It can be challenging to test your web application across different platforms and browsers. Nevertheless, to ensure the best user experience, it is essential to maintain consistency in both functionality and appearance on all platforms.
Luckily, modern software development has greatly simplified cross-browser testing. With the array of testing tools available, developers can now automate tests on various browsers and platforms simultaneously.
This article will explore various cross-browser testing tools and evaluate them to determine the optimal solution for testing across different browsers.
Importance Of Cross-Browser Testing Tools
People use many different browsers and operating systems to browse the web, and websites must work well across all of them, including various browser versions. This makes cross-browser testing a tricky task.
Here are some common challenges QA teams face when testing applications across browsers:
- Diverse Browsers and Systems: With so many browsers and operating system combinations to test, it’s not practical to invest in building an in-house setup. Keeping browsers, devices, and systems up to date with market trends is tough.
- Infrastructure Maintenance: Setting up and managing an in-house browser or device farm can be difficult and doesn’t scale easily. This becomes even harder if you’re relying on manual testing.
- Constant Browser Updates: Popular browsers like Chrome, Firefox, and Edge update frequently. While these updates improve functionality, they can introduce bugs that need to be tested, making it necessary to run tests again and again.
- Design Problems: Websites might not appear properly on various screen resolutions. Testing for these visual problems manually requires a significant amount of time and effort, and achieving cross-browser compatibility presents an additional obstacle.
Utilizing cross-browser testing tools can ensure that your website functions effectively on various browsers and versions. These tools provide functionalities such as conducting tests across various browsers, operating systems, and screen resolutions. Some also offer additional functionalities such as debugging, capturing screenshots, recording test sessions, logging bugs, and testing on physical devices or emulators. Automating the testing process can lead to time-saving and error reduction.
What Steps To Take In Order To Select The Correct Cross-Browser Testing Tool?
Testing on a cloud platform can make cross-browser testing easier and more efficient. Before making a decision, take into account these factors:
- Organization Needs: What features do you need in a testing tool? What project is the tool for, and what kind of testing will it need to perform?
- Browser and Device Range: After figuring out what browsers and devices your customers use, choose a cloud testing tool that offers a wide variety of browsers, devices, operating systems, and frameworks.
- Scalability: If your organization is just starting with automation, building an internal testing setup may not be easy. A cloud-based tool can help by scaling your testing efforts and speeding up the process.
- Integrations: Look for a tool that integrates with third-party services like CI/CD, project management, and automation tools to speed up your testing.
Top Cross-Browser Testing Tools
Cross-browser testing checks how a website works in different browser environments. It can take time, but these tools help automate and simplify the process.
LambdaTest
It is an AI-based platform for orchestrating and executing tests that enables running manual and automated tests on over 3,000 actual devices, browsers, and operating systems to ensure browser compatibility. It enhances Selenium scripts by running them on a scalable grid. It offers live interaction and one-click debugging, saving time when testing web apps.
Key Features:
- Real-time cross-browser testing on real devices through the cloud.
- HyperExecute: A fast test orchestration cloud that speeds up test automation.
- Test At Scale: An open-source tool for managing flaky tests and speeding up test runs with quicker feedback on code changes.
- Visual regression testing to catch any visual changes on the cloud.
- 120+ integrations with tools for CI/CD, project management, and codeless automation.
- Test web and mobile apps locally with localhost testing.
- Perform geolocation testing across 53+ regions for web and mobile apps.
- LT Browser 2.0: A Chromium-based browser for faster responsive testing with over 50 device viewports pre-installed.
Selenium
It is an open-source tool that automates web app testing across different platforms and browsers. It works well with continuous integration and delivery tools, making it a popular choice. However, it can be hard for beginners who don’t know programming, as it doesn’t have built-in testing features.
Key Features:
- Works with multiple browsers like Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge.
- Supports different programming languages including Java, Python, C#, Ruby, and JavaScript.
- Allows tests to run at the same time (parallel execution).
- Offers Selenium Grid for running tests across multiple machines.
- Supports advanced actions like drag-and-drop and mouse hovering.
BitBar
BitBar runs automated tests on real devices and browsers. It boosts your testing coverage and reduces the time spent testing by easily integrating with your current tech stack or CI/CD pipeline.
Key Features:
- Single cloud solution compatible with Web, Native, and Hybrid platforms.
- Allows testing real customer scenarios without needing to manage a device lab.
TestComplete
TestComplete is a commercial tool for functional and regression testing. It supports both GUI-based and scripted testing with strong object identification features. It may be more expensive and complex for non-programmers, but it’s still a powerful tool.
