In today’s date, where the demand for Web applications is rising, companies are looking forward to improving their efficiency. When it comes to developing web applications, there is a dire need for the application to work seamlessly in different browsers and OS platforms.
Simply put, developers and testers need to ensure verifying the compatibility and performance of the web application throughout has become crucial now than ever before. Automation testing has become a massive buzzword among developers and testers.
Automation testing has become necessary as it can automate several manual testing efforts, thereby improving efficiency and reducing time. Selenium is a tool that fits perfectly in the scenario. Cross-browser testing using Selenium can ensure that the web applications function and look similar in every browser.
Irrespective of the browser you are accessing, cross-browser testing creates test scripts using several programming languages like PHP, Python, Java, and a lot more using Selenium.
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Understanding cross-browser testing by the use of Selenium
When you create a web application, you cannot ask your users to specifically access the web app from a particular browser. As there are multiple browsers available, it is essential that your web application works seamlessly in different browsers on different OSs. Besides, if you want to improve your user base, it is a must to cater to different platforms and devices. The choice of using browsers should ultimately be up to the users.
Cross-browser testing is generally referred to as website testing in different browsers like Firefox, chrome, and internet explorer to check the efficiency. The compatibility of cross-browser shows web applications’ capability to seamlessly function across different operating systems and browsers. However, when it is about manually testing in different browsers, it can be a really tedious option.
If you consider hundred test cases and you have to run the same test in all the different browsers. The time and effort you need to put in is much more and becomes monotonous. However, making use of Selenium can automate these tests, and it ensures running simultaneously in less time. Additionally, it also reduces the chances of getting human errors.
Importance of cross-browser testing:
For example, if someone is trying to access an e-commerce website and it fails to open on a particular browser after multiple attempts, it is just creating a frustrating experience for the users. And when a user is unable to load the website, he/she will never have second thoughts about looking for alternatives and jump. And that’s where a lot of businesses lose out.
As the vendors of browsers mostly follow open web standards, they still have their interpretation. Every web browser has different techniques for rendering JavaScript, CSS, and HTML. Hence, it is crucial to ensure that the source code of your website goes through the debugging procedure. However, it is definitely not enough to make sure that the website behaves appropriately in different browsers.
So, it is crucial for web developers to eradicate browser differences. Making use of cross-browser testing can be extremely helpful in finding out compatibility issues and getting rid of them in an early stage. It also makes sure that you do not lose sight of your target audience just because the web browser is not compatible with different OS configurations.
What is Selenium?
Selenium is an open-source automation testing tool that is mainly used for web testing. Its primary focus is simulating user actions within the web application. Therefore, it becomes easy for developers and testers to execute various test cases within the application.
This will further be helpful in finding out bugs and errors present in the web app. Remember that Selenium is a suite and not a single program. There are different options like web driver, IDE, and grid.
As cross-browser testing is an integral part of web application testing, it is a bit better than regular testing. You can also run cross-browser testing manually, but it can be highly time-consuming.
Apart from this, manual testing always has the chance of causing human errors. Hence, cross-browser testing by using Selenium Web driver becomes the main focus by developers who curate and create various tests for their web applications.
How to perform cross-browser testing by using Selenium?
Selenium is a popular automation testing tool with great functionalities. One of its major functionality is the ability to perform Cross-browser testing across browsers and computer configurations. Here is a rough overview of how Cross Browser Testing is performed.
Step 1: Using the Selenium web driver, the web app tests are easily automated using Safari, Chrome, Firefox, and Internet Explorer browsers.
Step 2: The Selenium web driver is generally integrated with the TestNG framework for executing the test cases across different web browsers by using one device simultaneously.
Step 3: Ensure that the test cases are written accurately before execution.
What are the best practices for cross-browser testing with Selenium?
In order to ensure the best results when performing cross-browser testing using Selenium, it is crucial to follow the best practices.
- Make sure that you are selecting the right frameworks and libraries.
- Choose a relevant task runner, and JavaScript library, as it is an essential element for Web app development.
- Find out and assess the OS configuration of the browser for effective cross-browser testing using Selenium.
- Ensure the optimization of tests especially for internet browsers as it does not support CSS styles and framework, which needs professionals to create style sheets specifically for IE.
Summing Up:
Cross-browser testing is crucial to ensure website compatibility. Making use of Selenium, which is an automated testing tool, can improve efficiency and reduce the time taken for testing. It ensures developers create and deliver web applications with the best user experience. They make sure that the web application works across different devices and browsers.
As you have to make sure of high-quality results that would improve user experience and your reputation, choosing the right testing approach is extremely necessary. It will help you understand whether the web application runs seamlessly and similarly in different browsers with different OS configurations.
This will widen your customer base and improve your reputation as users can seamlessly access the web applications without facing any hurdles.