Smoke Testing

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Smoke Testing for Web Sites – Basic Guide

What is Smoke Testing?

Smoke testing is a quick check to make sure the website is up and major functions are working after a new build or deployment. It does not cover deep or detailed testing — just the basic “is it working at all” check.

How to Prepare?

Identify the critical paths of the website — core features that must work for the product to be usable (e.g. homepage loads, login works, main navigation is clickable). Keep a short checklist of 5–10 high-level actions. No need for detailed test cases.

How to Execute?

Open the site and perform basic actions manually: load key pages, log in, submit a form, check navigation. No need to check every detail. The goal is to confirm the build is stable enough for deeper testing. If anything critical fails — stop and report immediately.

When to Run Smoke Tests?

• After each new build or deployment
• Before starting full regression or exploratory testing
• As part of CI/CD pipeline checks

Examples:

• If the homepage does not load — smoke test fails.
• If the login form crashes — stop and report. No need to check further until fixed.