You have a ground-breaking product idea and you’re ready to launch it to the online market. But how do you make sure people will buy your digital product? This is where digital product testing comes in.
So let's talk about everything you need to know about digital product testing. We’ll start with the basics and then go from there.
What is a Digital Product?
Before we get to the important info, it's essential to know what a digital product is. In the simplest terms, a digital product is any type of product that you can sell online that does not have a physical form or substance.
In other words, you cannot hold a digital product in your hands. Some examples of the most common types of digital products include online courses, e-books, music, web elements, tutorials, guides, software programs, games, etc.
What is Digital Product Testing?
As the name implies, digital product testing is the simple process of testing digital products regarding their quality, usability, and functionality. This is the process of testing different digital products to see how good they are and if they work as intended.
Whether we’re talking about digital or physical products, it needs to work as advertised if you expect people to pay for something.
Digital product testing for software and apps is no different than physical product testing for anything that you can hold in your hands. The bottom line is that you can’t start selling something without first knowing that it works as intended.
If you are looking for a service that provides premium digital solutions, such as digital product testing, then we recommend taking a closer look at Rightpoint.
Examples of Common Digital Products
In case you are unsure as to exactly what a digital product is, let’s go over a few examples of what this may entail.
- E-books
- Online schooling and courses
- Music
- Photographs
- Research Data (Such as market research and product research!!)
- Web elements (Think WordPress Themes and Plugins)
- Games
- Tutorials
- Various applications
- Online recipes
- Printable content
- Podcasts
- Patterns
- Templates
- Calculators
Why Perform Digital Product Testing?
What digital product testing comes down to is making sure that the product works. The bottom line with any business is consumer satisfaction. If your consumers aren't happy, they will not come back for more and will probably leave bad reviews.
There are many reasons digital product testing is essential, but it comes down to making sure your products work as advertised, or preferably even better. Product testing identifies problems so you can fix them before your product hits the market. If your product hits the market. If your digital product has significant issues, people will let you know about it and let potential customers know.
Your digital product needs to interact with other software without issue; it needs to look good; it needs to be functional and reliable.
One of the most critical stages of digital product testing involves real-life users instead of yourself or the other people within your company. It is crucial to have a group of potential users provide you with valuable feedback before your product hits the market.
If you have no idea how to perform digital product testing, you want to consult some experts, and you want access to high-quality user testing, expert reviews, and customized user research, then you should check out the Nielson Norman Group.
Levels of Digital Product Testing Required for the Best Results
There are various levels of digital product testing that will tell you different things about your product. We're about to tell you what these levels or types of digital product testing are, and trust us when we say that you do not want to ignore any of them.
- The first level happens during the development phase of the software or digital product. This type of testing focuses on functionality and usability. Does the software or program do what it is intended to do?
- The second level is integrity testing. This is where independent software is tested in the context of other software. For example, does your program or software interact properly with different types of software that it is designed to work with?
- The third level is the complete integration stage. This is where the software is totally ready and is tested by real-life users. This is also referred to as user digital product testing, which we will refer to in greater detail below. Although this is usually thought to be the final level or type of testing, one more is recommended.
- The fourth recommended level is user testing, but this one focuses on the overall experience rather than just functionality. If you want to perform user testing, but you don’t know where to find groups of people who will test your products, we recommend checking out BetaTesting.com, a site dedicated to helping people find and recruit user testers. Another good option to consider on this front is UserTesting.com.
Why is User Digital Product Testing a Lengthy and Difficult Process?
As touched on above, users outside your company test your product. For example, if you’re doing market research, this could be as simple as providing your product to a group of people and then holding a focus group to get valuable feedback. This is generally the last stage of testing before a digital product hits the market.
User digital product testing is not a fast process, and it is certainly not easy. Developing any kind of software or digital product can take several months or even a year or more. In addition, user digital product testing is challenging because companies often want to get their products out onto the market before the interest wanes.
If the company spends too much time performing digital user testing, people might lose interest in the product before it hits the market. Businesses find it increasingly challenging to perform user digital product testing in a decent amount of time. There is a delicate balance between not testing a product enough and testing it for so long that the public loses interest. Keeping all of this in mind, we do not recommend skipping user testing.
Another thing that makes user testing so difficult is that people have different tastes and needs. The trick is to balance these diverse needs to provide the most benefits to the most people.
Tips on Digital Product Testing – How to Do It
We want to leave you with some essential tips on digital product testing.
There are three main methods or ways to test digital products, all of which you want to look into – these including manual testing, software testing, and agile testing.
- When engaging in user testing, have a set plan for the whole process, including a thorough explanation of the product to start with
- Make sure that you are testing the products in a calm environment that is free of distractions
- If you want to perform digital product testing, but you just don’t know where to start, we recommend taking a closer look at Eurofins, which is a worldwide laboratory testing service. Eurofins has thousands of staff located in nearly 1,000 countries worldwide, and is a leading product testing company.
FAQs
Is an App a Digital Product?
An app or application does not have a physical form and is, therefore, a digital product.
What Digital Products Sell Online?
Some of the best sellers include educational products, licenses, memberships, templates, tools, digital art and music, apps, programs, and software of all kinds.
What Makes a Great Digital Product?
Good digital products in demand solve a specific problem and do it better than anything else.
Conclusion
Now you have virtually everything you need to know to get you started in the world of digital product testing. No matter how amazing your idea is, it might need perfecting. Be sure to test both your idea and your actual product, constantly using the information you gather to improve your business.
