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How to Test Sanity.io in E-commerce Applications: A Guide for Software Testers

How to Test Sanity.io in E-commerce Applications: A Guide for Software Testers

12 July 2025 12:22 MIN Read time BY Supriya Srivasthav

Sanity.io is a modern, headless Content Management System (CMS) designed to give developers and content teams complete control over how content is structured, managed, and delivered across platforms. Unlike traditional CMS platforms, Sanity separates the content layer from the presentation layer, offering greater flexibility and scalability—especially in multi-channel environments like e-commerce. It features Sanity Studio, a customizable content editor built with React, and supports real-time collaboration, allowing multiple users to work on content simultaneously. With its API-first architecture, Sanity offers robust integration through GraphQL and GROQ, making it easy to connect with popular frontend frameworks such as React, Vue, and Next.js. At the core of its infrastructure is Content Lake, a real-time datastore that enables fast, structured, and reusable content delivery across web, mobile, and other digital platforms.

Key Benefits of Using Sanity.io

  • Omnichannel Delivery: Seamlessly distribute content across websites, mobile apps, IoT devices, and other digital platforms for a consistent user experience.
  • Enhanced Security: Sanity’s decoupled architecture minimises direct exposure to front-end vulnerabilities, reducing the risk of security breaches.
  • Future-Proof Architecture: Built to adapt to evolving technologies, Sanity ensures your content strategy remains scalable and relevant over time.
  • Improved Team Collaboration: Real-time editing, version control, and commenting features streamline content creation and review workflows for distributed teams.

Common Use Cases of Sanity.io

  • E-commerce Platforms: Easily manage product catalogues, promotional content, landing pages, and blogs to keep online stores dynamic and up to date.
  • Mobile Applications: Deliver consistent, structured content across multiple device types and screen sizes through API-based delivery.
  • Marketing Websites: Empower marketing teams to update campaign content in real time without developer involvement, enabling rapid iteration.
  • Enterprise Solutions: Support complex workflows, modular content structures, and multi-user roles across large-scale digital ecosystems.

How to Perform Sanity.io Testing Effectively

✅ Functional Testing

Functional testing ensures that Sanity.io’s core features—like content creation, editing, publishing, and deletion—work as expected. Testers should verify that different user roles (e.g., editor, admin, viewer) can perform only their assigned actions. Key areas include checking whether live preview functionality updates in real time and whether workflows like drafting and publishing content operate smoothly. Manual testing of these flows in Sanity Studio is essential for ensuring that content management behaves as intended.

✅ API Testing

Sanity provides powerful APIs through GROQ and GraphQL, and it’s important to validate that these endpoints return accurate, filtered, and reliable content. API testing should cover operations like content fetching, filtering by parameters, creating new entries, and updating records. Testers should also check how the system handles invalid requests and whether proper error codes are returned. Tools like Postman, Insomnia, or automated scripts can help validate API stability, speed, and data integrity across multiple use cases.

✅ Performance Testing

Performance testing is critical when dealing with high-traffic e-commerce platforms using Sanity. Testers should simulate heavy loads to see how well Sanity Studio and the Content Lake perform when thousands of entries exist or when concurrent API calls are made. Tools such as JMeter, Artillery, or k6 can be used to measure response times, API throughput, and system behaviour under load—ensuring the CMS remains stable as the data scales.

✅ Usability Testing

Since content editors and marketers are key users of Sanity Studio, usability testing helps ensure that the interface is intuitive and accessible. Testers should observe whether users can easily navigate the Studio, perform tasks like editing content or updating metadata, and understand the structure without technical training. Feedback from non-technical users is especially valuable here and can highlight unnecessary friction in everyday content operations.

✅ Security Testing

Security testing in Sanity is about ensuring that content, user roles, and access controls are properly enforced. This includes verifying that unauthorised users can’t access restricted content or APIs, that tokens and API keys are handled securely, and that user permissions (read, write, delete) are functioning as expected. Use vulnerability scanners, token access validation, and role-based permission testing to detect and prevent common risks like token exposure or privilege escalation.

✅ Automation Possibilities

Sanity.io supports a range of automation opportunities. Testers can automate API testing using tools like Postman with Newman or frameworks like RestAssured (Java). Since Sanity Studio is built in React, UI automation using Playwright or Cypress is also feasible. You can write scripts to automatically create, edit, and delete content, making it easier to validate workflows after schema changes, platform updates, or content migrations.

