The demand for technological advancements keeps on growing every now and then. Who could have imagined the software development market reaching $1039 billion by 2027? The pressure to even survive is pretty much insane. However, automation testing can be quite a game-changer here. Considering the tech industry as a whole, automation is pretty much in vogue these days.

In the present scenario, the software development lifecycle is about offering the best possible outcomes in a pretty short span of time. Today, considering traditional testing methods would be a huge mistake since it won’t help you in keeping up with the speed and ensuring the final app is completely bug-free, irrespective of how simple or complex the modern app development project is.

What is Automation Testing?

Automation testing is about using a wide range of tools or scripts to successfully execute predefined tests and all these all applied on the software application on an automatic basis. Earlier, it was all about testing manually, which did leave a lot of room for unwanted bugs and issues; fortunately, this no longer seems to be the case anymore. With automation testing, projects run faster, with great consistency and turn out to be highly scalable. And the best part here is that there is little to no manual intervention.

Automation testing offers lots and lots of benefits and turns out to be a very important aspect of the current modern development practices. Speed - Automated tests run pretty much faster in comparison to the manual ones, so you are bound to receive quick feedback and thus, it becomes possible to launch the app in the market before time and release relevant features at regular intervals.

Accurate outcomes - Automation does assist well by eliminating all the human errors, all the tests are executed in the most accurate manner, ensuring reliable outcomes.

Cost-efficiency - For the initial time being, you may disagree here, the initial investment in automation tools might be a bit high, but if you take a look at the longevity, or the big picture, the long-term cost savings far outweigh the upfront costs.

High scalability - Apps today are found to be way more complex and complicated than they used to be earlier. By considering automated tests, it is possible to scale without having to increase the resources, so even though there are evolving codebases, it’s perfectly fine.

Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) - Test automation with CI/CD pipelines means all the tests are up-to-date and executed on a frequent basis.

In addition to all this, automation testing ensures a higher return on investment (ROI) and assists in satisfying more and more customers. Every day, thousands of apps are being developed with the objective of being loved by millions of end users and turning a mere business into a million-dollar venture. I guess now you know why automated testing is worth your while.

So, for the sake of high quality and stability of the developed app, automation testing is a must! Now here comes the bigger question: how is this done? Fret not, the following post acts as a sure-short answer. What is Selenium testing, and how is it beneficial in the long run?

What is Selenium?

Selenium is a reputable open-source framework designed to automate web browsers. The famous open-source testing tool is highly preferable for conducting web application testing. Here, testers can successfully write automated tests irrespective of different programming languages to test the functionality of the developed app. One of the key aspects to consider here, it is possible to conduct selenium tests on several browsers as well as operating systems.

Selenium is an excellent automation tool which highly focuses on 2 C’s consistency and compatibility. Selenium’s journey began way back in 2004, when Jason Huggins was the mastermind working behind who developed of a JavaScript library known as JavaScriptTestRunner to successfully automate web applications. Later on, the name was changed to Selenium. Here down below, I would like to emphasise on some of the key milestones offered by the automation tool.

• Selenium Remote Control (RC) - Came into existence in order to bypass the same-origin policy in browsers; now the tool ensures seamless writing of automated tests within several programming languages.
• Selenium WebDriver - Mainly launched to address overall limitations of Selenium RC, this tool is used to interact on directly basis with several browser applications, ensuring a more robust and concise programming interface.
• Selenium Grid - The next tool was meant to run concurrently on a wide range of machines and browsers, which definitely lessened the test execution time.
• Selenium 2 and 3 - Successfully merged with WebDriver and RC functionalities, Selenium 2 and 3 successfully enhance stability and ensure higher support for the latest web technologies.
• Selenium 4 - Released with W3C WebDriver standardisation, Selenium 4 offers a wide range of features and functionalities, including relative locators, an improved Selenium IDE, and better integration with modern browsers.

Now, who should be using Selenium as a go-to tool? Of course, the tool should be taken into consideration by several organisations, all because of its higher flexibility and support for a wide range of programming languages as well as browsers. Here are some of the most crucial users of Selenium:

• Tech Giants - It may quite interest to you to know that companies such as Google, Netflix, and HubSpot do have a proven track record for making the most of Selenium for automated testing, no matter how simple or complex web applications turns out to be.
• Financial institutions - Numerous banking and financial services make the most of selenium to ensure the reliability and security is intact of the development platform.
• eCommerce platforms - Several online retailers consider Selenium to successfully test user interferences and relevant shopping cart functionalities among different browsers and devices.
• QA and testing firms - There are numerous specialised firms which consider Selenium to offer a wide range of automated testing services to clients across different industrial verticals.
• Educational institutions - Another interesting aspect to consider is that several universities and coding bootcamps choose Selenium in their curriculum to teach students about automated web testing.

