Cross-browser testing has become crucial to web development today. Feature consistency and appearance uniformity of web browsers on such a massive scale of devices and platforms are essential, as plenty of these browsers are available nowadays. The complexity now on the user’s side of websites and web apps means manual testing is inadequate to cater to the perfect user experience. Automation testing is one of the most potent channels for increasing productivity and making testing smoother. This article discusses the domain of cross-browser testing in a way that highlights how Selenium WebDriver and TestNG enable this in an easy-to-handle way. Due to this, automation testing is vital in maintaining the reliability and high quality of web projects.
Overview of Cross-Browser Evaluation
The procedure of verifying that a website/web application works as expected on a variety of web browsers and devices is called cross-browser testing. It guarantees a continuous user experience throughout browsers, no matter the browser a user uses to visit the website.
Cross-browser testing is a useful tool for creating a web application that does not have compatibility issues for different types and versions of web browsers used by different internet users who do not have the same web browser preference.
What is Selenium WebDriver?
One effective technology for automating web browser interactions is Selenium WebDriver. With it, developers are able to programmatically mock behavioral user actions, including typing, clicking buttons, and navigating web pages. Selenium WebDriver is an appropriate option for automated tests due to its adaptation to several programming languages, for example, Java, Python, and C #.
Overview of TestNG
JUnit and NUnit inspired the creation of TestNG. This advanced framework not only includes additional features that improve the utility and power of the framework but also adds new features to make it more user-friendly and powerful. It has a JDK 5 or higher as a minimum requirement, and it is meant to cover all test types such as unit, functional, end-to-end, and integration.
Setting up Selenium WebDriver and TestNG
To set up Selenium WebDriver with TestNG, you’ll need to follow these steps:
1. Install Java Development Kit (JDK)
Ensure Java Development Kit (JDK) is installed on your computer system. Downloading and installing it from the official Oracle website is the option provided.
2. Set up Eclipse IDE (Optional)
You can use Eclipse IDE for Java development. Download and install Eclipse from the official Eclipse website if you prefer using an IDE.
3. Download Selenium WebDriver
Find the Selenium WebDriver Java bindings on the Selenium official website and download them. You can place the selenium-java-jar files in your Java project’s build path.
4. Download TestNG
Get the TestNG library from the official TestNG site. TestNG is an automated testing framework for Java. You can add the TestNG jar file to the build path of your Java project by applying the project properties.
5. Create a Java Project
Open the IDE of your choice (usually Eclipse) and create a new project in Java.
6. Configure Selenium WebDriver
In your Java Project, design a new class and construct your Selenium WebDriver code. First, you can create a WebDriver instance, launch a browser, visit a URL, and then execute actions such as clicking buttons or typing characters in fields.
7. Write TestNG Tests
Please utilize the TestNG annotation to write your test cases. Annotations like `@Test,` `@BeforeTest,` `@AfterTest,` etc., are frequently used in TestNG to define test methods and set up/tear down the methods.
8. Run TestNG Tests
Last but not least, let’s run the testNG suite after writing the test cases. Open the right-click context menu right away to check the “Run As” > “TestNG Test” command, which is in the eclipse of the “TestNG Test” test class name.
Here’s a simple example of a Selenium WebDriver test class using TestNG: The next is a Selenium WebDriver test class using TestNG:
“`java import org.openqa.selenium.WebDriver;
import org.openqa.selenium.chrome.ChromeDriver;
import org.testng.annotations.AfterClass;
import org.testng.annotations.BeforeClass;
import org.testng.annotations.Test;
public class SeleniumTestNGExample {
WebDriver driver;
@BeforeClass
public void setUp() {
// Set system property to point to the location of ChromeDriver
System.setProperty(“webdriver.chrome.driver”, “path/to/chromedriver”);
// Initialize ChromeDriver
driver = new ChromeDriver();
@Test
public void testGoogleSearch()
// Open Google
driver.get(“https://www.google.com
// Perform search
// Add your Selenium actions here
// Example:
// driver.findElement(By.name(“q”)).sendKeys(“Selenium
// driver.findElement(By.name(“btnK”)).click();
// You can add your assertions here
@AfterClass
public void tearDown()
// Close the browser
driver.quit();
Ensure you have downloaded the right driver (ChromeDriver or any other appropriate driver for your browser) and that its path is set. The use case below illustrates a basic Selenium WebDriver with TestNG setup for automating and running browser interactions and web application tests. Modify the code to suit your testing requirement and the website to be tested.
Handling Cross-Browser Compatibility Issues
When online applications perform differently in different web browsers due to variations in browser rendering engines, JavaScript execution, CSS interpretation, and HTML support, cross-browser compatibility problems arise. The following are some efficient techniques to deal with cross-browser compatibility issues:
1. Use Browser Testing Tools
To test your online application across various browsers and systems, use browser testing tools like Sauce Labs, BrowserStack, or CrossBrowserTesting. With the aid of these tools, you may create realistic user experiences and spot compatibility problems at an early stage of the development process.
