Considering that traditional front and back-office applications are slowly being phased out for web-based applications, testing the functionality of web applications becomes infinitely more important. This is why you’ll want to do all you can to ensure that your web app testing is efficient and effective. The best way to go about doing this is through automation. Manual testing can be quite taxing as it requires an investment of time and manpower. This is why you’ll want to learn as much as you can about what web application test automation is and how it works. If this is something that you want to know more about, read on for our beginner’s guide to web app testing automation.
What is Web App Testing?
Before we discuss anything, it’s important that we define what web app testing is. Web testing is a software practice that is used to ensure the quality of a given web application by testing that the functions of the application are working as intended. Web testing can be used to find bugs at any time before a release or on a day-to-day basis. Testing is an essential part of app development. This is especially true when the app is changed in any way. Whenever there’s a change in the code, no matter how small, bugs and errors can manifest. It’s important to implement an effective testing strategy so that you can deal with these potential issues swiftly.
What Are the Benefits of Automated Web App Testing?
While testing is important, you can’t ignore how labor-intensive it is. Automation addresses this problem, as it helps you test efficiently without sacrificing quality. Automated tests eliminate the need for testers to perform routine and repetitive tests. Automated tests help find bugs in specific operations and simple-use cases (e.g. logging in, creating a new account, or resetting passwords.) By eliminating these tasks, testers can focus on exploratory testing or other tests that require a human perspective.
What Can Be Automated?
Now, it’s important to note that not all web app tests can be automated. Some tests simply require a human touch. Here are a few types of tests that you can automate for your web applications:
Functional Testing: Functional testing is used to ensure that an app works as intended from the end-user’s perspective. While this process can be automated, it’s important that you supplement the automated tests with manual tests in order to find bugs.
Regression Testing: Regression testing describes “repeated functional testing”. It is used to make sure that a software’s functionality continues to work after parts of it have been modified with new code. Regression testing is basically functional testing that is repeated once a new software code or configuration is added.
Cross-browser Testing: Cross-browser testing ensures that your web application performs well in different browsers both on desktop and mobile devices.
Performance Testing: Performance testing, or stress and load testing, ensures that a web application can endure extended periods of activity or peak user loads. While it is possible to do this manually, it would be extremely impractical.
Conclusion
We hope this article proves to be useful when it comes to helping you further your understanding of web application test automation. Now that you understand this process better, you’ll be able to maximize automation in a way that helps you optimize your web applications.
If you’re in need of an automation testing company with a spotless track record in web app testing, Codoid is your best choice. Every new software product deserves high-quality automation testing, and our team of highly skilled QA professionals can handle any job. When it comes to web application test automation, there’s no better choice than Codoid. For more information on what we can do for you, visit our website today!
It is not a simple yes or no question as it depends on a lot of factors like the core purpose of the website, who runs it, and the country it is used in. Though the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are the universally accepted standards to be followed on the web, it is not a global law followed in every country. Countries like the United States of America do have accessibility-related laws, but there are no dedicated laws when it comes to the web. So in this blog, we will explore the various Web Accessibility Laws around the world to see how WCAG non-compliance can end up becoming a punishable offense.
The Web Accessibility Laws in Different Regions
So if you are located in the U.S and if the website belongs to a federal agency or their contractors, those websites must comply with WCAG 2.0. But if the website belongs to a private business, the website definitely has to be accessible as per the ADA. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires every place of public accommodation to be accessible in terms of infrastructure (Wheel Chair accessible Entry elevators, and so on). Though websites do come under this category as a place of public accommodation as the users do visit the website to obtain information, make a purchase, and perform such activities, there are no defined guidelines or standards that the websites have to adhere to.
Likewise, if you are in countries like Canada, New Zealand, or Australia, only government sites have to meet the WCAG guidelines. There are no defined standards for public sites with a few exceptions in certain areas. Argentina requires their public sites to be compliant with WCAG 1.0 and Ecuador’s public sites have to comply with WCAG 2.0. The European Union is where we can find the best Accessibility standards. They have created the Web Accessibility Directive which is in many ways similar to WCAG 2.0. It even has a few additional requirements where users should be able to report such issues, and so on. Though it was initially launched with only government sites to be compliant in 2016, by 2018 even public websites have been instructed to meet the standards.
There are also numerous countries that do not have any prominent Web Accessibility Laws. But if you are running a business website, it is always better to have a site that is accessible as there is always a possibility of getting sued by the consumer.
The Case against Dominos
Companies have been sued in the past for having inaccessible websites and apps. For example, Domino’s was sued by a visually impaired man when he was unable to order pizza from their website despite using a Screen Reader. Despite the case being very strong on the plaintiff’s side, it took more than 3 years for the judgment to come through. The court ruled Dominos’ website to be inaccessible and ordered them to meet the compliance. But the real question here is why would Dominos fight the case instead of just making their website accessible.
