User acceptance testing answers one question: does the website do what the business needs, for the people who will use it? It comes after the developers' and testers' own QA, and it is done by the client, the product owner or real users, in conditions as close to live as possible. Download the checklist as a spreadsheet and add your own requirements to it.
Prepare
- The requirements or user stories being accepted are listed — one row per requirement
- Acceptance criteria are written for each — what “done” looks like
- A staging site with realistic content and data is ready — not lorem ipsum
- Testers have accounts for each role — customer, editor, admin
- There is one place to record issues — a shared bug tracker with status
- What blocks sign-off is agreed in advance — for example, no open critical or high bugs
Key user journeys
- A new visitor understands what the site offers from the homepage — ask someone who has not seen it
- The main goal can be completed end to end — buy, book, sign up or contact
- A visitor can find a specific product, article or service — through menu and search
- Forms collect the right data and send it where the business needs it — check the receiving end
- Confirmation messages and e-mails say the right thing — wording and details
- Logged-in users can manage their account and data — edit, delete, log out
Content and brand
- Texts are final, correct and approved — legal and product details checked
- Prices, contact details and opening hours are correct — compare with the source
- Images and brand elements are approved — logos, colours, photos
- Legal pages are approved by whoever is responsible — privacy, terms, cookies
Devices and access
- Key journeys work on the phones your customers use — iPhone and Android
- Key journeys work in the browsers your customers use — check analytics for the list
- The site can be used with the keyboard and a screen reader for key journeys — basic check
Admin and data
- Editors can update the content they are responsible for — without a developer
- Orders, leads or bookings reach the systems that process them — CRM, e-mail, accounting
- Reports and notifications reach the right people — test each one
Sign-off
- All critical and high issues are fixed and retested — by the person who reported them
- Remaining issues are accepted with a fix date — listed in the tracker
- Sign-off is recorded with date, version and names — before launch