Comparing Testing Methods for Static vs. Dynamic Web Applications

Hari Mahesh

“Websites promote you 24/7: No employee will do that” – Paul Cookson.

With this quote, you can get an idea about the value of web applications in today’s digital world. Most tasks, such as shopping, banking, learning, etc., can be done from anywhere using these applications. If you own a business, you might know how important web applications are in connecting with customers. They allow you to manage complex operations and provide good services. These applications help different teams work from different locations and from home.

Mainly, web applications can be of two types: Static and Dynamic. Therefore, their testing processes and tools also differ. For an effective testing process, we should know the methodologies to follow for testing these web applications.

This article helps us understand how to effectively test static and dynamic web applications and associated testing types and tools.

Static Web Applications: Overview

A static web application is one where the content always remains constant. The content changes only when the developers manually update the web application. These websites or applications display pre-built content directly to the users without any server-side processing. Static websites contain HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files. These files are loaded directly from the server or a content delivery network (CDN).

Features of Static Web Applications

Static websites are a foundational component of the web, characterized by their simplicity and efficiency in delivering pre-built content. Here are the key features of static websites:

• Fixed Content: Static web applications deliver the same content to every user. The content is fixed and does not change unless manually updated by a developer. Each page is pre-built and stored on the server, making it simple and consistent.
• Ease of Development: Creating static web applications is straightforward, as they do not require server-side processing or complex coding. Developers use HTML, CSS, and basic JavaScript to build these applications, which makes the development process quicker and easier.
• High Performance: Since static web applications serve pre-built pages directly from the server, they load quickly and efficiently. There is no need for database queries or server-side processing, which enhances performance and reduces load times.
• Security: Static web applications are less prone to security vulnerabilities compared to dynamic applications. Without server-side scripts and databases, there are fewer entry points for attacks such as SQL injection or cross-site scripting (XSS).
• Cost-effective Hosting: Hosting static web applications is generally more affordable than hosting dynamic ones. They require fewer server resources and can be hosted on simple web servers or even serverless environments, reducing hosting costs.

Technologies Used in Static Web Applications

• HTML (Hypertext Markup Language): Provides the structure of the web pages by defining elements such as headings, paragraphs, links, and images.
• CSS (Cascading Style Sheets): Controls the appearance and layout of the web pages, including colors, fonts, spacing, and positioning of elements.
• JavaScript: Adds interactivity to the web pages, enabling features like form validation, animations, and dynamic content updates on the client side.

Common Use Cases of Static Web Applications

• Personal Websites and Portfolios: Individuals often use static web applications to create personal websites, blogs, or portfolios where the content does not need to change frequently.
• Documentation and Informational Sites: Static sites are ideal for hosting documentation, FAQs, and informational content that does not require frequent updates.
• Landing Pages: Companies use static web applications to create landing pages for marketing campaigns, product launches, or events.
• Brochure Websites: Businesses create brochure websites to provide information about their services, products, and contact details without needing complex interactions.

How to Test Static Web Applications?

Testing static web applications focuses on ensuring that the content is displayed correctly and that the user interface behaves as expected. Here are some key testing approaches for static web applications:

Functional Testing

Functional testing ensures that all the links, forms, and interactive elements in the application work correctly. Testers should verify that:

• All hyperlinks direct users to the correct pages.
• Forms can be submitted successfully, and any form validations are working correctly.
• Navigation menus and other interactive elements behave as expected.

Tools Used

• testRigor: With the help of testRigor’s Artificial Intelligence, you can create scripts in plain English and easily automate regression scenarios. Using this powerful tool, even manual testers can create automation scripts faster. Read: Test Automation with AI.
• Selenium: It was a widely used automation tool during its initial days, but currently, due to its code complexities and maintenance effort, it is not a preferred choice for functional testing.

Usability Testing

Usability testing focuses on the user experience. Testers should evaluate the application’s design, layout, and overall user-friendliness. Key aspects of testing include:

• Consistency in design and layout across different pages.
• Readability and accessibility of the content.
• Ease of navigation and overall user experience.

Tools Used

• Hotjar: It provides heatmaps and session recordings that show how users interact with the site, highlighting areas where users might face difficulties.
• Crazy Egg: It offers visual representations of user interactions, such as clicks and scrolls. Thus, it helps identify usability issues and improve the user experience.

Performance Testing

Even though static web applications are generally faster, performance testing is still essential. Key performance metrics to test include the following:

• Page load times on different devices and network conditions.
• Resource utilization, including HTML, CSS, and JavaScript file sizes.
• Responsiveness of the user interface.

Tools Used

• Google PageSpeed Insights: This tool analyzes the performance of web pages and offers suggestions for improvements, focusing on factors like loading time and resource optimization.
• GTmetrix: Provides detailed reports on the speed and performance of web pages, including metrics on loading times and recommendations for optimizing performance.

