That can be used for various purposes, such as testing the functionality or automating data entry on a website. Selenium is one of many tools and languages available to automate web tasks.
There are many browsers available, including Firefox and Chrome. Most users think that web browsers only serve to surf the web and fetch information. Web app development is much more complex. Automated cross-browser testing is the best way to test your website on various browsers and OS.
What is Web Automation?
The ability to automate a website programmatically using tools and scripts is called Web Automation. Automating manual processes allows companies to reduce their costs and save time. A typical example is when an organization uses tools to test their site instead of having testers do it constantly. You can say goodbye to the repetitive, humongous, human-centric tasks with web automation.
Web apps and websites are dominating the Internet. That creates the need for web testing. Did you know that 77% of testers are familiar with web testing?
Why Automate Web Testing?
Web automation is the best way to get the results you want faster. The market has seen a boom in automation testing. You can automate this software testing process with the correct automation tools and techniques. It is done to see if the application can perform as we expect:
- Automated testing allows you to get feedback more quickly. You can give your teams an overview of possible bugs. It would save time for your testers and developers to communicate with each other.
- Boost test efficiency. Setting up the framework for test automation is initially time-consuming when automating web testing. Test coverage is higher when considering you are validating a variety of features and functions with each test. The entire suite of tests can be executed in surprisingly less time since automation is faster. After initiating automation tests, the testers will be able to look over the tasks they have created and then evaluate the results after executing the test cases.
- Reduce costs, Automated web testing is a great way to achieve the desired test coverage quickly. The high-quality product is due to this. That will reduce the likelihood of bugs. You can reduce the cost of your project.
- Automated web testing allows you to reuse test cases. The goal of automation is that repetitive scripts can be reused. It is beneficial for developing patches and re-testing the software.
- Automated web testing can help you reduce the time it takes to launch a product. QA can use it to review code for any new feature when there's a deadline. That can all help you create that fantastic website or web application online.
- Visibility, A bot that records every workflow step can give your business a visible result. Audit trails allow you to keep track of the different steps. All these logs are available to all companies, giving them better insight into their processes.
- Reducing human error: We can be sure that we will meet our expectations since we expect a robot to perform tasks based on rules without human interaction. The bots would not make any mistakes or overlook steps in the workflow.
- Web automation can help you reduce your turnaround time. You can reduce the time it takes to roll out an application by using bots that can test different scenarios on multiple browsers.
- You can use the time you save to develop your IT skills.
Despite the many advantages, the initial costs of automated web testing are higher than those of manual testing. Performing 100% manual tests is also recommended, even though you can find online tools. However, using them as guidance is exemplary.
What Testing Methods Are Compatible with Web Automation?
Manually testing your web application or website can present new challenges. It can be very taxing when a tester is required to complete many tests within a short time frame. You can see how automation is essential for day-to-day tasks. Manual testers should compare the advantages of automated testing to manual testing. Now is the time to make progress.
This four-step procedure will make life much easier for you:
Step 1. Find the Best Test Cases for Automating Web Testing
It is essential to know which tests you can automate. You must also remember you can only automate some web tests. It would be best to decide which tests you want automated and which you don't.
Step 2. Is to Find Compatible Frameworks or Tools
Not all libraries and frameworks are popular. In the end, tool selection is critical. Make sure you know the answers to these three questions:
- Do you want native integration of all the features?
- How can web application developers and automated/manual QA adapt to testing requirements?
- How big and how complex is the project?
- What platform is your application running on?
- Are you able to easily manage test scripts?
- Does it fit within budget?
Step 3. Is to Check the Automation Tools Quality
Everyone must develop their tool from a library or framework open source. When you decide to use the tool, you must have a clear vision. You should use an automation tool aligned with your company values to automate the web test. The tool should have the features you need and be easy to use. It is important to remember how the test scripting and execution process works.
Step 4. Decide What is Best for Your Test Cases
You can manage the test creation, execution, report generation and maintenance with proper planning and strategies. Once you have determined your goals, you need to determine how well the web test tool will work.
To automate website and web app testing, you can examine several metrics:
- Reduce the execution time.
- The time is taken to update/rewrite tests.
- We are increasing the execution time of a test.
- Reduction in development time.
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What is The Best Way to Automate Your Web Testing?
In general, web automation records the necessary steps to accomplish a series of tasks. The web browser automation test offers two types of support:
- When you are developing the application, ensure that it has basic functionality.
- Performance testing is done to support the customer during implementation. All these tests should be run frequently whenever there is a configuration change.
There's a misconception that automating web testing will hinder creativity. Automating web testing improves your creativity and eases planning. It is essential to know which tests you want to be automated. Test them using high-quality data. That can be a challenge. It is called a test automation framework. That includes several guidelines for testing management to get the best possible results.
Automating web testing can allow you to test frequently and early, even when the product has already been released. When you conduct QA tests early, you have the best chance of identifying issues before they are reflected in the design, which could lead to a poor user experience.
Automating website or web application testing aims to minimize negative aspects. Many tests can provide much data but may need to be more expert in detecting errors. It may seem productive, but it needs to address the actual problem.
