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• How to write UI tests for your plugin – Introducing the Piwik Platform

  18 février 2015, par Thomas Steur — Development

  This is the next post of our blog series where we introduce the capabilities of the Piwik platform (our previous post was How to write unit tests for your plugin). This time you’ll learn how to write UI tests in Piwik. For this tutorial you will need to have basic knowledge of JavaScript and the Piwik platform.

  What is a UI test ?

  Some might know a UI test under the term ‘CSS test’ or ‘screenshot test’. When we speak of UI tests we mean automated tests that capture a screenshot of a URL and then compare the result with an expected image. If the images are not exactly the same the test will fail. For more information read our blog post about UI Testing.

  What is a UI test good for ?

  We use them to test our PHP Controllers, Twig templates, CSS, and indirectly test our JavaScript. We do usually not write Unit or Integration tests for our controllers. For example we use UI tests to ensure that the installation, the login and the update process works as expected. We also have tests for most pages, reports, settings, etc. This increases the quality of our product and saves us a lot of time as it is easy to write and maintain such tests. All UI tests are executed on Travis after each commit and compared with our expected screenshots.

  Getting started

  In this post, we assume that you have already installed Piwik 2.11.0 or later via git, set up your development environment and created a plugin. If not, visit the Piwik Developer Zone where you’ll find the tutorial Setting up Piwik and other Guides that help you to develop a plugin.

  Next you need to install the needed packages to execute UI tests.

  Let’s create a UI test

  We start by using the Piwik Console to create a new UI test :

  ./console generate:test --testtype ui

  The command will ask you to enter the name of the plugin the created test should belong to. I will use the plugin name “Widgetize”. Next it will ask you for the name of the test. Here you usually enter the name of the page or report you want to test. I will use the name “WidgetizePage” in this example. There should now be a file plugins/Widgetize/tests/UI/WidgetizePage_spec.js which contains already an example to get you started easily :

  describe("WidgetizePage", function () {
  
      var generalParams = 'idSite=1&period=day&date=2010-01-03';
  
  
  
      it('should load a simple page by its module and action', function (done) {
  
          var screenshotName = 'simplePage';
  
          // will save image in "processed-ui-screenshots/WidgetizePageTest_simplePage.png"
  
  
  
          expect.screenshot(screenshotName).to.be.capture(function (page) {
  
              var urlToTest = "?" + generalParams + "&module=Widgetize&action=index";
  
              page.load(urlToTest);
  
          }, done);
  
      });
  
  });

  What is happening here ?

  This example declares a new set of specs by calling the method describe(name, callback) and within that a new spec by calling the method it(description, func). Within the spec we load a URL and once loaded capture a screenshot of the whole page. The captured screenshot will be saved under the defined screenshotName. You might have noticed we write our UI tests in BDD style.

  Capturing only a part of the page

  It is good practice to not always capture the full page. For example many pages contain a menu and if you change that menu, all your screenshot tests would fail. To avoid this you would instead have a separate test for your menu. To capture only a part of the page simply specify a jQuery selector and call the method captureSelector instead of capture :

  var contentSelector = '#selector1, .selector2 .selector3';
  
  // Only the content of both selectors will be in visible in the captured screenshot
  
  expect.screenshot('page_partial').to.be.captureSelector(contentSelector, function (page) {
  
      page.load(urlToTest);
  
  }, done);

  Hiding content

  There is a known issue with sparklines that can fail tests randomly. Also version numbers or a date that changes from time to time can fail tests without actually having an error. To avoid this you can prevent elements from being visible in the captured screenshot via CSS as we add a CSS class called uiTest to the HTML element while tests are running.

  .uiTest .version { visibility:hidden }

  Running a test

  To run the previously generated tests we will use the command tests:run-ui :

  ./console tests:run-ui WidgetizePage

  After running the tests for the first time you will notice a new folder plugins/PLUGINNAME/tests/UI/processed-ui-screenshots in your plugin. If everything worked, there will be an image for every captured screenshot. If you’re happy with the result it is time to copy the file over to the expected-ui-screenshots folder, otherwise you have to adjust your test until you get the result you want. From now on, the newly captured screenshots will be compared with the expected images whenever you execute the tests.

  Fixing a test

  At some point your UI test will fail, for example due to expected CSS changes. To fix a test all you have to do is to copy the captured screenshot from the folder processed-ui-screenshots to the folder expected-ui-screenshots.

  Executing the UI tests on Travis

  In case you have not generated a .travis.yml file for your plugin yet you can do this by executing the following command :

  ./console generate:travis-yml --plugin PLUGINNAME

  Next you have to activate Travis for your repository.

