Test, test and test again.
It is a fairly obvious one this, but it’s amazing how many bugs and errors can slip past the radar during development. The internet is a notoriously difficult medium to test on (yes, we all hate IE6, deal with it), since a website is generally intended for everybody in the world to see.
Every single user can view the website at a multiude of resolutions, browsers, browser sizes, operating systems and so on. What we can do is try to limit these bugs and errors by;
- Testing thoroughly throughout development (check the site in all browsers roughly every hour whilst developing, checking your most recent work).
- Methodically checking the entire site once the client has signed it off and its ready to go live (you may also get the client to test at this point).
- Testing when any maintenance is carried out or updates are made on the live site.
In an agency environment, where you may be working on multiple projects and maintaining all of your current websites, you can be pressed for time. However, this is another one of those situations where a little time spent now can avoid losing a lot more time, money, and even clients, further down the line.
