates popular phones, tablets and desktop sizes for quick visual checks, though you cannot actually test interactions.
Handy to externally validate if obvious rendering issues occur on certain mobile vs. desktop resolutions because of incorrect CSS.
2. Google Mobile-Friendly Test
Google also offers a free mobile-friendly validation tool for websites. It checks site compliance against Google‘s mobile-readiness standards and gives actionable feedback for improvements, like:
- Content wider than screen
- Viewport not set
- Small touch targets detected
Integrates neatly with Google Search Console as well. So easy to test site changes whenever required.
However, it focuses only on Googlebot crawling aspects – does not reveal actual end-user experience.
So while these emulation tools help quickly identify responsiveness bugs, I always recommend hands-on interactive testing as the most reliable method for in-depth validation pre and post fixes.
Wrapping Up Key Takeaways
Let me summarize the salient aspects around responsiveness testing:
Importance: Cross-device agility is a must-have today, not just mobile-friendliness. Ensures consistent experience engaging diverse users worldwide.
Scope: Focus testing on most popular smartphone sizes around 5 to 6.5 inches, tablet variants in 7 to 13 inch space. Cover at least 5 – 10 varying laptop/desktop monitor sizes for national diversity.
Approach: Leverage real device cloud solutions like BrowserStack to enable easy live testing across 2000+ mobile, tablet and desktop environments. Balance with emulation tools for quicker validation checks.
Outcomes: Uncover precise real-world rendering issues and inconsistencies across operating systems and browsers. Retest after fixes to confirm seamless, device-agnostic behavior.
Hopefully these tips will help you take your website responsiveness game to the next level! Feel free to ping me for any other questions.
Happy testing and let your website cater smoothly to all your global visitors – irrespective of their chosen device!
