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Cross-browser Testing
Imagine that you’ve spent countless hours crafting a beautiful, functional website. You’re excited to share it with the world. But then you discover that it looks terrible on your friend’s phone or doesn’t work properly on your colleague’s old computer.
This is a case that calls for cross-browser testing.
Google’s Chrome browser is one of the most prevalent browsers in the world, with a market share of over 65%. You can conclude that if your applications run smoothly on Chrome, then you are good to go. But the reality is quite different. Though Chrome is widely used, you have other competitors like Safari, Edge, Firefox, and Opera. In fact, the popularity of these browsers also varies from region to region.
Navigating through these challenges is possible if you adopt smart cross-browser testing strategies to test your application.
What is Cross-Browser Testing?
You can view cross-browser testing as the process of ensuring that a website or web application looks and functions correctly across different web browsers and operating systems. This is crucial because not all browsers interpret HTML, CSS and JavaScript code in the same way.
Why is Cross-Browser Testing Important?
Cross-browser testing is like making sure your website is dressed for any occasion. It ensures that your website looks and works correctly on different web browsers and operating systems. Here’s why it’s so important:
- Consistency: It guarantees that your users have a consistent experience no matter what device or browser they’re using.
- Accessibility: You can use it to make your website accessible to a wider audience.
- Brand Reputation: A website that works well across different browsers can enhance your brand’s image.
- Business Success: A well-tested website can give you increased user engagement, conversions and revenue.
Strategies for Cross-Browser Testing
There are different ways to make cross-browser testing effective. Here are some of the most common strategies that are guaranteed to yield results.
Smartly choose the browsers to test on
Before you start testing, it’s crucial to identify which browsers and devices you will test. For example, if your audience primarily uses Chrome and Safari, focus on those browsers. In fact, you can keep these as your primary browsers for testing. However, if you want to reach a wider audience, include Firefox, Edge and even mobile browsers like Chrome on Android and Safari on iOS.
Utilize a testing matrix
In extension to the above point, you can use a testing matrix. Creating a testing matrix is like having a checklist. It helps you organize what you need to test across various browsers, devices and operating systems. For example, your matrix could include combinations like Chrome on Windows, Firefox on Mac, Safari on iOS and Edge on Android. This helps you visualize your testing scope and ensure you don’t miss any critical tests.
Pick the most important test cases to run across browsers
If you try to run all test cases on all browsers, you’ll end up wasting resources. Instead be smart about it. If you’ve pinned a browser, say Chrome, as your primary browser, then all your test cases can always run here. Pick the most important test cases and run this selected set across different browsers. This will ensure that you’re covering grounds while also being judicious with your resources.
Keep browser versions in mind
Browsers frequently update which can lead to changes in how your application behaves. Make sure to test your application on both the latest versions of browsers and some older versions that your audience might still be using. This helps ensure compatibility for all users.
Test early and often
Cross-browser testing should not be a last-minute task before launching your application. Think of it like regular vehicle maintenance. The more often you check your car the less likely you are to break down on the road.
Integrate cross-browser testing into your development workflow. This means running tests continuously as you add new features or make changes. This proactive approach helps catch issues early and makes them easier and less costly to fix.
Responsive design testing
Your web application should adapt to different screen sizes and resolutions. Responsive design testing ensures that your application looks great and functions properly on desktops, tablets and smartphones. Look for appropriate tools that help you do this.
Manual testing for critical features
While automation is helpful there are times when manual testing is necessary, just like how a chef might taste a dish instead of relying solely on a recipe. For critical features like payment processing or user registration, manual testing can help catch issues that automated tests might miss. Take the time to navigate through your application in different browsers and devices while checking for usability issues, layout problems and any unexpected behavior.
Emulate real user conditions
Testing under real user conditions can significantly improve the quality of your application. Use tools that simulate different network conditions and varying screen resolutions. This way, you can see how your application performs under different circumstances.
Test browser-specific features
Different browsers may have unique features or behaviors. For instance, how they handle HTML5 features or CSS properties might vary. Identify any browser-specific features in your application and test them rigorously. For example, if your application uses CSS Grid, check how it renders in browsers that have partial support versus those that have full support.
