Automation testing is the process of checking that automated workflows trigger correctly and perform the actions they were designed to perform.
The power of automation is only possible if your setup actually works.
Testing is a critical step in any automation or funnel build, ensuring that when you launch it to the world it functions exactly as you intend.
When someone completes a form or signs up for something on your website, you want to be confident that they:
- enter the correct automation
- receive the correct follow-up communication
- have the right tags applied
- trigger the correct internal actions for your team
When all of this works properly, automation saves time and keeps your business running smoothly in the background.
When it doesn’t, problems can happen very quickly.
What Is Automation Testing?
Automation testing is the process of verifying that every step in an automated workflow behaves exactly as expected.
Most automations follow a simple structure:
- A trigger – something that starts the automation (such as a form submission or purchase)
- Logic or conditions – rules that determine what should happen next
- Actions – emails, notifications, tags, pipeline updates or other steps
Testing confirms that each of these parts works correctly.
For example, if someone downloads a lead magnet from your website, testing would confirm that:
- the form successfully captures the lead
- the contact is added to your CRM
- the automation starts correctly
- the correct follow-up email is sent
- internal notifications trigger for your team
Without testing, you are essentially hoping the setup works.
Most of the time it probably will – but if something breaks, it can impact every lead or customer going through that funnel.
The Importance Of Testing
I’d rather something go wrong for me than go wrong for my clients or prospects.
Testing gives you the opportunity to identify issues before they affect real people interacting with your business.
Here are some of the main reasons for testing:
- Losing Leads – it could be a handful of leads for someone’s business. For others it could be hundreds or thousands of leads lost if the front-end funnel is not working correctly. This can be particularly harmful for businesses running paid ads that may mean they are throwing their money away if the leads can’t be captured.
- Increased Confusion / Support Requests – if contacts don’t receive communications as expected from you, or receive incorrect messages, this can lead to confusion and additional admin work responding to support requests.
- Customer Complaints – if a customer purchases something but never receives the email with the details or next steps, the chance of complaints increases.
- Refund Requests – if someone pays for something but never receives confirmation or instructions, there is a higher chance they will request a refund.
Common Automation Failures
After working with many CRM setups over the years, there are a few automation issues that appear quite regularly.
Knowing what can go wrong helps you understand what to look for when testing.
- Form submissions not triggering automations
- Contacts not being added to the database
- The wrong automation being triggered
- Emails not sending
- Integrations failing
Most of these issues are easy to identify during testing, but very difficult to detect once real contacts are already moving through the system.
Four Times You Need to Test Your Automation
There are four specific events that we recommend you test.
#1 – Initial Build
When you’re setting up something for the first time, you need to test.
Depending on the complexity of what I’m setting up, I may test different components as I go.
For example, I may load the emails first and send myself each email to confirm the layout and content look correct.
If I set up a form, I will test the form to make sure I get redirected to the correct thank-you page.
Finally, once everything is set up, I will use a test contact to check that everything is happening as it should.
Testing in stages helps identify issues early rather than discovering them after the entire funnel is complete.
#2 – When You Make Changes
If you decide to make changes – whether improvements or general fixes – I always perform some type of test.
If it’s just a wording change in an email, I’ll still send myself a test email to confirm that I’m happy with the layout.
If it’s changing a thank-you page URL, I’ll test the form again to make sure traffic is redirected correctly.
Whenever something changes, test the part that was updated to make sure it is live and working as expected.
#3 – Monitoring Submissions
If you have a popular lead magnet or form that you normally receive notifications for, and those notifications suddenly go quiet, that’s a signal you don’t want to miss.
We’ve had clients who used to get leads every day and then suddenly nothing.
In one case, something had been changed in the form, and the leads were no longer coming through.
Jump in and test it to make sure everything is still working.
Being aware of changes like this can help you pinpoint much faster when something may be broken.
#4 – Routine Checks
Years ago, a business who had set up their own funnel asked me to check a form on their website.
I filled it out – and nothing happened.
The contact wasn’t added to the database and the automation never started. Months of leads potentially lost.
At some point it was working fine, and then something changed.
Sometimes code is edited on a website, someone accidentally deletes a form, or something else changes in the background.
Conduct routine checks of your lead magnets and other forms to help ensure they are still working.
It can also help identify old messaging, outdated branding or follow-up actions that may no longer be relevant.
If you have a VA or team member, you can list all the forms and sign-ups to check and add it as a recurring task.
Automation Testing Checklist
When testing an automation, it helps to run through a simple checklist.
Confirm that:
- The trigger starts the automation
- The contact is added to your CRM
- Tags or fields update correctly
- Emails send to the correct recipient
- Delays between steps behave correctly
- Conditional logic sends contacts down the correct path
- Internal notifications reach the correct team member
- Pipeline updates occur correctly
Running through this checklist only takes a few minutes but can prevent hours of troubleshooting later.
Testing Tips
Use A Test Email
Please don’t use your business email for testing.
As you test multiple things, you can quickly end up receiving a large number of follow-up emails. Many people unsubscribe just to stop the emails.
Doing this can mean you stop receiving important system notifications later.
We literally had a client reach out about this a few weeks ago.
How To Setup A Free Test Email
You can easily create a free Gmail account for testing.
You can also share the login with team members who may need to run tests.
If you want to run multiple tests, it can be confusing having everything attached to a single contact record inside your CRM.
A helpful trick is using the “+” email variation.
For example:
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
Most systems treat these as unique email addresses and create separate contact records.
All emails will still be delivered to the main inbox ([email protected]).
Testing Troubleshooting
Testing as you build helps identify issues early.
But even when you do that, things can still go wrong.
When troubleshooting, start by asking:
Where did the process first stop working?
For example:
If someone completes a form but is not added to your database, the issue likely sits with the form.
Possible causes include:
- the wrong form embedded on the page
- the form code not installed correctly
- integration issues
If the contact is added to the CRM but the automation does not start, the issue likely sits with the automation trigger.
Possible causes might include:
- the automation not being published
- the wrong trigger configured
- incorrect conditions
Identifying where the process breaks down will save hours troubleshooting the wrong part of the setup.
Purchase Testing
Testing purchases is one of the most important checks you can do.
Let’s say you have a funnel selling a $997 product. You probably don’t want to charge your own card that amount just to test.
A simple solution is to create a temporary coupon code that reduces the price to $1.
You can then complete a real purchase test in live production to confirm:
- the payment goes through
- the contact is added to the CRM
- the correct automation starts
- the customer receives the correct follow-up communication
Once testing is complete, make sure you delete the coupon code to avoid misuse.
Testing Wrap Up
Automation testing is one of the most important steps in building automation.
Failure to test properly – or to check things regularly – can lead to lost leads, lost revenue and increasing support issues.
Taking the time to test your funnels and workflows helps ensure everything is working exactly as it should.
Creating a regular rhythm for testing, either yourself or with your team, provides peace of mind that your systems are running properly in the background.