There is an enormous scope for error when you include different scenarios and actions. Here are also the places where mistakes can be made regarding creativity. Automation can be a great way to expand your creativity.
Dividing Your Automated Test Efforts
The success of your tests depends mainly on the skillsets of QA engineers. When creating automated tests, knowing your team member's strengths is crucial. Some team members may be experts at creating automated tests. Some team members are experts at writing test cases. You would require expert-level skills to write automated test code. If you choose to do this, make sure that the QA team has a good understanding of the scripting language used by your automation testing tool.
Test Data of Good Quality
Data-driven testing requires better data. The data entered in different input form fields are usually stored as an external file. These external data make automated testing simple and reusable. It would be able to understand data files. The automated testing tool would then iterate through the contents of the tests. The task of creating test data to run automated tests may seem daunting. It's one of the most efficient practices on the market.
Create UI-resistant Automated Tests
You are committing to the application's dependencies when you use scripts for automated testing. These changes will affect the results of the tests. Otherwise, the automated testing won't function on future versions. Make sure you use unique names to control different processes. Using this method, you can stay ahead of any changes made to automated tests.
Leverage Pugh Matrix
Pugh Matrix is a widely used criteria-based matrix for decision-making that uses criteria scores to determine which solutions or alternatives you should select. Many analysts use it to determine the weighting of the criteria.
You can, for example, rate your preference for the features as follows:
- The preferable option.
- Most preferable.
- It would be best if you had at least.
You will get a clear idea of what to expect from your tool for web automation.
Web Automation Best Practices
If you have the right tools, plan and strategy, web automation is possible. To get the most out of web-based automation, here are some tips:
- You Should Perform a Risk Assessment for the Following: affectability, mitigating factors, possible costs, probabilities, etc.
- Early Birds Win the Prize: Plan your testing web automation process. As soon as possible, allocate resources. Costs and timelines should not be exceeded.
- All Test Artifacts Should be Reviewed: Align test planning to test functionality. Test planning must be dynamic and well-planned.
- Not all Test Cases Can be Automated: Automating test cases requires clear pass/fail criteria. Automating test cases that are time-consuming, highly likely to fail, or consist of stable features is also advisable. It is best to manually conduct UX tests, anti-automation and other such tests with mandatory human involvement.
- It is Not Necessary to Choose: The best automation tool on the market. Look at your scope and choose the tool that best meets your needs.
- To Maintain Consistency: It is recommended that the environment on stage be identical to the environment used for development and testing. The stage environment, on the other hand, should be proportionate with the production environment.
- Free trials are available: Free consultations are a great way to learn more about web automation tools' features and capabilities. It can help ensure smoother communication between teams.
- Define Web Automation: Best practices before you start writing test cases.
- Adopt Behavior-Driven Development: To ensure stakeholders and testers work harmoniously.
- Run and Test: The tests as many times as necessary before adding them to a regression testing suite.
- For Code Reusability: Data-drive your test. This approach allows you to generate multiple test cases by changing the data stored in your external storage.
- Use a Scheduler: For parallel tests or an orchestrator of pipelines to run them.
- Test How Well Your Web Application: The website performs in different network conditions.
- Tests that Fail frequently: And are slow to run should be identified.
- You are comparing Your Results: To those of similar or previous tests.
- Testers will Always Benefit: From automated test reports. The results can be analyzed to make better decisions.
Read More: How open source development model be applied to design
Web Automation in Real-Time
When developing web applications or websites, automation is a great tool. It has served clients from many different domains. One of the world's most widely used education platforms. They rely for a robust UI, cross-browser compatibility, and mobile-friendly apps to give their clients a great learning experience. When they approached us, their main goal was to give users a seamless experience in e-learning.
Decided to use cloud-based automation web development services instead of building its infrastructure.
What is The Difference Between Web Automation and Artificial Intelligence?
Both automation and AI are meant to make your life easier. However, they're not the same. Automation is the process of automating processes that require little to no human interaction. AI, on the other hand, involves creating machines capable of solving problems or performing tasks challenging to understanding by the human mind. Automating tasks that are difficult or impossible can be done in less time. AI, on the other hand, simulates intelligence.
AI is a way to make machines behave and learn like humans. Automation simplifies work, improves productivity and produces efficient results. Website automation can help you save time, reduce human error, remain competitive, and relax your mind.
Different Types of Web Application Automation
You need to know the different approaches to use for various types of web applications and websites when choosing the right approach for web automation.
Websites and web apps can be classified into six categories:
- Simple static websites (static websites).
- Dynamic web apps.
- E-commerce websites.
- Mobile websites.
- Animated Web Applications.
- Rich Internet applications.
Web app and website tests can be automated easily:
1. Testing Simple Static Website
Your team could create a simple static site that would show the same content on a single web page without any changes for visitors. The performance of the website is entirely dependent on various UI functionality.
For testing static websites, it is essential to check every GUI element, including font size and spacing. It is important to check for broken links, image displays, and contact forms. When you automate your web testing, the best UI design tools can be used to check for broken links, image displays and contact forms.