  Advanced features

  Isn’t it easy to create a UI test ? We never even created a file ! Of course you can accomplish even more if you want. For example you can specify a fixture to be inserted before running the tests which is useful when your plugin requires custom data. You can also control the browser as it was a human by clicking, moving the mouse, typing text, etc. If you want to discover more features have a look at our existing test cases.

  If you have any feedback regarding our APIs or our guides in the Developer Zone feel free to send it to us.

• Death of A Micro Center

  21 septembre 2012, par Multimedia Mike — History

  The Micro Center computer store located in Santa Clara, CA, USA closed recently :

  
  
  

  I liked Micro Center. I have liked Micro Center ever since I first visited their Denver, CO location 10 years ago. I would sometimes drive an hour in each direction just to visit that shop. I was excited to see that they had a location in the Bay Area when I moved here a few years ago (despite the preponderance of Fry’s stores).

  Now this location is gone. I wonder how much of the “we couldn’t come to favorable terms on a lease” was true (vs. an excuse to close a retail store at a time when more business is moving online, particularly in the heart of Silicon Valley). But that’s not what I wanted to discuss. I came here to discuss…

  The Micro Center Window Logos

  The craziest part about shopping the Santa Clara Micro Center location was the logos they displayed on the window outside. Every time I saw it, it made me sentimental for a time when some of these logos were current, or when some of these companies were still in business. Some of the logos on their front window were for companies I’ve never heard of. It reminds me of the nearby 7-11 convenience stores when I was growing up– their walls were decorated with people sporting embarrassingly 1970s styles long after the 1970s had transpired.

  I thought I would record what those front window logos were and try to pinpoint when the store launched exactly (assuming the logos have been their since the initial opening and never changed).

  
  
  Click for larger image
  

  Here we have Lotus, Hewlett Packard/HP, Corel, Fuji, Power Macintosh, NEC, and Fujitsu. Lotus was purchased by IBM in 1995 and still seems to be maintained as a separate brand. The Power Macintosh was introduced as a brand in 1994. Corel’s logo has seen a few mutations over the years but I don’t know when this one fell out of favor.

  Fuji (vs. Fujitsu) appears to refer to Fujifilm, though this logo is also obsolete.

  
  
  Click for larger image
  

  Hayes– I specifically remember reading the Slashdot post accouncing that Hayes is dead (followed by many comments reminiscing about the Hayes command set). Here is the post, from early 1999.

  From Googling, it doesn’t appear IBM still has a presence in the consumer computing space (though they do have something pertaining to software for consumer products). Then there’s the good old rainbow Apple logo, something that went away in 1997. I suspect 1997 was also the last hurrah of the name ‘Macintosh’ (though I remember mistakenly referring to Apple computer products as Macintoshes well into the mid-2000s and inadvertently angering some Apple enthusiasts).

  
  
  Click for larger image
  

  As for the next segment, obviously, both Sony and Toshiba are still very much alive. Iomega was acquired by EMC in 2008 but is still maintained as a separate brand. USRobotics is still around and making — what else ? — 56K modems (and their current logo is slightly different than the one seen here).

  Targus seems to be a case maker (“Leading Provider of Cases, Bags and Accessories for Laptops and Tablets”). I wonder if that’s just their current business or if they had more areas long ago ? It seems strange that they would get brand billing like this.

  Finally, searching for information about Practical Peripherals only produces sites about how they’re long dead (like this history lesson). It’s unclear when they died.

  The interior of this store was also decorated with more technology company logos near the ceiling (I didn’t really register that fact until I had visited many times). Regrettably, I now won’t be able to see how up to date those logos were.

  Based on the data points above, it’s safe to conclude that the store opened between 1995 or 1996 (again, assuming the logos were placed at opening and never changed).

  Epilogue

  Here’s one more curious item still visible from the outside :

  
  
  

  “See the world’s fastest PC !” Featuring an Intel Core 2 Extreme ? That CPU dates back to 2007 and was succeeded by Nehalem in late 2008. So even that sign, which is presumably easier and cleaner to replace than the window logos, was absurdly out of date.

• What Are Website KPIs (10 KPIs and Best Ways to Track Them)

  3 mai 2024, par Erin

  Trying to improve your website’s performance ?

  Have you ever heard the phrase, “What gets measured gets managed ?”

  To improve, you need to start crunching your numbers.

  The question is, what numbers are you supposed to track ?