Test Cases for Sanity.io CMS

Test Case ID Test Scenario Steps Expected Result
TC-01 Create a new document (e.g., Blog Post) 1. Log in as Editor
2. Navigate to the Content section
3. Click “New” and fill in the required fields
4. Save as draft		 The document is saved as a draft successfully
TC-02 Publish a document 1. Open the draft document
2. Click “Publish”		 Document status changes to “Published”; API reflects the change
TC-03 Edit an existing document 1. Open the published document
2. Update title/content
3. Save changes		 Changes are saved and updated in real-time
TC-04 Validate required fields 1. Try to create a document without filling in mandatory fields
2. Save		 The system should display appropriate error messages
TC-05 Validate Image insertion 1. Log in as Editor

2. Navigate to a Content section

3. Insert image in the image section

4. Publish the changes

 The images added should be displayed in the storefront
TC-06 Validate Multi-Language contents 1. Log in as Editor

2. Navigate to a Content section

3. Add multiple language content for the configurations

4. Publish the changes

 The language-specific content should be displayed when the storefront locale is changed
TC-07 Validate contents for multiple Countries 1. Log in as Editor

2. Navigate to a Content section for a Country

3. Add content/ configurations for a specific page

4. Publish the changes

 The contents/configurations should be displayed for the specific country
TC-08 Validate references  configured for category/brand 1. Log in as Editor

2. Navigate to a Content section

3. Add category/brand references to page contents

4. Publish the changes

 The  category/brand should be linked and navigated correctly
TC-09 API content fetch (GROQ/GraphQL) 1. Use the API to fetch a published document API response should return the correct and updated content
TC-10 Test user roles and permissions 1. Log in as Viewer
2. Try to edit a document		 The viewer should not have edit permissions; Edit options are disabled
TC-11 Real-time collaboration 1. Open the same document from two users
2. Edit from both sessions		 Changes should appear in real-time without conflicts
TC-12 Content preview feature 1. Create a draft
2. Click “Preview”		 Content preview should display correctly based on the frontend integration
TC-13 Bulk content operations 1. Select multiple documents
2. Perform delete/archive operation		 All selected documents should be updated accordingly
TC-14 Response time of the content API 1. Send multiple concurrent API requests API should respond within acceptable performance thresholds (e.g., <500ms)
TC-15 Schema validation (custom rules) 1. Try to save invalid data (e.g., duplicate slug if it should be unique) The system should reject invalid input and show a validation message
TC-16 Backup and restore simulation 1. Simulate accidental deletion
2. Attempt recovery/rollback		 Content should be recoverable if backup systems are active
TC-17 Token security validation 1. Use an invalid/expired API token
2. Try accessing the content		 Access should be denied with an appropriate error
TC-18 Test the mobile responsiveness of Sanity Studio 1. Open Studio on a mobile device
2. Perform basic actions		 Studio should adapt correctly to mobile screen sizes
TC-19 Large dataset handling 1. Load a dataset with 10,000+ entries
2. Test search, pagination		 Studio should remain performant and responsive

Common Bugs in Sanity-Integrated E-commerce Applications

  • Delayed content updates: Changes published in Sanity don’t reflect on the live site quickly, usually due to aggressive caching or failed automatic build triggers.
  • Colour picker configuration not displaying: Visual settings chosen in the CMS fail to appear on the frontend because the application code doesn’t correctly apply the data.
  • Issues after synchronisation: Automated scripts overwrite or duplicate content because of flawed logic that doesn’t correctly differentiate between creating and updating data.
  • Missing SEO metadata: The website’s HTML head lacks the title and description set in Sanity, harming search visibility because the frontend fails to fetch or render it.
  • Locale issues, where the wrong language is displayed: The site shows the wrong language version because it fails to detect the user’s region or request the correct translation from the API.

How Sanity.io Helps E-commerce – A Tester’s Perspective

  • Granular Control Over Page Elements: Define specific fields for elements like colours or links, making test cases more precise and easier to validate.
  • Risk-Free Validation with Live Preview: Instantly see content changes in a realistic preview before publishing, allowing for immediate visual verification.
  • Effortless Rollbacks with Content Versioning: Easily track a full history of content changes to pinpoint when a bug was introduced and quickly revert if needed.
  • Clear Separation of Concerns: Isolate bugs faster by knowing if the issue stems from content (Sanity) or the commerce engine (e.g., Shopify).
  • Built-in Responsive Image Handling: Easily verify that optimised images are correctly served on different devices to ensure better performance.
  • Structured Navigation and Hierarchy: Test complex navigation menus as organised data, ensuring all links and user paths work correctly.

I’m New to This Domain — Can I Still Test It? What Precautions Should I Take?

  • Understand the Data Flow First: Know what content comes from Sanity vs. the commerce backend to ensure you are testing the right system.
  • Familiarise Yourself with the Sanity Studio: Get access and learn how content is structured to understand its relationship with the frontend.
  • Always Use the Preview Mode: Use the dedicated preview link to validate unpublished drafts and see content changes in real-time.
  • Communicate Actively During Publishing Cycles: Talk with editors to know when content is ready for review so you don’t test stale or incomplete data.
  • Watch for Unintended Content Reverts: If content on the live site looks wrong, check its version history in Sanity to see if it was accidentally rolled back.
  • Log Your Bugs with Clarity: In bug reports, always specify whether the issue is related to content from Sanity or data from the e-commerce platform.

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About Author

Supriya Srivasthav

Software Test Engineer at Testvox With over 5 years of hands-on experience, Supriya Srivastava specializes in Functional Testing, Usability Testing, and Exploratory Testing. Passionate about delivering high-quality software, she brings in-depth knowledge and expertise to every project, ensuring seamless user experiences and robust software performance.

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