Domains, delivery and craft
What is Acceptance testing?
The client checking that what was built does what was agreed, against the scope, before final payment and launch. It is a defined stage with a checklist and a deadline, not an open invitation to think of new things.
Also called: UAT · sign-off testing
What to test, in order
- Every path that takes money or captures an enquiry, end to end
- The confirmation emails, in a real inbox, checking they are not in spam
- Every page on a real phone over mobile data, not a resized desktop browser
- The whole thing by keyboard alone, including forms and error recovery
- Content accuracy — prices, names, contact details, legal pages
Distinguish a bug from a change
A bug is the site not doing what was agreed, and it is fixed at no cost. A change is wanting something different from what was agreed, and it is quoted. Agreeing this distinction before testing starts prevents the most common end-of-project dispute.
Give it a deadline
Open-ended acceptance keeps a project unfinished indefinitely, which serves neither side. A stated window — commonly a week or two — with everything after handled as change requests, is what lets a project actually end.
Where this is covered in depth
A definition can only go so far. Writing a website brief that gets you comparable quotes covers this properly — 3 minutes, free, no email required.
Who wrote this
Anas Bin Masud builds e-commerce sites and does technical SEO for businesses in the UK, Canada and Pakistan. These definitions come from client work rather than from a content brief — where an entry describes a mistake, it is usually one found on a real site. More about how I work.