  If you want to improve your conversions, then you need to track your website KPIs.

  In this guide, we’ll break down the top website KPIs you need to be tracking and how you can track them so you can double down on what’s working with your website (and ditch what’s not).

  Let’s begin.

  What are website KPIs ?

  Before we dive into website KPIs, let’s define “KPI.”

  A KPI is a key performance indicator.

  You can use this measurable metric to track progress toward a specific objective.

  A website KPI is a metric to track progress towards a specific website performance objective.

  

  Website KPIs help your business identify strengths and weaknesses on your website, activities you’re doing well (and those you’re struggling with).

  Web KPIs can give you and your team a target to reach with simple checkpoints to show you whether you’re on the right track toward your goals.

  By tracking website KPIs regularly, you can ensure your organisation performs consistently at a high level.

  Whether you’re looking to improve your traffic, leads or revenue, keeping a close eye on your website KPIs can help you reach your goals.

  10 Website KPIs to track

  If you want to improve your site’s performance, you need to track the right KPIs.

  While there are plenty of web analytics solutions on the market today, below we’ll cover KPIs that are automatically tracked in Matomo (and don’t require any configuration).

  Here are the top 10 website KPIs you need to track to improve site performance and grow your brand :

  1. Pageviews

  Website pageviews are one of the most important KPIs to track.

  What is it exactly ?

  It’s simply the number of times a specific web page has been viewed on your site in a specific time period.

  For example, your homepage might have had 327 pageviews last month, and only 252 this month. 

  This is a drop of 23%. 

  A drop in pageviews could mean your search engine optimisation or traffic campaigns are weakening. Alternatively, if you see pageviews rise, it could mean your marketing initiatives are performing well.

  High or low pageviews could also indicate potential issues on specific pages. For example, your visitors might have trouble finding specific pages if you have poor website structure.

  

  2. Average time on page

  Now that you understand pageviews, let’s talk about average time on page.

  This is simple : it’s the average amount of time your visitors spend on a particular web page on your site.

  This isn’t the average time they spend on your website but on a specific page.

  If you’re finding that you’re getting steady traffic to a specific web page, but the average time on the page is low, it may mean the content on the page needs to be updated or optimised.

  Tracking your average time on page is important, as the longer someone stays on a page, the better the experience.

  This isn’t a hard and fast rule, though. For specific types of content like knowledge base articles, you may want a shorter period of time on page to ensure someone gets their answer quickly.

  3. Bounce rate

  Bounce rate sounds fun, right ?

  Well, it’s not usually a good thing for your website.

  A bounce rate is how many users entered your website but “bounced” away without clicking through to another page.

  Your bounce rate is a key KPI that helps you determine the quality of your content and the user experience on individual pages.

  You could be getting plenty of traffic to your site, but if the majority are bouncing out before heading to new pages, it could mean that your content isn’t engaging enough for your visitors.

  Remember, like average time on page, your bounce rate isn’t a black-and-white KPI.

  A higher bounce rate may mean your site visitors got exactly what they needed and are pleased.

  But, if you have a high bounce rate on a product page or a landing page, that is a sign you need to optimise the page.

  4. Exit rate

  Bounce rate is the percentage of people who left the website after visiting one page.

  Exit rate, on the other hand, is the percentage of website visits that ended on a specific page.

  For example, you may find that a blog post you wrote has a 19% exit rate and received 1,000 visits that month. This means out of the 1,000 people who viewed this page, 190 exited after visiting it.

  On the other hand, you may find that a second blog post has 1,000 pageviews, but a 10% exit rate, with only 100 people leaving the site after visiting this page.

  What could this mean ?

  This means the second page did a better job keeping the person on your website longer. This could be because :

  • It had more engaging content, keeping the visitors’ interest high
  • It had better internal links to other relevant pieces of content
  • It had a better call to action, taking someone to another web page

  If you’re an e-commerce store and notice that your exit rate is higher on your product, cart or checkout pages, you may need to adjust those pages for better conversions.

  

  5. Average page load time

  Want to know another reason you may have a high exit rate or bounce rate on a page ?

  Your page load time.

  The average page load time is the average time it takes (in seconds) from the moment you click through to a page until it has fully rendered within your browser.

  In other words, it’s the time it takes after you click on a page for it to be fully functional.

  Your average load time is a crucial website KPI because it significantly impacts page performance and the user experience.

  How important is your page load time ?

  Nearly 53% of website visitors expect e-commerce pages to load in 3 seconds or less.

  You will likely lose visitors if your pages take too long to load.

