Writers Who Kill

 

Tech Tips to Help Authors Test Their Website by Heather Weidner

By day, I am an IT Quality Assurance and Governance Manager.

My team tests software, computer-based training modules, and websites for defects and to make sure the site has a consistent look that matches our brand. Some of our routines can help authors ensure their websites and other social media platforms are working correctly and looking good. Here are some key things that we look for when we test:

 

Website/Blog

·        Check each page and make sure they appear correctly. Sometimes, if photos are too large or too small, they don’t look as you would have hoped.

·        Most websites optimize your site for the device that is used to read it. (For example, computers and tablets usually present the page horizontally for viewing on a larger screen, while phone renderings are usually vertical. That means the parts of your page get moved around.) It’s a good idea to look at your pages on a tablet, laptop, and phone to make sure the layout is correct. Long blocks of text and large photos are usually the culprits when something looks wrong. Lots of dense text causes users on mobile devices to have to scroll too much. Check these paragraphs to see if you can make them more succinct.

·        Test your website on different browsers (e.g. Edge, Chrome, Safari, etc.). Some browsers portray features (usually links, forms/widgets, and graphics) differently.

·        Click on every link on your site to make sure it’s working correctly. Broken links frustrate visitors to your site.

·        If you have forms (or widgets) on your page, fill in the fields and submit it. Verify that the information is received. If you have a registration widget for your newsletter, make sure it’s connected correctly. You don’t want to miss out on connecting with readers because your sign-up feature doesn’t work.

·        Make sure all your author photos, biography, and book links are current.

Email

·        Look at your email signature and make sure it’s correct. If you use a different signature for your reply emails, make sure to check that one, too.

·        If you include links in your signature, verify they work.

·        If you list series or books under your signature, make sure the content is up to date.

Social Media Platforms

·        Check all of your major social sites and verify that your biography and book lists are correct.

·        Make sure that any links work correctly.

·        Check your author photo. It should be a current (professional) headshot.

·        Verify that your social media pages have a similar “look and feel.” You want readers to know that the site is yours. If you use colors and graphics that are radically different on each site, the look isn’t unified and doesn’t express your writing brand.

·        Many of us have our primary sites and a ton of others that we don’t use as much. Make sure to check these often-forgotten pages once or twice a year to keep them current.

·        Create a list of all of your social media sites with the links. This makes it easy when you go to make updates. It is also helpful if you need to provide links for guest blogs or interviews.

Your website, blog, and social sites are key to your branding and marketing. It’s important to check them regularly to make sure the information is current, and everything works. Broken or outdated pages aren’t inviting, and visitors won’t stay long on your site. I always cringe when I visit a website, and the upcoming events are from 2017.

What else would you add to my list?

About Heather: Through the years, Heather Weidner has been a cop’s kid, technical writer, editor, college professor, software tester, and IT manager. She writes the Pearly Girls Mysteries, the Delanie Fitzgerald Mysteries, The Jules Keene Glamping Mysteries, and The Mermaid Bay Christmas Shoppe Mysteries.

Her short stories appear in the Virginia is for Mysteries series, 50 Shades of Cabernet, Deadly Southern Charm, and Murder by the Glass, and she has non-fiction pieces in Promophobia and The Secret Ingredient: A Mystery Writers’ Cookbook.

Originally from Virginia Beach, Heather has been a mystery fan since Scooby-Doo and Nancy Drew. She lives in Central Virginia with her husband and a pair of Jack Russell terriers.

Website