Key Features:
- Automates UI testing across 2,000+ environments.
- No setup required, which cuts down testing time.
Katalon Studio
Katalon Studio provides a user-friendly interface for cross-browser testing. It supports Selenium WebDriver, Appium, and JavaScript, and runs tests in the cloud or on-premise. It also integrates well with different browsers and CI tools.
Key Features:
- Migrates tests from Selenium and Postman to SoapUI.
- Needs little maintenance with the page-object model pattern.
Ranorex Studio
Ranorex is a commercial tool for cross-browser testing of web apps. It integrates with CI tools and offers a user-friendly GUI for writing test scripts.
Key Features:
- Finds reliable objects even with dynamic IDs.
- Includes reusable modules and test templates to improve efficiency.
Testim
Testim uses AI to speed up test creation, reduce maintenance, and help deliver high-quality apps faster. It supports parallel testing across browsers and works well with CI/CD processes and tools like Jira.
Key Features:
- Create tests without coding skills.
- Easily find test errors with logs, screenshots, and error details.
Perfecto
Perfecto provides a strong cloud-based platform for cross-browser testing, handling complex scenarios like biometrics and geolocation. It supports real and virtual devices for wide test coverage.
Key Features:
- Simple drag-and-drop interface for running tests.
- No need for technical scripting skills.
SBOX
SBOX is a secure, automated testing tool that works behind a firewall, making it ideal for industries that require high data privacy, such as banking, insurance, and healthcare.
Key Features:
- Keeps data within your network for security.
- Integrates with enterprise workflows and CI systems.
- These tools can significantly reduce the effort needed for cross-browser testing while ensuring your web apps run well on any browser or platform.
TestGrid
TestGrid is a no-code and low-code platform for website testing, allowing both manual and automated testing on real devices. You can choose to run tests on the cloud or on your own servers, speeding up the release process.
Key Features:
- Test your local or private web pages to ensure they are bug-free before release.
- Offers performance testing to help optimize your site.
- Integrates smoothly with CI/CD tools like CircleCI and Travis CI.
- Supports headless browser testing with PhantomJS.
- Test on devices like Samsung, iOS 11, and iPads.
- Endtest
Endtest is an automated testing platform for creating end-to-end tests. It supports cross-browser testing, access control, and geolocation testing, allowing you to run tests using different IP addresses.
Key Features:
- Email and SMS testing for both web and mobile applications.
- API testing to ensure top-notch product quality.
- Perform full testing for web and mobile apps.
- Integrates with tools like Jira, Jenkins, and Slack.
- Simple, user-friendly interface for easy navigation and team collaboration.
Virtuoso
Virtuoso uses AI, machine learning, and natural language processing to make testing easier. It helps you import requirements, set up tests, and run end-to-end tests on different browsers, operating systems, and devices.
Key Features:
- Create no-code tests using natural language.
- Generate tests from requirements or wireframes before app development.
- Create and reuse API calls in your tests.
- Integrates with tools like GitHub, Slack, and Microsoft Azure.
- Supports live test authoring, root cause analysis, and more.
QA Wolf
QA Wolf is an automation testing tool offering a team of skilled QA engineers to handle your end-to-end testing. It covers test creation, execution, and reporting, freeing up your in-house QA team.
Key Features:
- Full test coverage, strategy, maintenance, and bug reports.
- Run test cases in parallel for efficiency.
- Real-time status updates through an easy-to-use app.
- Integrates with your systems for real-time performance tracking.
Comparium
Comparium helps with cross-browser compatibility testing across different platforms. It captures screenshots of web pages from various browsers and operating systems for comparison, both manually and automatically.
Key Features:
- Compare screenshots from different browsers to spot differences.
- Automatically detect visual discrepancies.
- Supports the latest web browsers.
- Real-time testing without needing additional software.
Autify
Autify is a testing tool for web and mobile applications, allowing you to create, run, and manage complex tests. It also offers visual regression testing to identify any visual changes in your applications.
Key Features:
- Record interactions with the Autify Recorder Chrome extension.
- Run tests on Windows, macOS, Linux, and mobile browsers.
- Test on real devices.
- Integrates with Jenkins, TestRail, and Slack.
Conclusion
In this article, we have discussed several cross browser testing tools which you can choose to start your test process. We have highlighted the key features of the tools, and going through it will help you compare easily. However, you should note that the choice of cross-browser testing depends on the requirement of the project and testing need.
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