Method and system for web-site testing

Abstract

Embodiments of the present invention are directed to methods and systems for testing web sites and web servers. In discussed embodiments of the present invention, a third-party testing service collects page-access and conversion information on behalf of a web site. The third-party testing service is straightforwardly configured through a user interface and is engaged for real-time, live statistics collection by means of simple modifications of HTML files served or provided to users by a web site.

1 . A testing service comprising:
 one or more testing-service computer systems that execute testing-service routines and that receive and respond to test-subject-computer requests; and   a client web server that serves web pages to users, the client web server storing a library of routines downloaded to the client web server by the testing service and storing encodings of the web pages, the encoding of each web page tested by the testing service including modifications that direct a user's web browser to download the library of routines from the client web server and to request modifications to a data-object-model representation of the web page by calling a script-library routine.   
     
     
         2 . The testing service of  claim 1  wherein the testing service routines include:
 testing-service routines that implement a web server that provides a web-site interface to clients; 
 testing-service routines that handle test-related events that occur during test runs; and 
 testing routines that manage test data storage and access and that pass test data to analytics and test-result-reporting routines. 
 
     
     
         3 . The testing service of  claim 2  wherein the testing-service web server provides a new-client registration interface, a test-creation-and-test-modification interface, a test-run-creation-and-modification interface, a test-run-launching interface, a status-reporting interface, and additional interfaces that allow clients to request analysis and reporting of test results. 
     
     
         4 . The testing service of  claim 2  wherein the testing service routines that handle test-related events that occur during test runs receive a request from a user computer, which downloaded a test page from the client web server, for modifications to the downloaded test page and respond to the request, when the request is received from a computer of a user representing a valid test subject as a result of downloading an active test page, by logging a page access for the user computer and by returning a web-page modification to the user computer that, when carried out by the user computer, transforms the downloaded web page into a test page. 
     
     
         5 . The testing service of  claim 2  wherein the testing service routines that handle test-related events that occur during test runs receive a message, from a user computer that download test pages, which represents a conversion event and respond to the message, when the message is received from a computer of a user representing a valid test subject, by logging a conversion event for the user computer. 
     
     
         6 . The testing service of  claim 2  wherein a web-site test is represented by a stored data object that includes a test name, indication of the client who created the test, a test description, an indication of a web page that is the subject of the test, and indications of the features of the web page that are to be systematically altered during a test. 
     
     
         7 . The testing service of  claim 6  wherein a web-site test is associated with one or more records that specify a particular test run, the test-run records indicating the alternatives for each tested web-page feature, a user segment that represents the test subjects for the test run, a test-run design according to which web pages are modified and distributed, an indication of one or more conversion events for the test run, and a test-run status. 
     
     
         8 . An information-distribution-testing system comprising:
 a testing-service computer system that, when testing of one or more information entities served by a client server to a user computer is being carried out, receives and stores information about user interactions with displayed information corresponding to the one or more information entities under test and, in response to a request from a routine executed by the user device, returns one or more subtree data structures to the user device that, when incorporated into a tree data structure constructed to represent the displayed information by the user device, changes the information displayed by the user device.   
     
     
         9 . The information-distribution-testing system of  claim 8  wherein the testing-service computer system additionally provides a client interface to the client server to allow the client server to be initialized and to configure web-page testing. 
     
     
         10 . The information-distribution-testing system of  claim 8  wherein the information entities are data files that specify displayed information. 
     
     
         11 . The information-distribution-testing system of  claim 10  wherein the information entities are HTML data files. 
     
     
         12 . The information-distribution-testing system of  claim 10  wherein an application program on the user device renders an information entity for display. 
     
     
         13 . The information-distribution-testing system of  claim 12  wherein the displayed information is a displayed web page. 
     
     
         14 . The information-distribution-testing system of  claim 8  wherein the sub tree data structures are data-object-model trees constructed by a web browser from HTML files. 
     
     
         15 . The information-distribution-testing system of  claim 8  wherein the one or more modified information entities are HTML files that each includes one or two additional single-line statements and one or more additional object identifiers for objects under test not associated with object identifiers in a corresponding unmodified HTML file. 
     
     
         16 . Computer instructions stored in a physical data-storage device that, when executed by one or more processors of a testing-service computer system, control the testing-service computer system to
 provide a client interface to a client that manages a client information server that serves information entities to a user device;   download a library of routines to the client information server;   store client information and test-configuration received from the client through the client interface in memory; and   when testing is being carried out on one or more information entities, receive and store information about user interactions with displayed information corresponding to the one or more information entities under test and, in response to a request from a routine executed by the user device, return one or more subtree data structures to the user device that, when incorporated into a tree data structure constructed to represent the displayed information by the user device, changes the information displayed by the user device corresponding to the one or more information entities under test.   
     
     
         17 . The computer instructions of  claim 16  wherein the information entities are data files that specify displayed information. 
     
     
         18 . The computer instructions of  claim 17  wherein the information entities are HTML data files. 
     
     
         19 . The computer instructions of  claim 16  wherein an application program on the user device renders an information entity for display. 
     
     
         20 . The computer instructions of  claim 16  wherein the displayed information is a displayed web page.