There are more people searching the internet for answers, products, and services than ever before. Studies have shown that more people use mobile devices to browse the web compared to desktops or laptops. That is why knowing your website is responsive and looks correct on these different devices is important.
Mobile devices come in a large range of screen sizes too. It’s no longer a one size fits all scenario. Smartphones, tablets, laptops, and desktops all use different screen resolutions. To add to the complexity, there are different screen resolutions used between the various types of smartphones too.
The best way to ensure a good user experience is to be sure that your website is mobile-compatible. The question for many is, how do you test your website for mobile devices when there are so many screen resolutions?
Testing each possible screen resolution would be time-consuming and very expensive if purchasing each type of device. However, there are tools found online that will help you test your site for mobile. The following are the top tools to test websites for responsiveness:
W3C MobileOK Checker
In addition to simply testing for responsiveness, W3C MobileOK Checker can be used to learn how your website design tests for usability, interoperability, and efficiency. This gives you a more detailed result of mobile-friendliness based on W3C Mobile Web Best Practices. Even better, it’s a free tool.
Browser Stack
BrowserStack isn’t a free tool, but worth mentioning. It is a web-based tool, but it offers quick access to developer tools, remote browsers, even live testing. Starting at $19 per month, you gain access to mobile emulators for various devices, including Android, Apple, and Opera Mobile. There is a large range of screen resolutions you can test on.
Device Anywhere
DeviceAnywhere can be used for targeting mobile issues by spot-checking your web content against real devices. You will have the ability to remotely interact with your website on devices in real-time, allowing you to find areas that may not be responding properly.
Another good point to this tool is being able to spot areas of your website design usability that may not have been considered before. For example, does the menu gets cut off on certain devices? Is font styles easy to read on some but hard to see on others?
You can spot-check your website for free. If you’re looking to use the interactive testing features, pricing starts at $100 per month.
Multi-Browser Viewer
With Multi-Browser Viewer, you get access to cross-browser compatibility software that includes 55 standalone browsers, 11 mobile emulators and browsers, and 88 different screen capture browsers. That is a lot of different ways to test your website, but a single user license costs $1398.95.
Screenfly
Screenfly is another good free online tool that allows you to examine how your website design appears on a range of screen resolutions and screens. Simply put your URL into the address bar and begin the test.
Browshot
This mobile testing tool allows you to create screenshots of your website in various virtual mobile device sizes. You can use it to see how your website looks on different devices, including Android, iPads, iPhones, Android tablets, and Nook Readers.
It does cost $1 for five screenshots, but it is still a handy tool.
Matt Kersley’s Responsive Test
This tool allows you to test your website for free against several different widths simultaneously. This can help provide quick results; all you need to get started is your website URL, input it in the field, and begin the test. If you want to test a certain page of your website, simply use a specific page URL.
The Responsinator
The Responsinator offers a quick and simple way to test for mobile responsiveness. You can use their on-site testing to view how your website design looks across popular devices, including Kindle, Android, iPhone, and iPads.
TestComplete Mobile
With TestComplete Mobile, you have the ability to repeat user interface testing on your site on mobile devices of all types. You can automate testing using virtual machines, emulators, or real mobile devices. The best part is, you do not have to jailbreak your device to use it.
They provide support for iOS and Android devices.
Test IO
One of the leaders in SaaS software, Test IO lands on this list because of its powerful capabilities in testing for mobile devices. It allows you to test on hundreds of real devices, various platforms, and even use real people around the world to provide real-world testing conditions. This can be used for making sure your website works properly across Android, iOS, or any operating system.
You will receive real feedback from other people, not just a generic pre-determined message from a system test. The process is quick too, which can be scaled to fit your needs.