A well-known browser testing tool called LambdaTest was recently created to provide QA specialists and developers with a means of guaranteeing that web apps work across multiple browsers. Developers do not have to spend time testing their applications across different browsers, operating systems, and device farms using LambdaTest. With its real-time testing functionality, testers can quickly access a variety of browser setups and effectively identify and fix compatibility issues. The robust screenshot testing feature is another feature offered by LambdaTest, allowing customers to take screenshots of their websites in various browsers and resolutions. Furthermore, LambdaTest provides responsive testing features, enabling testers to assess how well their applications adjust to multiple screen sizes and orientations and maintain consistency in their appearance. LambdaTest promotes continuous integration by streamlining the testing process and integrating seamlessly with major CI/CD solutions.
2. Test on Multiple Browsers and Versions
Ensure that the web application tests the web application engines, including Internet Explorer, Safari, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, and Microsoft Edge. Test on various browser versions, as previous iterations could behave differently while presenting content.
3. Vendor Prefixes
To guarantee compatibility with various browser rendering engines, use vendor prefixes (-webkit-, -Moz-, -ms-, -o-) for CSS attributes. Vendor prefixes should be used with caution, though, as they might become outdated with updated browser versions.
4. Polyfills and Shims
In order to enable HTML5 and CSS3 features in earlier browsers that do not have native support, use polyfills and shims. Shims are code snippets that add missing functionality, whereas polyfills are JavaScript libraries that mimic contemporary functionality in older browsers.
5. Cross-Browser Testing Automation
Use tools like TestNG or Selenium WebDriver to automate cross-browser testing. To identify compatibility issues early on, write test scripts covering essential functionality and user interactions across many browsers and run these tests regularly.
LambdaTest simplifies cross-browser testing processes with its robust automation features. By utilizing Selenium WebDriver and additional automation frameworks, users may programmatically test scripts on various platforms and browsers. Parallel testing functionality helps to conduct automated tests simultaneously for multiple browser setups, which speeds up the testing process and reduces time-to-market.
Benefits offered by cross-browser testing with Selenium WebDriver and TestNG
Selenium WebDriver TestNG cross-browser testing offers many advantages for ensuring web applications are working well and compatible with different browsers and platforms.
1. Enhanced Compatibility
Selenium WebDriver testers can run many scenarios, such as mimicking user behaviors and browser interaction, and tests on websites like Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Safari, Microsoft Edge, and Internet Explorer. Developers might add that their web applications will operate correctly and remain consistent in all browser contexts while combining TestNG and Selenium WebDriver.
2. Early Detection of Issues
Early detection of compatibility problems caused by variations in browser rendering engines, JavaScript execution, CSS interpretation, or HTML support is made possible by cross-browser testing. Through automated tests across various browser versions and configurations, testers may find and fix compatibility issues before they impact end users.
3. Improved User Experience
The provision of consistent user cross-platform and cross-browser interactions is another factor that contributes to a uniform user interface. Web developers, for instance, should probe into the users’ browsers to ensure that they have a good time and that the interfaces of their applications run smoothly, regardless of which browser they are using.
4. Reduced Risk of Regression
Robust testing features offered by TestNG include reporting, grouping, prioritizing, and test case management. When making changes to the codebase, developers can lower the chance of regression issues and guarantee thorough test coverage by grouping test cases into suites and utilizing TestNG to automate their execution.
5. Increased Test Efficiency
Testers can rapidly execute regression testing across various browsers and automate tedious activities with Selenium WebDriver. Testers can increase test productivity and efficiency by optimizing test execution time and maximizing test coverage by utilizing TestNG’s features, such as parallel execution and parameterization.
6. Integration with Continuous Integration (CI) Pipelines
Jenkins, Bamboo, TeamCity, and other popular continuous increment (CI) tools, which run with Selenium WebDriver and TestNG, are readily integrated. With the development of cross-browser testing integration into the continuous integration (CI) pipelines, developers may be able to execute tests, receive instant feedback on code changes, and ensure the reliability and stability of online applications throughout the development process by automating test execution in CI pipeline.
7. Cost and Time Savings
Selenium WebDriver and TestNG can be used by organizations to save time and costs while auto-executing tests across multiple browsers with TestNG that decreases manual effort and also increases test coverage. Organizations can deliver the web apps closer in time and with high quality by organizing their testing processes by automation and testing all across different browsers simultaneously.
To summarize, there is a lot to be gained from cross-browser testing using Selenium WebDriver and TestNG. Some of them include better compatibility, early problem detection, better user experience, less chance of regression, better test efficiency, smooth continuous integration, and time and money savings. The establishment guaranteeing reliability, efficiency, and interoperability of these online applications across different browser contexts will be done by using these technologies in an appropriate manner.
Conclusion
To sum up, in today’s varied digital ecosystem, cross-browser testing with Selenium WebDriver and TestNG is essential for producing web applications of the highest caliber. Developers may guarantee consistent functionality and appearance across all browsers by implementing best practices and embracing automation. This will ultimately improve user experience and propel corporate success.