Smartphone usage is ubiquitous, and people expect their web apps to function seamlessly on their phones or tablets. With the rise in people using mobile devices to browse the internet, web apps must look and work the same regardless of the device used to run them. Application testers can look to Selenium mobile testing to verify that web applications are consistent across multiple devices, such as Android phones or iPhones. Developers and testers should be confident that their applications are working as expected across the various screen sizes and browsers users may have when they visit the app or website. This post will cover how selenium mobile testing ensures your apps work flawlessly on all mobile devices.
What Is Selenium for Mobile Testing?
Selenium is considered one of the best tools for automation testing of web applications. It typically tests applications by controlling a web browser. The framework, initially created to enable automation testing of web applications on desktop browsers, cannot accurately test mobile applications on actual mobile devices. Testing applications on a device requires Selenium in combination with Appium—a tool that extends Selenium by allowing it to communicate with mobile devices such as Android phones and iPhones.
This combination enables efficient test automation on real devices or emulators, sending user gestures such as tap and swipe events. Selenium mobile app testing ensures your application works across different devices and saves time, as 95% of the testing is now automated rather than manual.
How to Set Up Selenium for Mobile Testing?
Setting up selenium mobile testing is the first step to ensure tests run smoothly on mobile devices. Testers must install tools like the Java Development Kit, Android SDK, and Appium server to connect Selenium scripts to phones or tablets.
Start by setting up a programming language like Python or Java and adding the Selenium WebDriver library. Then, install Appium, which needs Node.js and the Appium server, to handle mobile browser testing. Ensure you get the right browser drivers, like ChromeDriver for Android or SafariDriver for iOS, to match the browsers you’re testing.
Next, testers connect a real phone via USB or set up an emulator to act like a mobile device. Appium uses a settings file called desired capabilities to define the device, like its name, operating system, or browser. For example, setting up an Android emulator with Chrome ensures tests run on the proper setup. This preparation lets testers check how web apps work on different mobile browsers.
Why Consistent Apps Across Devices Are Important?
Ensuring web apps work the same on all devices is key to keeping users happy with their experience. With so many phones, tablets, and operating systems, apps must adjust to different screen sizes and browsers without issues. Selenium mobile testing checks that apps look good and work well on devices such as iPhones or Android tablets by automating tests for layouts and buttons.
If an app has problems such as buttons not clicking or pages loading slowly, users might leave unexpectedly, thus, hurting a company’s image. Selenium with Appium helps test real user actions to catch these issues early.
Users expect apps to work the same whether using Chrome on Android or Safari on iOS, especially when switching devices. For example, an online store needs its checkout button to work perfectly on all phones to avoid losing customers. Selenium automates tests across many devices, saving time and spotting problems like broken designs or slow features.
Connecting Appium with Selenium
While Appium is not Selenium, it still enables Selenium to execute mobile app tests. Appium serves as a server between the Selenium WebDriver and mobile devices. When you write test scripts in Selenium using Selenium commands, Appium will obtain those commands and remap them to actions taken on Android or iOS mobile devices.
Connecting Appium to Selenium is easy: start the Appium server on your machine and define the “desired capabilities” in your test scripts. Desired capabilities can include device name, platform version, and app, amongst others. After desired capabilities have been established, once Selenium sends commands to the Appium server, Appium will control the smarts of the mobile device based on those commands.
Appium can automate the testing of native apps, hybrid apps, and mobile web apps. Because Appium leverages the WebDriver protocol like Selenium, test cases written or performed within Selenium will be easier for testers to use within mobile testing with Appium since the basic concepts are similar and understood. This is the connection that Appium provides for mobile testing.
This is important for mobile testing because now you can write a single set of test scripts that can be run across several devices efficiently and without specific knowledge or learning a new set of tools or new applications.
Writing Good Test Scripts
Strong test scripts remain an integral piece of Selenium mobile testing in creating a way to test to make sure the app works great on all devices. When writing test scripts, testers have to think about the language in which their test script software should be written, such as Python or Java. The script employs actions that mimic a user, including interacting with a mobile browser by clicking buttons or filling in forms in a mobile twin browser.
An efficient mobile test script begins by starting the browser, navigating by opening the web app, navigating through once it begins by interacting with elements (i.e., buttons, forms, menus, text fields, etc.), and validating if everything is a success (i.e., did the page load correctly, does it show the correct content, etc).
For example, if the mobile test script is designed to validate whether the sign-up button works, it would be tested on Chrome for Android and Safari for iOS to ensure consistency across these platforms. The user experience should be the same regardless of the device.
To keep the scripts easy to write, testers should keep test scripts organized with small bits of workable code (i.e., reusable functions) that have clear names for the buttons or fields the script interacts with—adding waits in the test scripts to ensure the elements (i.e., images the script is waiting to load or forms to fill out) load thoroughly before the script interacts with them, would also lessen the chances of errors. Testers can also use tools such as TestNG to group tests and create reports explaining what has passed and failed.