Dynamic Web Applications: Overview

Dynamic web applications are interactive platforms that generate real-time content based on user interactions and other factors. Unlike static web applications, which deliver the same content to every user, dynamic web applications personalize the user experience by tailoring content to individual preferences and behaviors. They rely on server-side processing and database integration to fetch and display data dynamically, often using technologies like PHP, Python, or Node.js.

This interactivity enhances user engagement and allows for complex functionalities, such as user accounts, e-commerce systems, and social media features. However, developing dynamic web applications is more complex, requiring advanced programming skills and careful attention to security vulnerabilities.

Features of Dynamic Web Applications

• Interactivity: Dynamic web applications are designed to be highly interactive, allowing users to engage with the content through various elements such as forms, buttons, and dynamic menus. This interactivity enables users to perform actions that directly affect the content and functionality of the application.
• Real-Time Updates: These applications can update content in real-time without requiring a full page reload. Technologies like AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) and WebSockets are often used to facilitate this, providing a seamless and responsive user experience.
• Personalization: Dynamic web applications can tailor content to individual users based on their preferences, behaviors, and past interactions. This personalized approach enhances user satisfaction and engagement by delivering relevant and customized content.
• Server-Side Processing: The content of dynamic web applications is typically generated on the server side using languages and frameworks such as PHP, Python, Ruby, Node.js, and ASP.NET. Server-side processing enables the application to handle complex business logic, database interactions, and user-specific data.
• Database Integration: Dynamic web applications are usually integrated with databases to store, retrieve, and manipulate data. This allows for dynamic content generation based on user queries, inputs, and other criteria. Popular databases used include MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, and SQL Server.
• Complex Functionality: These applications support complex functionalities that go beyond simple content display. This includes features such as user authentication, data analytics, content management systems, and e-commerce capabilities, which require sophisticated programming and architecture.

Technologies Used in Dynamic Web Applications

• HTML (Hypertext Markup Language): HTML is the foundational language for creating the structure and content of web pages. It defines elements like headings, paragraphs, links, and images, forming the skeleton of a web page.
• JavaScript (JS): JavaScript is a versatile scripting language used to add interactivity and dynamic behavior to web pages. It enables features like real-time updates, form validation, animations, and interactive content without needing to reload the page. JavaScript is essential for client-side scripting in dynamic web applications.
• PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor): PHP is a widely used server-side scripting language designed specifically for web development. It is embedded in HTML to manage server-side tasks such as processing form data, handling sessions, accessing databases, and generating dynamic page content. PHP scripts are executed on the server, and the resulting HTML is sent to the client.
• SQL (Structured Query Language): SQL is a standardized language used to manage and manipulate relational databases. It allows developers to perform tasks such as querying data, updating records, deleting entries, and managing database schemas. SQL is crucial for dynamic web applications that require robust data handling capabilities, enabling the storage and retrieval of user data and other dynamic content.

Common Use Cases of Dynamic Web Applications

• E-commerce Platforms: Dynamic websites power online stores, allowing users to browse products, add items to their cart, and complete purchases. They dynamically update inventory, process transactions, and personalize recommendations based on user behavior. Read: Why Companies Switch to testRigor for E-Commerce Testing?
• Social Media Sites: Social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter use dynamic content to display user posts, comments, and updates in real-time. They enable user interactions, content sharing, and personalized news feeds based on user activity and preferences.
• Content Management Systems (CMS): CMS platforms like WordPress and Joomla allow users to create, edit, and manage website content dynamically. They provide backend interfaces for content creators to update websites without needing to modify the underlying code directly.
• Online Banking: Dynamic websites are crucial for online banking, where users can view account balances, transfer funds, and access transaction histories. These sites securely handle sensitive data and provide real-time updates on account activities. Read: Automated Testing in the Financial Sector.

How to Test Dynamic Web Applications?

Dynamic web applications require comprehensive testing to ensure their interactivity, performance, security, and overall functionality. The testing types that we discussed for static web applications will also apply to dynamic web applications. Now, we will discuss the testing types we need to use for testing dynamic web applications alone.

Integration Testing

Integration testing ensures that different modules or components of the application work together correctly. This is crucial for dynamic applications that rely on various interconnected systems and APIs. The critical aspects to focus on are:

• Data flow between the frontend and backend systems.
• Interactions between different application modules.
• API calls and their responses.

Tools Used

• JUnit/TestNG: Popular testing frameworks for Java applications, facilitating the testing of integrated components and services.
• Postman: Used for testing APIs, ensuring that they return expected responses and handle data correctly when integrated with the front end. Read: How to do API testing using testRigor in plain English?

