7 Best Practices For Cross-Browser Testing With Selenium

Cross-browser compatibility testing is crucial for a company whose entire operation depends on a website. As an example, think about an internet service provider. Even though the testing process may have been difficult, is it worth it if the end-user cannot effectively interact with the website?

A successful website that functions flawlessly and relieves you of one stress requires cross-browser testing. Testing for cross-browser compatibility must be carried out carefully and meticulously because it is essential.

Like any other testing paradigm, properly considering testing comments while designing the program will always pay off in the long run. So, in order to help you with cross-browser compatibility testing, we have produced this document. You can create a partially compatible website even before testing by working your way through this advice.

Overview Of Selenium Cross-Browser Testing

Selenium cross-browser testing is an essential component of web application testing that ensures functionality and user experience are consistent across various browsers. Popular open-source testing framework Selenium offers effective cross-browser testing methods and strong tools for automating browser interactions.

To find compatibility problems and assure consistent behavior across platforms, cross-browser testing using Selenium entails running automated tests on various web browsers, including Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Internet Explorer. It aids in the discovery of browser-specific issues, inconsistent rendering, and inconsistent JavaScript execution.

Cross-browser testing is the process that ensures a website operates correctly across all browsers. Verifying sure the website you’re building works flawlessly on all targeted browsers and operating systems is the main goal. Both manual and automated testing methods, such as Selenium WebDriver, are available to testers. You can save time by not having to install your browsers repeatedly.

Cross Browser Testing using Selenium

Selenium is the most widely used automated testing tool for various tasks, as was already established. One of the numerous functionalities offered by Selenium is cross-browser testing.

You may automate test cases on the Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, and Safari browsers using Selenium WebDriver.

You can combine Selenium WebDriver and the TestNG framework to run your test cases on many browsers.

Performance can be examined for cross-browser compatibility.

Best Practices For Cross-Browser Testing With Selenium

It’s crucial to adhere to best practices while performing cross-browser testing with Selenium. These procedures aid in increasing test coverage, resolving browser-specific problems, and streamlining the testing procedure. By following these recommendations, you can get accurate and effective results from cross-browser testing. Let’s get started: 

• Execute code validation

Code validation is the process of confirming that the code we have developed complies with the W3C standards. In your capacity as a website developer, this is crucial. Do you recall how Internet Explorer failed simply because the rules were broken?

A trustworthy and well-designed website will not only make it browser-compatible but also bring with it a lot more freebies. Some of them include easier maintenance, improved search engine optimization for more website visitors, etc. 

You can use online validator tools to evaluate your code to ensure the website is cross-browser compliant. Text editors can also highlight code incompatible with standards thanks to these features. 

• Create a Browstrix

A specially created tool called Browstrix is used for Selenium cross-browser testing. It makes testing web applications across many browsers more efficient and guarantees uniform operation and appearance. Developers and testers may easily run test cases on well-liked browsers including Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge using Browstrix.

This can be explained simply by the fact that browsers gradually accept and reject different CSS and JS properties when they update. Although gradual, this procedure does occur frequently. You must choose which browsers and which range of versions to target for this. 

When finalizing your browser matrix, take your target audience into account. Develop your work following your target audience if you have one, such as a certain bank whose staff use Firefox 78. In these situations, your browser matrix should also be updated because the general public updates their browsers frequently in the background.

You can plan what elements to utilize in your website with a browser matrix. You’ll benefit in the long run because you’ll avoid making typical errors like using a Chrome 70 feature that has been deprecated and a Chrome 83 feature that has just been released, etc.

You can also get assistance from cloud-based web tools for testing cross-browser compatibility, like Testsigma, which maintains its browser configurations updated as new versions are released. 

• Verify Feature Support At All Times

You need to take care of the elements you employ on your website after becoming informed by the validator and creating a browser matrix. Although software developers are educated about many facets of the industry, they may not be aware that a certain feature has been deprecated or is about to be.