Tips for Better Mobile Testing with Selenium
Using good habits in selenium mobile testing helps testers get accurate results and ensure apps work on all devices. Always test on real phones or good emulators to match how users use the app, as fake simulators might miss problems like touch issues.
Add waits in scripts to pause until elements like buttons or images load fully, preventing errors from slow pages. Use tools like TestNG to organize tests by tasks, like checking navigation or forms, so it’s easier to find and fix problems in large test sets.
Focus on testing popular devices and browsers, like Chrome on Android or Safari on iOS, based on your users’ preferences. Keep browser drivers, like ChromeDriver or SafariDriver, updated to work with the latest browser versions to avoid setup issues. Test how apps adjust to different screen sizes to ensure buttons and text look right on all devices. Run tests simultaneously using Selenium Grid to save time when checking many devices.
Dealing with Changing Content and Problems
Mobile device web apps often have changing parts, like pop-ups or content that loads later, making selenium mobile testing tricky. These parts might load at different speeds on different phones, causing scripts to fail if they try to click something too soon.
Using waits in scripts ensures the script waits until elements like buttons or forms are ready, making tests reliable on Android and iOS. For example, a script testing a shopping cart should wait for the cart to show up before clicking it to avoid errors on slower devices.
Some browsers act differently, like Chrome showing pop-up alerts or Safari having strict rules, which can cause test issues. Testers can fix this by setting browser options in scripts, like turning off Chrome notifications or allowing Safari pop-ups. Testing on different screen sizes ensures apps adjust correctly, avoiding problems like hidden text or buttons. Appium’s inspector tool helps find elements to test, even if they change.
Running Tests on Many Devices with Selenium Grid
Selenium Grid is an excellent tool for making Selenium mobile testing faster by running tests on multiple devices at once. It lets testers check web apps on different phones, tablets, and browsers like Chrome or Safari simultaneously, saving hours.
The Grid uses a hub to send test scripts to nodes, devices, or emulators running specific browsers. For example, one script can test a website on an iPhone, an Android tablet, and a computer browser, ensuring the app works the same everywhere.
To use Selenium Grid, testers set up a hub to manage tests and nodes for each device-browser combination. Appium works with Selenium Grid to include mobile devices as nodes for testing mobile browsers. Testers define settings like device type and browser version in a configuration file to ensure tests run correctly. This setup quickly catches problems like a menu not working on a specific Android version.
Fixing Problems and Sharing Test Results
Fixing issues and sharing precise results are key to successful Selenium mobile testing for consistent app performance. When a test fails, testers must determine if the problem is in the script, device, or app, like a button not working on a particular tablet.
Appium’s logs and Selenium’s debugging tools show detailed steps of what went wrong, helping testers find issues like slow-loading elements. For example, if a script can’t find a button, logs might show it loaded too late, so testers can add a wait to fix it.
Clear reports help testers share problems with developers, such as pages looking wrong or loading slowly on some devices. Tools like TestNG create reports showing which tests passed or failed, including screenshots of errors for better understanding. Capturing screenshots or videos during tests helps show issues such as text not fitting on small screens. Adding reports to automated systems like CI/CD pipelines makes sharing faster, assisting developers in fixing problems quickly.
LambdaTest and Selenium Mobile Testing: Ensuring Apps Work on All Devices
LambdaTest makes mobile Selenium testing easier. The cloud-based platform is an excellent solution for web-app testing across 5000+ browsers and real devices. You can run automated tests on mobile-based browsers like Chrome, Safari, or Firefox using Selenium and Appium. This allows testers to validate that they have a complete app to deliver.
To ensure apps work seamlessly across Android and iOS, testers can run a mobile friendly test using LambdaTest’s cloud grid. This enables testing on a wide range of real devices, all from a single terminal window—speeding up the process with parallel execution. Geolocation testing helps verify how apps behave in different regions, while LambdaTest Tunnel allows secure testing of locally hosted apps or those behind firewalls.
LambdaTest’s intelligent features include Auto Healing, which automatically fixes errors, and the complete report contains screenshots to help pinpoint problems. LambdaTest supports scripting in Python and Java, making writing and running tests easy. LambdaTest support is available 24/7 to ensure the tester can access assistance whenever required to maintain testing.
Conclusion
Selenium mobile testing ensures web apps work smoothly on all mobile devices, keeping users happy with consistent experiences. Using Selenium with Appium automates testing on mobile browsers, catching problems like broken buttons or bad layouts early. Tips like testing on real devices, using waits, and running tests with Selenium Grid make testing faster and better. As mobile use grows, these methods ensure apps work well everywhere. Try mobile-friendly testing to improve your app’s quality. How will you ensure your web app works perfectly on every phone or tablet?