Database Testing

It involves validating the integrity of the database, ensuring that data is stored and retrieved correctly, and that database operations perform efficiently. Here we focus on:

• Data integrity and consistency during CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) operations.
• Database schema to ensure it supports the application’s requirements.
• Performance of database queries under various loads.

Tools Used

• SQLMap: An open-source tool for automated testing of SQL injection vulnerabilities, helping to secure database interactions.
• DBUnit: An extension of JUnit for database-driven projects, facilitating the setup and teardown of test data and verifying database operations.

Cross-Browser and Cross-Device Testing

Cross-browser and cross-device testing ensure that the application works correctly across different web browsers and devices, providing a consistent user experience. Testing mainly focuses on:

• Compatibility and rendering of web pages on different browsers (e.g., Chrome, Firefox, Safari).
• Functionality and user interface across various devices (e.g., desktops, tablets, smartphones).
• Responsive design to ensure the application adapts to different screen sizes and orientations.

Tools Used

• testRigor: testRigor supports cross-browser and cross-device testing.
• LambdaTest: Provides a cloud-based platform for cross-browser testing on a wide range of devices and browsers.

Accessibility Testing

Accessibility testing checks if the web application is usable by people with disabilities, ensuring compliance with accessibility standards and guidelines. The key aspects for testing are:

• Accessibility of user interface elements for users with disabilities.
• Compatibility with screen readers and other assistive technologies.
• Adherence to accessibility standards such as WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines).

Tools Used

• testRigor: With testRigor, we can perform accessibility testing easily. Read: How to Build an ADA-compliant App.
• AXE: A powerful accessibility testing tool that integrates with browsers and testing frameworks to identify and help fix accessibility issues.
• Wave: An accessibility evaluation tool that provides visual feedback on accessibility, highlighting areas that need improvement.

testRigor’s Role in Static and Dynamic Web Testing

We discussed different testing types and the tools we can use for testing. However, maintaining different frameworks for each testing tool is time-consuming and requires too much maintenance. That’s where testRigor comes to the rescue. There are many exciting features of testRigor. Let’s go through a few of them.

• Cloud-hosted: testRigor eliminates the need for companies to invest in setting up and maintaining their own test automation infrastructure and device cloud. This translates to significant savings in time, effort, and cost. Once teams are signed in and subscribed, they can start testing immediately with almost no learning curve.
• Free from programming languages: While using testRigor, we don’t have to worry about knowing programming languages. Yes, testRigor helps create test scripts in parsed plain English. This advantage helps manual testers immensely, which is why it is an automation testing tool for manual testers. They can create and execute test scripts three times faster than other tools. Also, any stakeholder can add or update natural language test scripts, which are easy to read and understand.
• Device Cloud: testRigor has its device cloud, where we can execute test cases on physical devices connected to the cloud. We don’t need to depend on any third-party cloud providers.
• Cross-device Testiing: testRigor supports the simultaneous execution of test scripts in multiple browsers and devices for different sessions. Know about Cross-platform Testing: Web and Mobile in One Test.
• One Tool For All Testing Types: testRigor performs more than just web automation. It can be used for:
  • Web and mobile browser testing
  • Mobile testing
  • Desktop app testing
  • API testing
  • Accessibility testing
  • Exploratory testing
  You don’t have to invest in and install different tools for different testing types. testRigor takes care of all your testing needs singlehandedly.
• Integrations: testRigor offers built-in integrations with almost all popular CI/CD tools like Jenkins and CircleCI, test management systems like Zephyr and TestRail, defect tracking solutions like Jira and Pivotal Tracker, infrastructure providers like AWS and Azure, and communication tools like Slack and Microsoft Teams.

login as customer
click "Accounts"
click "Manage Accounts."
click "Enable International Transactions"
enter stored value "daily limit value" into "Daily Limit"
click "Save"
click "Account Balance" roughly to the left of "Debit Cards"
Check the page contains "Account Balance"

As you can see, no complicated XPath/CSS locator is mentioned, and no complex loops or scripts are required. These are just plain English test steps that everyone can understand and write. Here are the top features of testRigor.

Conclusion

Now, we know that to test static and dynamic web applications, we need distinct approaches and tools. You need to make sure their functionality, performance, and security work as expected. Static web applications can be tested with simple techniques that focus on content accuracy and performance. However, dynamic web applications demand more complex testing strategies.

With advanced and intelligent testing tools like testRigor, you can significantly streamline this testing process. You can have simple, automated, comprehensive testing solutions for both static and dynamic environments to test complex features as well. With these tools, whether you are a developer or a tester, you can improve efficiency, accuracy, and overall application quality.

“We spent so much time on maintenance when using Selenium, and we spend nearly zero time with maintenance using testRigor.”

Keith Powe VP Of Engineering - IDT