They seldom check to see if a feature is still in use, therefore they are clueless of their previous habits and practices. The outcome is astounding, leaving them perplexed for hours as to why the functionality is not functioning on the website. You should always examine the features on each of the browsers you are targeting as a web developer to create a website that is cross-browser compatible. For instance, Chrome does not support CSS Subgrids, while Firefox does. Numerous such features exist that can negatively impact your user experience, so it is always preferable to be readier than to repeat everything.

• Skip Extraneous Elements

Website developers often add complexity without any thought to the eventual result. An excellent illustration of this is building a landing page with too many functionalities. These are extraneous landing page elements and a threat to cross-browser compatibility scenarios.

Because components will coexist in unison, even a slight misalignment of one piece could devastate the landing page. All the pieces must now be adjusted, and if any elements get misaligned during the process, you may need to repeat the process. Therefore, always only code the relevant parts to minimize cross-browser compatibility difficulties.

• Select The Proper Testing Method

Choosing the right course of action takes work. A poor decision on this part could result in time and effort waste. Consider the scenario where you create a website for locals to book tickets. Now you want to test it on several browsers.

Can you make the right guess? The best option is to select an online cross-browser testing tool because of the enormous browser matrix and vast audience. Amazon is like a cross-browser testing tool online. You can simply order things from Amazon while seated in your home.  You don’t have to bother about setting up the infrastructure yourself. Entering the URL and pressing Enter will now launch the website. One such tool is Testsigma, which provides a wide range of functions and support for more than 2000 browsers. A matrix of potent CPUs and integrations that are readily available and routinely updated can quickly run your website.

Another option is to build your own device lab, which is quite expensive, or to hire a device lab service. Although ultimately, it comes down to personal opinion and choice for the developers and testers.

• Code Encapsulation in a Framework

When creating a website, picking a reliable framework and building your website around it is a great place to start. Most frameworks are free to use and offer a number of advantages. An established cross-browser optimized framework will automatically produce responsive elements without any hard coding on the developer’s part.

Frameworks are created, so the developer needs to worry about the features and not as much about potential cross-browser compatibility problems.

Bootstrap is a framework that works well. Responsive built-in features are available with Bootstrap. If you only inherit the class, the element will automatically rescale on smaller devices. Additionally, frameworks like Django, which are large frameworks, can aid with SEO optimizations. Collaborating with an SEO specialist might help you comprehend such optimizations more clearly. However, it is advised to deal with a knowledgeable SaaS SEO agency if your company provides software as a service.

• Implement Visual Testing

Selenium cross-browser testing requires the use of visual testing as a best practice. It includes taking screenshots of online sites and comparing them across various browsers to find visual inconsistencies. Selenium can be combined with visual testing software like Applitools or Percy to perform visual testing. First, list crucial visual checkpoints and include them in your test scripts

Tools like LambdaTest can enhance visual testing capabilities by providing a cloud-based automation testing environment.

A cloud-based Selenium grid fosters an effective automated visual comparison across a dynamic array of web browsers.

Alongside this, these tools can indulge in better collaboration, streamlined debugging, and rapid issue rectification.

Utilize Selenium’s capabilities to take screenshots of the web page being tested after that. 

Utilize the visual testing tool to contrast your screenshots with reference pictures. Any discrepancies discovered point to visual regressions that require additional research. Visual testing guarantees uniform user interfaces across browsers, identifies rendering flaws, and raises the general caliber of web applications on many platforms.

Summing It Up

Putting these seven recommended practices for Selenium cross-browser testing into practice will significantly improve the speed and efficacy of your testing procedure. You can ensure that your web application or website runs without a hitch on many platforms and devices by taking into account the broad landscape of web browsers and their differing behaviors. 

You can reduce compatibility issues, save time, and provide a consistent and seamless user experience to your audience by utilizing a powerful test automation framework like Selenium. By employing test coverage, you can address browser-specific issues, utilize cloud-based testing platforms, prioritize responsiveness and user experience, use version control for test scripts, and routinely update browser configurations. 

Adopting these best practices will enable your team to create the highest caliber web apps that operate consistently across a range of browsers, increasing user satisfaction and improving business results.