What Is a Website QA Checklist?
A website QA checklist is a systematic list of checks that ensures a website works correctly before it goes live. It covers everything from broken links and browser compatibility to performance, accessibility, and content accuracy.
Think of it as the final quality gate between "done" and "live." A good website QA checklist catches issues that individual developers and designers miss β because they've been looking at the same page for weeks and can no longer see the problems.
This article provides a free, downloadable website QA checklist organized by category, so you can use it as-is or adapt it to your project.
Website QA Checklist (Free, Downloadable)
1. Functionality Testing
- All internal links work (no broken links)
- All external links open correctly (check target="_blank" behavior)
- All forms submit correctly (contact form, signup, search)
- Form validation works (required fields, email format, password rules)
- Form error messages are helpful and visible
- Call-to-action buttons link to the correct pages
- Search functionality returns relevant results
- Pagination works correctly (next/previous, page numbers)
- File downloads trigger correctly (PDFs, images, documents)
- Video and audio players load and play
- Lightbox / modal windows open and close properly
- 404 page displays correctly (not the default server page)
- 500 error page is styled and user-friendly
- Logout functionality clears session properly
- Session timeout handling works as expected
2. Cross-Browser & Cross-Device Testing
- Chrome (latest 2 versions)
- Firefox (latest 2 versions)
- Safari (latest 2 versions, including macOS and iOS)
- Edge (latest 2 versions)
- Mobile Safari (iPhone, iPad β multiple screen sizes)
- Chrome for Android (multiple screen sizes)
- Samsung Internet (if high-usage region)
- Responsive layout at 320px, 768px, 1024px, 1440px, 1920px
- No horizontal scrollbar at any common width
- Touch targets are at least 48x48px (mobile usability)
- Font sizes are readable on small screens
- Images scale correctly and don't overflow
3. Performance Testing
- Page load time under 3 seconds (or target threshold)
- Lighthouse performance score β₯ 80 (mobile)
- Images are optimized (compressed, correct format, lazy loading)
- CSS and JavaScript are minified
- Render-blocking resources are minimized
- Core Web Vitals pass (LCP < 2.5s, FID < 100ms, CLS < 0.1)
- Server response time (TTFB) under 600ms
- Caching headers are configured correctly
- CDN is configured (if applicable)
- No memory leaks in long-running pages (SPA)
4. SEO & Metadata Testing
- Page title (title tag) is set and unique per page
- Meta description is set and compelling
- Open Graph tags (og:title, og:description, og:image) are present
- Twitter Card tags are present
- Canonical URL is set correctly
- h1 tag is present and contains primary keyword
- Heading hierarchy is logical (h1 β h2 β h3)
- Alt text is added to all images
- XML sitemap is submitted to search engines
- Robots.txt is configured correctly
- Noindex tags are applied to staging/dev pages
- Structured data / schema markup is valid (test with Google Rich Results)
- URLs are clean and readable (no underscores, no parameter noise)
- 301 redirects are in place for changed URLs
- 404s from old URLs redirect to relevant pages
5. Accessibility Testing
- Keyboard navigation works (Tab, Enter, Escape, Arrow keys)
- Focus indicators are visible (not removed via outline: none)
- Skip-to-content link is present and functional
- Color contrast meets WCAG AA (4.5:1 for normal text, 3:1 for large text)
- Screen reader can navigate the page logically
- ARIA labels are used where needed (dynamic content, custom controls)
- Form fields have associated labels
- Error messages are announced by screen readers
- Video content has captions or transcripts
- Interactive elements are accessible via keyboard
- Page zoom up to 200% doesn't break layout
- Reduced motion preference is respected (prefers-reduced-motion)
6. Content & Design Testing
- No spelling or grammar errors
- Brand voice is consistent across all pages
- Logo links to homepage (not just a static image)
- Contact information is accurate (email, phone, address)
- Legal pages are up to date (privacy policy, terms of service)
- Copyright year in footer is current
- Images are not pixelated or stretched
- Font rendering is consistent across browsers
- Spacing and alignment are consistent (no visual glitches)
- Animations are smooth (60fps) and don't cause motion sickness
- Print stylesheet works (or content prints cleanly)
7. Security Testing
- HTTPS is enforced (redirect HTTP to HTTPS)
- SSL certificate is valid (not expired)
- Form submissions use POST (not GET)
- Input validation prevents XSS and SQL injection
- Authentication pages use HTTPS exclusively
- Session cookies are secure and HttpOnly
- No sensitive data in source code (API keys, passwords, tokens)
- Security headers (CSP, HSTS, X-Frame-Options) are configured
- Admin URLs are not publicly accessible
- File uploads are restricted (type, size) and scanned
Website QA Testing: How to Run Through the Checklist
Step 1: Choose your tools
- Manual testing β go through the checklist page by page
- Automated tools β Lighthouse, axe DevTools, WAVE, Screaming Frog
- Visual feedback tools β BugCapturer for annotating issues directly on the page
Step 2: Go page by page
Don't try to test the entire site at once. Pick a page, run through all applicable categories, then move to the next page. Start with high-traffic pages and critical workflows (homepage, checkout, login, search).Step 3: Log issues as you find them
When you find a bug, log it immediately. Use a tool like BugCapturer to:- Take an annotated screenshot with arrows and text pointing to the issue
- Auto-capture the URL, browser, OS, and screen resolution
- Record a short video if the bug involves animation or interaction
- Capture console errors and network failures automatically
Step 4: Fix and retest
Assign issues to the right team members, set priorities, and retest after fixes. Each bug should be verified before the site goes live.Web Quality Assurance Checklist: Pro Tips
How BugCapturer Helps with Website QA
BugCapturer, a free Chrome extension for bug reporting and visual feedback, integrates directly into the QA workflow:
- Screenshot annotation: Drag to select the problem area, add arrows, rectangles, and text. No separate screenshot tool needed.
- Screen recording: Record the current tab as a WebM video, then trim and extract key frames. Perfect for bugs involving animation, hover states, or interactions.
- Auto tech metadata: URL, browser, OS, screen resolution, and viewport are collected automatically β no manual typing.
- Diagnostic data collection: Captures error-level console logs and failed network requests (HTTP status β₯ 400). Network URLs are automatically redacted for sensitive parameters.
- One-click email: Everything is packaged into a structured email, ready to send to the developer.
- Excel/TSV export: One-click copy a 12-column structured bug report row to your clipboard for team-level tracking.
With BugCapturer, running through a website QA checklist becomes dramatically faster. Each bug takes 30 seconds to report instead of 5 minutes.
Download: Website QA Checklist
Copy the checklist above into your preferred format:
- Google Sheets / Excel β create a spreadsheet with columns for each category and checkboxes
- Notion / Trello β create a checklist card for each category
- Markdown β keep the raw text in your repo or wiki
- Print β use as a physical checklist for manual testing sessions
The best format is the one your QA team actually uses. Adapt the checklist to your project β add project-specific items, remove irrelevant ones, and update it after each release.