Conduct accessibility testing
Making your application accessible to all users is crucial. This is akin to ensuring that a public building has ramps for wheelchair access; it’s about inclusivity. Use tools like Axe or WAVE to test for accessibility issues across different browsers. This helps ensure that your application adheres to accessibility standards.
Leverage Continuous Integration (CI) tools
Integrating cross-browser testing into your CI pipeline ensures that tests are run automatically every time you make changes to the code. With CI tools like Jenkins or Travis CI you can set up automated cross-browser tests to run with every build. This helps catch issues early and keeps your application in top shape.
Keep an eye on user analytics and feedback
After deployment, monitor user behavior through analytics tools. Analyze which browsers and devices are most popular among your users. If you notice issues with a particular browser that users frequently access, prioritize that in your testing efforts. Also, if users report issues with a specific browser, prioritize those in your testing. This direct feedback can guide you in making necessary adjustments to enhance the overall user experience.
Automated testing
Automation testing is like having a trusty co-pilot on your road trip; it takes care of repetitive tasks so you can focus on the journey. Automated testing allows you to run tests quickly across different browsers without needing to do everything manually. You can use frameworks to create automated tests that check the functionality of your application. For instance, you can write a test that clicks on buttons and verifies that they work correctly and run it across multiple browsers simultaneously.
Test automation tools are a great way to deal with the sheer volume of testing involved in cross-browser testing. However, then tool you choose needs to be able to
- Reduce test maintenance time
- Allow easy test creation
- Assist with some degree of visual testing
- Be scalable to handle the increasing volume of testing
Besides this, the tool needs to satisfy your requirements and fit within your budget.
Using AI-based test automation tools
AI-based tools offer great help with cross-browser testing since AI applications make it closer to emulating a human tester. One tool that delivers in this regard is testRigor. Here’s how it helps:
- This AI-based test automation tool makes test writing easy. You can write all kinds of test cases in plain English.
- Test across platforms (web, mobile and desktop) and browsers through a single tool.
- testRigor is a cloud-based platform, hence easier to have test scalability.
- The tool uses generative AI which will let you create multiple test cases at one go. All you need to do is provide a description of the application under test.
- testRigor does not rely on implementation details of UI elements like CSS or HTML. This gives it the ability to deliver stable test runs. This is just one of the ways in which testRigor reduces test maintenance.
There’s a lot more testRigor offers. You can check out the full list of features over here.
Common Issues to Watch Out for During Cross-Browser Testing
- Layout and Design Differences: Web pages might look different across browsers due to variations in how they render HTML and CSS. You need to check for alignment, spacing, font sizes and overall layout to ensure consistency.
- Functionality: Features like buttons, forms and menus need to work properly regardless of the browser. Try to verify that all interactive elements respond as expected without any glitches or broken links.
- JavaScript Performance: JavaScript may behave differently depending on the browser. Check for any errors or performance issues that could arise when scripts run.
- Responsive Design: Users access websites from various devices so you need to examine how a site adapts to different screen sizes. Check that elements resize correctly and maintain usability on smartphones, tablets and desktops.
- Browser-Specific Bugs: Some browsers may have unique quirks or bugs. You need to specifically look for issues that may arise in one browser but not in others to ensure that all users have a consistent experience.
- Load Times: Different browsers may affect how quickly a page loads. Monitor performance to make sure that the site is optimized and responsive regardless of the browser used.
- Compatibility with Plugins and Extensions: Some browsers support different extensions or plugins which can interfere with website functionality. Testing will make sure that the application works well even with common browser extensions enabled.
- Form Validation: Forms are essential for user interaction and different browsers may handle form validation differently. Test to make sure that validation messages and error handling work consistently across all platforms.
Conclusion
These days you need to be ready for anything. Your customers could be using your website through mobile phones, desktops or tablets. They could be using Chrome, Firefox, Edge or some other browser. The combinations are never-ending! The best you can do is test across these different platforms and browsers in a smart way to make sure that your application is well-received by the public.
Additional Resources
- Cross-Device Testing: Strategies and Tools
- Choosing the Best Mobile Testing Option: Real Devices vs. Emulators
- AI-Based Self-Healing for Test Automation
- Browser Sandboxing Explained
- Headless Browser Testing: When and How to Use It?
- How to test browser cookies using testRigor?
- Test Plan Template
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