Significance of Selenium Testing

There is no denying the fact that manual testing turns out to be extremely time-consuming in comparison to automation testing, and at the same time, is highly prone to human errors. With Selenium automation tools, it is possible to execute tests quickly and in the most accurate manner, lessening the likelihood of human mistakes as well as ensuring consistent test results.

• Language support - With Selenium, no matter whichever language it is whether it is Ruby, Java, PHP, Perl, Python, JavaScript, and C#, you will be able to develop test scripts.
• Browser Support - With Selenium, nothing can stop you from testing your website on different browsers.
• High scalability - With Automation testing, nothing can stop you from ensuring maximum test coverage of the app’s functionality.
• Reusable Test Scripts - Selenium is such an automation tool where it is feasible to develop reusable test scripts. As a result, lots and lots of time and effort can be saved since these test scripts can be used on different projects.
• Parallel Testing - Selenium highly prefers parallel test execution, which means it is possible for multiple tests to run concurrently basis. In addition, overall testing time is reduced, ensuring a seamless development process and that too with great efficiency.
• Documentation and Reporting - Selenium offers detailed test execution logs as well as reports, so tracking results and spotting relevant areas which need attention turns out to be a feasible job.
• User Experience Testing - Another interesting aspect of the automation tool is that this one has the potential to stimulate user interaction as well as behviour, enabling testers to successfully assess user experience and make sure the developed app is highly intuitive as well as user-friendly.
• Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) - Selenium can be successfully integrated within CI/CD pipelines. This is usually done to automate testing for each change of code. By conducting the integration, it is possible to identify and address issues way earlier in the development cycle, so nothing can stop you from conducting more speedy and reliable releases.

Core Features of Selenium

Cross-browser compatibility

• By using Selenium, it is possible to conduct automation testing among Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, and Internet Explorer and several other browsers.

Multi-language support

• Selenium supports a wide range of programming languages, including Java, Python, C#, Ruby, and JavaScript. So it is possible for testers to write scripts within preferred languages.

Easy Framework integration

• Another interesting aspect of Selenium turns out to be that it can be successfully integrated with numerous testing frameworks such as JUnit, TestNG, and NUnit for structured and efficient test execution.

Record and Playback Functionality

• By using tools such as Selenium IDE, it is possible for software development testers to record relevant actions and replay them. And do you know what is the best part here, they don’t even have to write the code, and all the actions can be replayed, ensuring absolutely ideal for beginners and quick prototyping.

Parallel Test execution

• Selenium ensures easy running of tests, and all of them can run on multiple machines or browsers, leading to severely reduced testing execution time.

Flexible element locators

• Web elements can be located using a wide range of strategies, including ID, Name, XPath, CSS Selector, and Class Name.

Support for Dynamic Elements

• Selenium successfully interacts with dynamic UI elements, including dropdowns, pop-ups, and browser alerts.

Third-party tool integration

• The automation tool works well with a wide range of tools, such as Jenkins for CI/CD, Docker for containerised environments, and Appium, especially if you want to conduct successful mobile testing.

Mobile testing support

• As soon as you integrate with Appium, Selenium is used to automate tests, which is mainly done for mobile applications on Android and iOS.

Conclusion

So that’s all for now! I can go on and on when it comes to Selenium. However, it’s time for you to explore and share your valuable experiences with us. The ultimate victory lies in choosing a reputable and reliable development company which features adequate knowledge and experience in conducting such amazing projects.

Some key takeaways ensuring selenium is a primary testing tool: The tool is easy to use and was primarily developed using JavaScript. Selenium can work on different browsers Firefox, Chrome, Opera and Safari.

Tests can be conducted with different programming languages, including Java, Python, Perl, PHP, and Ruby.

The automation tool is platform-independent, which means it is possible to successfully deploy on different platforms, including Windows, Linux, and Macintosh.

Selenium can be well integrated with different tools such as JUnit and TestNG, which is much needed for conducting test management.

I hope you did find the following post worth taking into account. In case if you have any further doubts or queries, feel free to mention them in the comment section below. All the best for your upcoming development venture.