When I first started in QA, I believed testing started the moment you opened a website.
Click every button. Open every menu. Verify every link. Try to break everything. That was my process. Or at least…
I thought it was.
One day I opened a website and found myself completely lost.
Not because it was confusing. Because I didn’t understand what it was.
I remember thinking:
“I can test every button on this page… but I still don’t understand what this product is.”
So I stopped. Made myself a cup of coffee. And started asking questions instead.
What is this? Who built it? Why does it exist? What problem is it trying to solve?
A few minutes later… Everything clicked. It wasn’t a SaaS platform. It wasn’t an application.
It was the official website for a product.
That changed everything.
Suddenly, I Was Asking Different Questions
Instead of asking:
“Does every button work?”
I started asking:
Does this website explain the product clearly? Does it build trust? Does it make me curious? Does it make me want the product? Would I keep reading?
Because that’s the real purpose of a product website. Not existing. Converting visitors into customers.
Only after understanding that…
I started the technical review.
UI. UX. Accessibility. Responsiveness. Broken links. Forms. Edge cases. Performance. Everything.
But now… Every technical finding had context.
That’s When My Reports Changed
Before… My reports answered technical questions.
Now… They answer business questions too.
Questions like:
Where did I feel confused? What made me trust the product? Where did I hesitate? What convinced me to continue? Would I recommend it?
Those aren’t bug reports. They’re user insights. And founders have told me those observations are often just as valuable as the technical findings.
Final Reflection
Today, before writing my first bug…
I try to understand the idea.
Because if I don’t understand what a founder is trying to build…
I can’t honestly tell them whether they’re succeeding.
The first thing I test isn’t the software.
It’s the idea.
