Exploratory Testing Report for Cars.ng

Introduction Cars.ng is one of the leading platforms for buying and selling cars in Nigeria, providing users with a range of functionalities—from browsing car listings to contacting sellers directly. As part of our exploratory testing, I conducted a thorough review of the website’s core user flows, with a special focus on ensuring a seamless experience across both desktop and mobile devices. This report highlights various issues discovered during testing, with an overarching observation: the mobile version of Cars.ng needs to be more responsive across the entire website. Testing Setup and Methods For this task, I utilized the latest versions of Chrome and Firefox on Windows 11 Pro for desktop testing, and Safari on iOS 18 for mobile testing. I followed these steps: User Flow Exploration: I navigated through key sections of the site such as the homepage, car details pages, and contact sections. Issue Documentation: Each issue was logged using a detailed bug report template in an Excel (Google Sheets) file, including steps to reproduce, expected vs. actual results, environment details, and severity ratings. Visual Proof: Screenshots and video recordings were attached for each issue to provide visual evidence of the problems encountered. Focus on Mobile Experience: Special attention was paid to how the site renders on mobile devices, which revealed several responsiveness issues. You can review the full documentation of my findings by accessing the Excel report here. Key Findings During the testing process, I documented multiple issues affecting both desktop and mobile experiences. Here are some of the significant findings: Unclickable Contact Information: On the car details page, the contact information (such as WhatsApp or phone number) was not clickable, preventing users from easily reaching out to sellers. Blurry Car Images: Certain images, particularly in the “Similar Deals” section in the car details page, appeared blurry, which could confuse users regarding the quality and details of the cars. Non-Functional Filters and Dead Links: Some interactive elements like the price filter and dashboard navigation were not functioning as expected, leading to errors (e.g., 500 error pages). The Mobile Responsiveness Issue The most recurring theme throughout the testing was the lack of proper mobile responsiveness: Inconsistent Padding and Layout Issues: Text and images on mobile devices often appeared too close to the screen borders or overflowed their containers, making the content hard to read. Non-Responsive Car Displays: Several sections, particularly the car display on the homepage, did not adjust well to smaller screens. The scroll container did not resize properly, leading to a disjointed user experience. These issues highlight a crucial area of improvement for Cars.ng. In today’s mobile-first world, ensuring that the platform is fully responsive on all devices is not only a best practice but also essential for user retention and satisfaction. Recommendations Based on my testing, here are my actionable recommendations for Cars.ng: Improve Mobile Responsiveness Across the Website: Redesign layout elements using responsive design techniques (e.g., CSS media queries) to ensure that images, text, and buttons scale appropriately on all devices. Clickable Contact Information: Update the contact elements to ensure they are interactive and properly linked to their respective actions (i.e., opening WhatsApp or initiating a call). Optimize Image Quality: Re-evaluate the image compression settings and source quality to ensure that car images are sharp and clear across all sections of the website. Enhance Functionality of Interactive Elements: Address the issues with filters and navigation to ensure that every interactive component performs its intended function without errors. Conduct Regular Mobile Usability Testing: Implement ongoing mobile testing as part of the development cycle to catch responsiveness issues early and maintain a consistent user experience. Test, Test, and Test Again. Conclusion The exploratory testing of Cars.ng revealed several critical issues, with mobile responsiveness emerging as a key area needing attention. By addressing these issues, Cars.ng can significantly enhance its user experience, particularly for users accessing the site via mobile devices. Improving the responsiveness, along with the overall functionality and image quality, will likely lead to increased user satisfaction and engagement. For a detailed view of all documented issues, please refer to my complete Excel report here.

Feb 6, 2025 - 19:27

Introduction

Cars.ng is one of the leading platforms for buying and selling cars in Nigeria, providing users with a range of functionalities—from browsing car listings to contacting sellers directly. As part of our exploratory testing, I conducted a thorough review of the website’s core user flows, with a special focus on ensuring a seamless experience across both desktop and mobile devices. This report highlights various issues discovered during testing, with an overarching observation: the mobile version of Cars.ng needs to be more responsive across the entire website.

Testing Setup and Methods

For this task, I utilized the latest versions of Chrome and Firefox on Windows 11 Pro for desktop testing, and Safari on iOS 18 for mobile testing. I followed these steps:

User Flow Exploration: I navigated through key sections of the site such as the homepage, car details pages, and contact sections.
Issue Documentation: Each issue was logged using a detailed bug report template in an Excel (Google Sheets) file, including steps to reproduce, expected vs. actual results, environment details, and severity ratings.
Visual Proof: Screenshots and video recordings were attached for each issue to provide visual evidence of the problems encountered.
Focus on Mobile Experience: Special attention was paid to how the site renders on mobile devices, which revealed several responsiveness issues.

You can review the full documentation of my findings by accessing the Excel report here.

Key Findings

During the testing process, I documented multiple issues affecting both desktop and mobile experiences. Here are some of the significant findings:

Unclickable Contact Information: On the car details page, the contact information (such as WhatsApp or phone number) was not clickable, preventing users from easily reaching out to sellers.
Blurry Car Images: Certain images, particularly in the “Similar Deals” section in the car details page, appeared blurry, which could confuse users regarding the quality and details of the cars.
Non-Functional Filters and Dead Links: Some interactive elements like the price filter and dashboard navigation were not functioning as expected, leading to errors (e.g., 500 error pages).

The Mobile Responsiveness Issue

The most recurring theme throughout the testing was the lack of proper mobile responsiveness:

Inconsistent Padding and Layout Issues: Text and images on mobile devices often appeared too close to the screen borders or overflowed their containers, making the content hard to read.
Non-Responsive Car Displays: Several sections, particularly the car display on the homepage, did not adjust well to smaller screens. The scroll container did not resize properly, leading to a disjointed user experience.

These issues highlight a crucial area of improvement for Cars.ng. In today’s mobile-first world, ensuring that the platform is fully responsive on all devices is not only a best practice but also essential for user retention and satisfaction.

Recommendations

Based on my testing, here are my actionable recommendations for Cars.ng:

Improve Mobile Responsiveness Across the Website:
- Redesign layout elements using responsive design techniques (e.g., CSS media queries) to ensure that images, text, and buttons scale appropriately on all devices.
Clickable Contact Information:
- Update the contact elements to ensure they are interactive and properly linked to their respective actions (i.e., opening WhatsApp or initiating a call).
Optimize Image Quality:
- Re-evaluate the image compression settings and source quality to ensure that car images are sharp and clear across all sections of the website.
Enhance Functionality of Interactive Elements:
- Address the issues with filters and navigation to ensure that every interactive component performs its intended function without errors.
Conduct Regular Mobile Usability Testing:
- Implement ongoing mobile testing as part of the development cycle to catch responsiveness issues early and maintain a consistent user experience. Test, Test, and Test Again.

Conclusion

The exploratory testing of Cars.ng revealed several critical issues, with mobile responsiveness emerging as a key area needing attention. By addressing these issues, Cars.ng can significantly enhance its user experience, particularly for users accessing the site via mobile devices. Improving the responsiveness, along with the overall functionality and image quality, will likely lead to increased user satisfaction and engagement.

For a detailed view of all documented issues, please refer to my complete Excel report here.