# Creating a test

Tests are the foundation of Testsnag, and each one is a journey or check you want to keep verifying.

Tests are the foundation of Testsnag. Each one represents something you want to verify on your site, such as a sign-up flow, a checkout, or an admin page that should always load. A test lives independently of every other test, so you can run, edit, schedule, share, and delete it without touching anything else. The mental model worth holding onto is that a test is a question ("does this still work?") and a run is the answer ("yes" or "no, here is the proof").

![The Tests page listing three tests with type badges, target URLs, status, run counts, and per-row actions.](https://testsnag.com/images/docs/building-tests/creating-a-test-1-tests-list.r1.jpg)

Marked on the screenshot:
- Create a test. You name it, pick a type, and give it a starting URL.
- The type badge. Web tests drive a browser; API tests call endpoints directly.
- Run history and pass rate for the test.
- Run it now, view runs, open settings, edit, or delete.

## Creating one

To start a new test, open the Tests page from the sidebar and click "New Test". Give it a name a teammate would recognise, something like "Checkout, guest user" or "Production homepage loads". Names matter more than they look like they do, because once you have twenty or thirty tests, scanning the list is faster when each name describes the journey rather than the page. Add a short description if there is anything useful to record about the test, such as which environment it runs against or who owns it.

## Choosing a type

Choose a type next. Most tests will be Web type and use the Cloud Recorder, where Testsnag spins up a remote browser and captures every interaction as you click through your site. If you would rather record from your own machine, for example to reuse a session you have already established or to reach a page sitting behind a corporate VPN, choose Browser Extension instead. The two recorders share the same step model, so you can switch between them without relearning anything.

The remaining types, API and SEO, open dedicated builders tailored to those workflows. API tests verify backend endpoints directly with no browser involved, and SEO tests audit pages against a configurable list of metadata and content checks. Each type has its own guide for the specifics. Whichever type you pick, you can edit the test later, change its target URL, rename it, or rewrite its steps, and the Tests page is paginated and filterable so a large library stays easy to navigate.