With the advancement of software technologies and the increase in the number of organizations all over the world, software applications play an important role. It acts as an interface between the organization and the end users. Hence, it is crucial to have software applications that work seamlessly across all browsers like Chrome, Internet Explorer, Safari, and Firefox. This is because different users use different browsing platforms to interact with the web application. So, for the sake of the organization’s growth, the website should work efficiently and correctly on all platforms. In simple words, the web application must be cross-platform compatible.
Cross-browser compatibility means that the functionality of your web application must be easily accessible to all its users irrespective of the device, operating system, and internet browser they are using. The issue of cross-browser compatibility occurs because every software application and its web browser interprets the code written to structure and style the web page differently. Sometimes, some of the properties of the programming language are compatible with one browser and not with the other. Here the role of cross-browser testing comes into existence.
Performing cross-browser testing ensures that the web application is working fine on all devices, web browsers, versions, and OS, providing its end users with a smooth and user-friendly environment. There are various Cross-Browser Testing Trends that can be used to perform effective cross-browsing testing. In this article, we will look at the top cross-browser testing trends.
Cross-Browser Compatibility
Cross-browser compatibility means that all the functions of a web application should work correctly and effectively on operating systems such as Windows, Android, Mac, Linux, and iOS configured to multiple devices such as Smartphones, Tablets, Laptops, or Desktops. But, the question is how does the issue of cross-browser compatibility occur. This is because every web browser acts differently and also interprets the code written to structure and style the web page differently. The developers use languages such as HTML to structure and CSS to style the web page. But, sometimes, the properties of these languages are not compatible with all web browsers. And hence the web applications do not work the same for all browsers. Here cross-browsing testing comes into the role and fixes the issue.
What is Cross-browser testing?
Cross-browser testing is a web application testing technique used to deploy a smooth and user-friendly web application that can function on all devices, operating systems, and web browsers. It is important to check your web application through the cross-browser testing process because it will maintain uniformity across platforms and ensure the end user will not have a bad experience with the web application and will not switch to another website. Also, effective cross-browser testing can be performed by following various cross-browser testing trends that are discussed below.
Top 10 Cross-Browser Testing Trends
To provide the end user with the best experience with your web applications, you must use the following top cross-browser testing trends while carrying out the testing procedure.
● Cloud-Based Cross-Browser Testing
There are hundreds of devices available in the market having different viewports. The web applications must be compatible with all of them to maintain their existence in the market. But, it is inconvenient and costly to create a setup to test the web application for all the devices.
Cloud testing involves the utilization of the cloud computing expertise of an independent service provider to conduct comprehensive testing of web applications. The tester uses the cloud resources such as the architecture and technology to test the web application. The cloud-based testing also benefits the developers and testers by providing them with the protection of data and optimal performance of the web application.
You can leverage cloud-based cross-browser testing in platforms like LambdaTest. It gives access to the large farm of 3000+ real browsers and OS combinations. This allows you to test your web application across different environments. You can execute the test on popular browsers like Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, and others. Further, you can also verify the compatibility of the software application on different OS like Windows, Linux, and others.
With its HyperExecute feature, your testing speed can be increased by 70%. When you use LambdaTest, you can run your tests in parallel, which lowers the time required for cross-browser testing. It also offers scalable testing abilities that help you to scale up and down based on testing requirements.
● Use Of Artificial Intelligence And Machine Learning
Performing cross-browser testing manually requires lots of time and effort. and, sometimes, it can also become tiring and boring. To overcome this issue, testers and developers should accept the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning. This will minimize the testing gap and will also save time and effort.
Automation testing is the best example of the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning. In automation testing, the testing script is created once and used whenever needed. It also helps in maintaining the web applications’ quality by interpreting the end-user actions on various browsers and maintaining test scripts accordingly.
● Codeless Cross-Browser Testing
Cross-browser testing involves testing the web applications across multiple browser setups to ensure they are cross-browser compatible. This is time taking as it requires writing test scripts for multiple access points. Also, the included codes in the test scripts make testing difficult. Cross-browser testing can be made efficient by using a no-code tool to automate the test process.
The use of codeless cross-browsing testing will ensure that the testers and developers focus more on the development of the web application rather than focusing on the testing codes. This will also save time by increasing the testing capacity.
● Cross-Browser Testing on Real Devices
Performing cross-browser testing on real devices will allow the testers to test the web applications on multiple devices simultaneously by removing the use of an internal device library. This will also make cross-browsing testing cost-effective by reducing the cost that was used to access the cloud of devices. Also, on real devices, the responsive testing of websites can be carried out in real environments.
● Early Headless Testing
In early headless testing, the testers need not have to wait till the end of the web development; rather, they perform cross-browser testing in the early stages of the development. In this technique of web application testing, the testers can test codes on multiple browsers without the requirement of a Graphical User Interface.
● A Greater Focus on Progressive Web Applications
It is necessary for developers and testers to look at how their web applications are working on different browsing platforms. For this, they need to have a greater focus on progressive web applications because, in these types of web applications, some properties may work in one browser and not on another.
Progressive web applications are applications built using web technology languages such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript but perform their functionality just like an actual native software application.
● Incorporate Automation and Parallel Testing
Performing cross-browsing testing through the approach of manual testing requires lots of time and effort. This can be overcome by using the automation testing technique. This will ensure that the maximum number of testing scenarios have been tested, providing testers with accurate results.
Along with automation testing, the use of parallel testing will improve the efficiency of cross-browser testing. In parallel testing, the testers and developers test the web applications on various browsers and devices simultaneously.
● Mobile-first approach
A large number of users use mobile devices to access the web application, and therefore, the web applications should work properly. But, the issue of cross-browser compatibility is very common when web applications are accessed using mobile devices. This also impacts the responsive design of web applications. So, the testers and developers should first focus on developing and testing a web application using a mobile-first approach. This will ensure that the web application is cross-browser compatible on all types of devices.
● Real User Monitoring
To provide the end-user with the best web applications, the testers and developers need to understand how the user will interact with the web application. To gather data on the same, the Real User monitoring technique is used for carrying out cross-browser testing. In this technique, real user monitoring tools are added to the testing process. The tools will gather the data on how the real user uses the website and then analyze this data to reflect upon how the user will experience the web applications across various browsers. This will ensure that the performance of the web application is optimized and the end-user acquires a seamless user experience irrespective of the browser and platform they are using.
● Containerized Testing
Testers and developers can use the containerized testing technique to perform cross-browser testing. In this testing methodology, containerization technology, such as Docker, is used to create a separate test environment that replicates the browser into a container. This container consists of all the necessary configurations, dependencies, and components.
The containerized testing technique is beneficial while performing cross-browser testing due to its isolated test environment that does not allow browser configuration to replicate. This reduces inconsistency and improves collaboration between the testers and developers involved in the testing of web applications.
Conclusion
Web applications are an important part of this digital era, and a quality web application is one which is compatible with all browsers and browser versions. To ensure this, cross-browsing testing is very crucial as it delivers an optimal user experience.
Also, to provide end-users with web applications that are compatible and accessible using any browser, the top cross-browser testing trends can be used by the developers and testers while testing their web applications. Also, the use of these trends will equip developers and provide the end-user with an exceptional experience.