  You could have the best content on a web page, but if it takes too long to load, your visitors will bounce, exit, or simply be frustrated.

  6. Conversions

  

  Conversions.

  It’s one of the most popular words in digital marketing circles.

  But what does it mean ?

  A conversion is simply the number of times someone takes a specific action on your website.

  For example, it could be wanting someone to :

  • Read a blog post
  • Click an external link
  • Download a PDF guide
  • Sign up to your email list
  • Comment on your blog post
  • Watch a new video you uploaded
  • Purchase a limited-edition product
  • Sign up for a free trial of your software

  To start tracking conversions, you need to first decide what your business goals are for your website.

  With Matomo, you can set up conversions easily through the Goals feature. Simply set up your website goals, and Matomo will automatically track the conversions towards that objective (as a goal completion).

  Simply choose what conversion you want to track, and you can analyse when conversions occur through the Matomo platform.

  7. Conversion rate

  

  Now that you know what a conversion is, it’s time to talk about conversion rate.

  This key website KPI will help you analyse your performance towards your goals.

  Conversion rate is simply the percentage of visitors who take a desired action, like completing a purchase, signing up for a newsletter, or filling out a form, out of the total number of visitors to your website or landing page.

  Understanding this percentage can help you plan your marketing strategy to improve your website and business performance.

  For instance, let’s say that 2% of your website visitors purchase a product on your digital storefront.

  Knowing this, you could tweak different levers to increase your sales.

  If your average order value is $50 and you get 100,000 visits monthly, you make about $100,000.

  Let’s say you want to increase your revenue.

  One option is to increase your traffic by implementing campaigns to increase different traffic sources, such as social media ads, search ads, organic social traffic, and SEO.

  If you can get your traffic to 120,000 visitors monthly, you can increase your revenue to $120,000 — an additional $20,000 monthly for the extra 20,000 visits.

  Or, if you wanted to increase revenue, you could ignore traffic growth and simply improve your website with conversion rate optimisation (CRO).

  CRO is the practice of making changes to your website or landing page to encourage more visitors to take the desired action.

  If you can get your conversion rate up to 2.5%, the calculation looks like this :

  100,000 visits x $50 average order value x 2.5% = $125,000/month.

  8. Average time spent on forms

  If you want more conversions, you need to analyse forms.

  Why ?

  Form analysis is crucial because it helps you pinpoint where users might be facing obstacles. 

  By identifying these pain points, you can refine the form’s layout and fields to enhance the user experience, leading to higher conversion rates.

  In particular, you should track the average time spent on your forms to understand which ones might be causing frustration or confusion. 

  The average time a visitor spends on a form is calculated by measuring the duration between their first interaction with a form field (such as when they focus on it) and their final interaction.

  Find out how Concrete CMS tripled their leads using Form Analytics.

  9. Play rate

  One often overlooked website KPI you need to be tracking is play rate.

  What is it exactly ?

  The percentage of visitors who click “play” on a video or audio media format on a specific web page.

  For example, if you have a video on your homepage, and 50 people watched it out of the 1,000 people who visited your website today, you have a play rate of 5%.

  Play rate lets you track whenever someone consumes a particular piece of audio or video content on your website, like a video, podcast, or audiobook.

  Not all web analytics solutions offer media analytics. However, Matomo lets you track your media like audio and video without the need for configuration, saving you time and upkeep.

  10. Actions per visit

  Another crucial website KPI is actions per visit.

  This is the average number of interactions a visitor has with your website during a single visit.

  For example, someone may visit your website, resulting in a variety of actions :

  • Downloading content
  • Clicking external links
  • Visiting a number of pages
  • Conducting specific site searches

  Actions per visit is a core KPI that indicates how engaging your website and content are.

  The higher the actions per visit, the more engaged your visitors typically are, which can help them stay longer and eventually convert to paying customers.

  Track your website KPIs with Matomo today

  Running a website is no easy task.

  There are dozens of factors to consider and manage :

  • Copy
  • Design
  • Performance
  • Tech integrations
  • And more

  But, to improve your website and grow your business, you must also dive into your web analytics by tracking key website KPIs.

  Managing these metrics can be challenging, but Matomo simplifies the process by consolidating all your core KPIs into one easy-to-use platform.

  As a privacy-friendly and GDPR-compliant web analytics solution, Matomo tracks 20-40% more data than other solutions. So you gain access to 100% accurate, unsampled insights, enabling confident decision-making.

  Join over 1 million websites that trust Matomo as their web analytics solution. Try it free for 21 days — no credit card required.

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