How to get started with Selenium automation testing

Selenium automation testing is a type of software testing that allows you to automate the process of navigating your web application. It’s typically used to test the functionality of websites, but it can also be used for mobile apps and desktop applications.

 

Selenium automates repetitive tasks that would otherwise be completed manually by a human tester. This software can help you verify that your site works correctly, whether it’s a brand new site or an existing one undergoing changes.The most common use of Selenium automation is to run tests on an application’s frontend interface—the part of your website (or app) that users interact with directly.

 

It can be like entering data into fields or clicking buttons. You can also use Selenium to test backend functionality—how your application responds when certain inputs are provided through its API or web services.

 

What is Selenium Automation Testing?

Selenium automation testing is a web-based software testing tool that automates the process of testing websites. It’s used to test web applications using a browser, and it’s one of the most popular open-source tools for this purpose.

 

Selenium automation testing allows for faster, more accurate testing and reporting than manual testing does. It also reduces the risk of human error by allowing you to create scripts that can be run repeatedly without the need for additional human interaction.

 

You can use Selenium automation testing in conjunction with other tools like JIRA, Jenkins, or other CI/CD tools to automate your entire test cycle. It involves the use of tools to execute pre-scripted tests in an automated fashion. Selenium has quickly become one of the most popular tools for automating functional tests for web applications.

 

As an open-source browser automation framework, it supports multiple programming languages such as Java, C#, Python, and Ruby. The framework provides a record-and-playback tool (Selenium IDE) to record test scripts and run them as needed. Selenium can be used to automate any browser-based application such as web applications, websites, and web services.

 

Selenium supports many different types of browser automation and testing scenarios including cross-browser compatibility testing, user interface testing, WebDriver support (for headless browsers), mobile device emulation, and functional testing.

 

It has two main components: Selenium WebDriver and Selenium RC.

Selenium WebDriver is a tool that drives browsers and interacts with web pages, allowing you to open links, fill out forms, click buttons, check boxes, and more.

Selenium RC is a tool that allows you to write automated tests in Java or C#. These tests can then be run on a variety of platforms and browsers, including Firefox, Chrome, and Internet Explorer.

 

Goals of Selenium Automation Testing?

The goals of selenium automation testing are to ensure that all features work as intended and to find any bugs or errors in the software. Selenium is an open-source tool used for automated testing, so it can be used to test any kind of software. Selenium automates tasks that would otherwise be done manually by a human tester. It does this by recording actions performed on the web browser, then playing those actions back later. This allows for more efficient testing because it doesn’t require a human tester every time something needs to be checked.
• Selenium is also useful for checking if changes have been made to existing code without having to retest all existing tests. For example, if a new feature has been added to an existing site, there may not be any new tests needed if all existing tests still pass after adding the new feature—but those same tests will fail if they weren’t updated first!
• Selenium automation testing ensures that your website works properly on all devices. This means that if you have a website that looks great on a desktop, it should also look great on mobile devices. It also means that even if someone is using an outdated browser, like Internet Explorer 8, or if they’re using an operating system other than Windows, your website should still work for them.
• Selenium automation testing also ensures that users can easily complete the tasks they want to complete on your site. If someone clicks on a button, does it go where they expect it to go? Are there any broken links? Is there anything wrong with the layout? Are forms easy for people to fill out? Selenium automation testing helps you answer these questions by checking every possible scenario so nothing slips through the cracks!
• Selenium helps automate the process of testing software in order to make it easier, faster, and more efficient. It does this by allowing you to write scripts that mimic what a human would do if they were interacting with your site or app. This means you can run those scripts over and over again without needing someone in front of a computer screen every time.
• It allows testers to test their software on different browsers and operating systems, which makes it easier for them to find bugs and fix them before they impact users across all platforms. It’s important that you can test your site or app in different environments because users might be using older computers or devices that aren’t compatible with newer versions of software—and without being able to test those environments, you might miss something crucial that could cause problems for customers later on down the road!
• Selenium automation testing automates the manual testing of web applications. Selenium tests are written in a scripting language called Selenium IDE, which is based on the Java programming language. Selenium IDE scripts are then run by an automation tool called Selenium WebDriver. The goal of this process is to reduce the amount of time it takes to test web applications and ensure that they work properly.
• It reduces costs by eliminating expensive manual testing processes. Another goal is to make sure that all of your applications work properly across different browsers and devices so that users can access them from anywhere at any time.
• Finally, Selenium automation testing will help you make sure that when people interact with certain aspects of your site (like forms), they’re not getting spam emails or other unwanted messages later down the line. It also ensures their personal information stays secure while they browse through your product catalog or sign up.

Selenium Automation Testing VS Manual Testing

 

There are a lot of reasons why selenium automation testing is better than manual testing, but let’s talk about the most important ones:

 

1. Efficiency and time-saving

Selenium automation tests are more efficient than manual tests because they can be run without any human involvement. This means that you can run your tests as many times as you want, without having to wait for someone to sit down and manually test them.

Automation testing is faster. Manual testers are only human, so they can only test so many things in a given amount of time. Automation allows you to do the same thing over and over again at lightning speed—and it’s always consistent!

 

2. Reliability

Automated tests are more reliable than manual tests because they don’t rely on human error or fallibility. If you have a test that relies on a human tester, there will always be some room for error—even if it’s just a matter of interpretation of what the user did right or wrong. But with automated tests, there’s no opportunity for misinterpretation or miscommunication; this makes them far more reliable than manual tests which have inherent human error built into the process by design!

Automated tests are more reliable because they never get tired or distracted like humans do! You can run them as many times as you want without worrying about any errors creeping in due to fatigue or boredom on your part (or theirs).