2. Testing Dynamic Web Apps or CMS Websites
A dynamic web application allows content to be updated every day, week or month. That means frequent updates. That includes front-end and backend languages such as HTML, CSS and CSS or content management systems (CMSs) like Magento, Wix and WordPress.
Test the buttons, error messages and text input. Session storage is essential because dynamic websites may cover single-page applications. Geolocation can also have a significant impact on SEO.
3. Testing E-commerce Websites
Websites that sell products online combine pages and functions. A tester must ensure the app directs the listed product to the correct category. A tester must be cautious when testing eCommerce features like coupons, discounts and login/logout. Our blog about eCommerce website testing can further clarify this topic.
4. Mobile Website Testing
Every tester must perform compatibility testing for mobile browsers websites. That includes cross-browser, OS and mobile device tests. Using a cloud 9 of real devices is best to see if your website works as expected. Therefore, it would be best if you looked out for spatial navigation and text truncation chatbots, image displays, etc. You can attract more user interfaces by using a cloud of real devices to test native apps.
5. Testing Animated Web Applications
You can create any animation with a browser-capable animated website or web application. When automating web animations, it is best to use declarative methods like CSS for Animations. Unit tests and integration testing can be used to find bugs. JavaScript libraries such as Flash and JQuery can't animate UI elements. This prototype can be created easily with Powerpoint to share user feedback.
Using a tool like LT Browser, you can test all responsiveness aspects related to icons, shapes, buttons, backgrounds and text. This tool can check whether your web application or website is responsive enough for your users.
Read More: How To Begin With Open Source Contributions
Best Open Source Automation Testing Tools In 2023
We have reviewed the best open-source automation tools available on the market. The testing tools are useful for areas such as automation and manual testing, functionality testing, regression testing, load testing, performance testing, stress testing, and desktop, mobile, & web testing. Open-source software tools and licensed testing tools both exist. This tutorial will take a closer look at open-source testing tools. Open source software is any tool whose source code can be used and modified for free. Open-source software tools do not have commercial licensing, unlike licensed tools.
Open-source testing tools are all such tools which serve the purpose of testing software:
1. Katalon Platform
Katalon Platform supports the automation of web, desktop, mobile and API tests. The platform enables product development teams to perform cross-functional operations at scale. Katalon Platform, a solution without code, is simple to use and expandable but also contains all the components needed for complex needs, including keywords, project templates, etc.
It also provides seamless integrations to SDLC Management, CI/CD Pipeline, Team Collaboration Applications, etc. Katalon Store, a marketplace for plugins and extensions, can be used by users to enhance their test automation strategy and add new features. Peer-Insights Customer's Choice recognized the Katalon Platform as the platform of choice for over 65,000+ businesses worldwide.
2. QA Wolf
QA Wolf, an end-to-end open-source automated testing tool, is one of the fastest ways to develop QA tests. The tool is hosted online, so no installation or downloads are needed. The low learning curve and automatic code generation allow your whole team, from non-technical to senior developers, to participate in the creation of tests.
3. Selenium
Selenium, as you can see from the title of this article, is one available open-source testing tool. Selenium, a great automation tool for testing web applications, is compatible with many testing frameworks, programming languages, browsers and OSs. This tool helps you create highly effective scripts to test for regression, exploratory, and rapid bug reproduction.
4. Appium
Appium is an open-source test automation framework designed primarily for mobile applications. Appium is a client-server framework that automates applications for iOS and Android. The ease of installation and use makes it a popular mobile automation tool.
5. Robotium
Robotium, an open-source test automation tool, is primarily intended for Android UI Testing. The tool supports gray box UI, system, functional testing, and user acceptance testing.
6. Cucumber
Cucumber is a free, open-source software that uses the concept of Behavioral Development. The software is compatible with Ruby, Java, and .NET and supports cross-platform OS. Cucumber is the best because it allows for a single document to be used as spec and test documentation.
7. Watir
Web Application Testing is also known as Watir. It is a lightweight open-source testing tool that does not depend on any technology. You can write automated tests that are simple, adaptable and readable.
8. Sikuli
Sikuli, an open-source testing tool, is based on image recognition. It can automate any screen activity. Automating desktop software that is not web-based can be very helpful. The rapidity of its bug reproduction is another feature.
9. Apache JMeter
Apache JMeter, a Java desktop application that is open-source and free to use, is primarily designed for load-testing web applications. The software also allows for unit and functional testing. The software has many good features, such as dynamic reporting, portability and a powerful Test. It supports different types of applications and protocols, as also Java objects and Java scripts.
10. WatiN
Web Application Testing in.NET is the abbreviation for this. WatiN is an open-source test automation framework for web apps that helps with UI and functionality testing. This tool was designed primarily for Internet Explorer or Firefox.
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Wrapping Up
There are numerous advantages to using open-source tools for testing. Open source allows customization, and there are no costs involved. There are also limitations. Occasionally, it can be challenging to maintain scripts and receive limited professional support. When choosing the best open-source testing tool, you must ensure it has been actively maintained and matches your team's skills. The testing tool's features, challenges, and benefits must align with your organization's goals and test requirements.