 

3. Accuracy

Automation is more accurate. Manual testers make mistakes all the time, but automated tests don’t have those same kinds of errors. They just keep on going until they get the answer right or wrong—and even if they’re wrong, it’s easy to see what went wrong so that you can fix it later on.

Manual testing is when a human being uses their fingers to click around on a screen and check for bugs. It’s like playing a video game—you’re just an observer who wants to see if anything goes wrong.

Automation testing is when you write code that automatically performs certain actions in a program and checks for bugs. Automate your way through this test!

 

Why is Selenium automation better than manual testing?

Well, because it’s faster. You can run hundreds or thousands of tests with just one command, so instead of waiting for someone to click through every page of your site and check for bugs, you can just have your code do it for you! And as long as there aren’t any major changes to your site’s code or layout, these tests will always run successfully—so you don’t have to worry about updating them every time something changes on your site.

 

Selenium automation testing is a way of automating your manual testing process. It allows you to test your application on a repeatable basis, as well as on different platforms and operating systems. This makes it ideal for testing applications that operate in multiple environments or have complex processes that require more than one person to manually test them.

 

Selenium automation testing has many advantages over manual testing:

 

-It is faster than manual testing because the code can be run again and again without having to wait for a human operator.

 

-It has less opportunity for human error because it can be done by an automated program with no intervention needed from humans.

 

-It can easily be scaled up (added more machines) when needed without adding any new people to the staff roster of testers.

 

How to get started with Selenium Automation Testing?

 

We all know that the current state of software development is not ideal. We are constantly improving our processes and working hard to build better products, but there’s still a lot of room for improvement.

 

One way to improve your product development process is by using automated tests. Automated tests can help you catch bugs early and save time in the long run. And if you’re using Selenium, you should definitely start using it as part of your automated testing strategy. But how do you get started with Selenium automation testing?

 

To get started with Selenium automation testing:

 

● The first step to getting started with Selenium is to install it on your computer. You can install Selenium in one of two ways: either by downloading pre-compiled binaries or by compiling the source code yourself. If you’re comfortable compiling code, this is the best way to get up and running quickly because it will be customized specifically for your system.
● To download pre-compiled binaries, visit the Selenium website (http://www.seleniumhq.org/download/) and click on the Download button in the upper-right corner of the screen under “Downloads.” You’ll see several options—pick one that suits your platform (Windows, Mac OS X, Linux).
● Once you’ve installed Selenium on your computer and restarted it, open up Chrome or Firefox so that you can use their browsers as proxies for running tests against your site(s).
● Open your IDE of choice and create a new project. Then create a new class called “HelloWorld” by right-clicking on the project name, selecting New > Class and entering “HelloWorld” as the name of your class. This will create a file called HelloWorld.java in your project’s src folder with some basic boilerplate code already present in it.
● To get started with selenium, the first thing you need is a test framework. Selenium has built-in support for many languages, including Java. You can use these frameworks to write your tests in the language of your choosing.
● When writing tests with selenium, there are two main ways to structure them: Page Object Model (POM) and Behavior Driven Development (BDD).

• POMs have an advantage in that they allow you to separate your code into logical sections based on what it does (for example, clicking on an element), whereas BDDs are more focused on how your application should behave rather than what it does (for example, checking whether an element has focus).

Advantages of performing Selenium Testing on the Cloud

Selenium testing is a powerful tool that can help you make sure that your application is performing as expected. It’s also a time-consuming process, though, and it’s not always easy to know when you’ve run enough tests or which tests you should run.

 

That’s where cloud-based selenium testing comes in. Selenium testing on the cloud has been gaining popularity because it lets you test your applications without having to worry about setting up and maintaining a local server. You can use one of the many online selenium services out there, or even just use the one offered by your browser provider (Chrome, Firefox), but either way, all you have to do is upload your code and let them do the rest!

 

There are a lot of advantages to performing your selenium testing on the cloud.

 

● First, you’ll be able to access a wider variety of test environments that you might not otherwise have access to. You can test on various browsers and operating systems, which makes it easier for you to find bugs that might otherwise go unnoticed.
● Second, using the cloud allows you to perform your tests more quickly. Since all the servers are ready and waiting for you, there’s no need to wait for them to be set up before you start testing—you can just dive right in!
● Third, the cloud is much more convenient than traditional test environments because it’s always available at any time of day or night (unless there’s an outage). You don’t have to worry about finding someone who can run your tests if they’re running late at night or on weekends because there will always be someone available willing and able!

Cloud Testing Platform to run your Selenium Automation Tests

LambdaTest is a cloud-based test automation cloud that helps you run your selenium tests on a scalable online Selenium Grid. It is designed for software developers and testers who use the web to develop and test applications. You can run your tests in parallel to reduce execution time from hours to minutes, and automate your functional as well as unit testing at the click of a button.

 

The LambdaTest platform provides an easy-to-use interface that allows you to have a near real-world test environment for your website, web app, or mobile application during the development phase across 3000+ different browsers, real devices, and operating systems.

 

LambdaTest helps you run your Selenium tests on a scalable online grid with the highest performance and reliability. Get rid of build problems, reduce test execution time, and improve the quality of your software product. It makes your life easier by eliminating the need for managing multiple virtual machines or physical servers. Implement it today to run thousands of test cases at lightning speed and with no installation/deployment efforts.

 

Conclusion

 

Hope this article helped you get started on your Selenium tests! If you are stuck at any step, you can always fall back on an automated platform instead of trying the manual method. This is faster, better, and more reliant. When done correctly, Selenium tests can be a boon for your web development and application testing needs!

 

Author Bio: Vixit Raj is Product Growth and Communication Specialist in LambdaTest : The Cross Browser Web App Testing Platform. He is an E&C engineering graduate and in the digital marketing domain for the last 5+ years. He always tries to stay updated with the latest advancements in technology, product growth, software testing and coding.