The Business Angle
Any company that doesn’t consider people with disabilities as viable customers are missing out on a lot of business. According to a report by Forbes, 1 in every 4 Americans have some form of disability, and about 57 million Americans have a disability that hinders their ability to view and use online services. In the digital age we live in, it wouldn’t be wise to leave out such a huge part of the population assuming it is not essential. But beyond the business aspect
So it is evident that the Web Accessibility Laws are different in different areas of the world. But what if you have a website that functions on a global scale? The only solution here would be to have your website meet the highest standards of accessibility so that you wouldn’t have to worry about any disputes. You could achieve this goal by outsourcing the task to one of the best web accessibility testing service providers like us. If we do take a look at it beyond the business aspect, fulfilling the rights of people with disabilities should be a moral responsibility that shouldn’t be overlooked.
Lighthouse is a great open-source and automated web page quality improvement tool. It is primarily used to perform audits for performance, accessibility, progressive web apps, SEO, and other factors. Its functionality doesn’t end there as the audits will provide you with very useful suggestions and act as a guide to improving the page you audited. Be it a public page or a page that requires authentication, you will have no trouble using it. As a leading performance testing company, we have found Lighthouse to be an instrumental tool in ensuring the sites we test are optimized. So in this Lighthouse Tutorial, we will be seeing how it can be run it using Chrome DevTools, the command line, and as a Node module. We will also be taking a deep dive into the reports and seeing how to share them. So let’s get started.
The List of Lighthouse Processes:
Using the Chrome DevTools, you’ll be able to audit authentication-required pages and read reports without having to put in too much effort.
You can use shell scripts to automate your Lighthouse runs by using Command Prompt.
Lighthouse can be integrated into your continuous integration system in the form of a node module with ease.
You can also use a web interface to run Lighthouse and link to reports without having to install anything at all.
Lighthouse Tutorial to Run it in Chrome DevTools
Since Google Chrome is the most popular browser, you might already have it installed in your system. But if you don’t, make sure to install it. As any URL on the web can be audited, let’s take a look at the steps to generate a report.
1. First up, open Google Chrome and navigate to the URL you’d like to audit.
2. Once the page has been loaded, open Chrome DevTools.
3. Click on the ‘Lighthouse’ tab.
You will get a view of the page you’re looking to audit on the left and the Lighthouse-powered Chrome DevTools panel on the right.
4. You’ll see a list of audit categories as shown in the image. Check and make sure all the categories are enabled.
5. You can create a report in under a minute by just clicking on the ‘Generate report’ option. Once you do that, you’ll see a report as shown in the below image.
Lighthouse Tutorial to Run it using the Node command-line tool
Download & install the latest Node version that has Long-Term Support and then install Lighthouse using the following command.
npm install -g lighthouse
The -g flag here installs it as a global module.
You can use the following two commands to run an audit and to see all the options,
To run an audit:
lighthouse <url>
To see all the options:
lighthouse --help
Lighthouse Tutorial to Run it with a Chrome Extension
Download the Lighthouse Chrome Extension from the Chrome Webstore, and go to the page you want to audit in Chrome.
1. If you see the Lighthouse icon beside the Chrome address bar, you can click on it to enable the extension.
2. If you don’t, you can click on the extensions button to find the Lighthouse extension. So, the Lighthouse menu expands once you click on it.
3. Once you click on the ‘Generate report’ option, Lighthouse will perform the audit on the page that is currently open and then shows the report in a new tab.
How to Run PageSpeed Insights?
Using PageSpeed Insights with Lighthouse is quite simple. You just have to follow these steps:
Now that we have seen how to generate the Lighthouse report in 3 different ways and seen how to obtain the PageSpeed Insights in this Lighthouse Tutorial, it’s time to explore the various aspects of the report one would have to know about. Then only the user will be able to comprehend the report and take the required action.
Performance Score
Visiting a slow-loading website is definitely an excruciating task that no one will enjoy. So, using the performance score, we will be able to identify how quickly a website or app loads and how quickly the users will be able to access or view the content on the page. There are six-speed metrics that will be used to calculate this score.
First Contentful Paint
Imagine yourself opening a webpage. As soon as you click on the button, you would expect the page to navigate to the page you want to go to and start showing the content. So, this metric indicates the time it takes for the first text or image to become visible for the users.
First Meaningful Paint
Likewise, a barely loaded page that takes a lot of time to load the important contents of the page is also not a good sign. Hence as the name suggests, this metric indicates the time taken for the meaningful part of a page to be loaded.
Speed Index
So the speed index is a uniform metric that establishes how quickly the content of a page loads.
Time to Interactive
Just because the user is able to see the content, doesn’t mean the site is ready to be used. As soon as the users see the content, they will assume the page is ready and try to interact with it. But if the page takes a long time for it to be interactive, then the user will definitely get annoyed. So this metric reveals how much time is taken by the webpage and its content to become fully interactive for the user.
First CPU Idle
This metric is also very similar to the previous metric we saw. It differs majorly by what we mean when saying the site has to become interactive in the previous metric. For a page to be considered fully reactive, it has to respond to user interactions within 50 milliseconds. First CPU Idle differs as it reveals the time it has taken for the majority of the UI elements to work and not the time it takes for all UI elements to work. There is a reason why it is seen as a different metric as well. Ultimately, this metric returns the time it takes for the page’s main thread activity to become low enough to accept the inputs that have to be processed.
Estimated Input Latency
The latency approximates how long an app or webpage takes to react to user inputs during the 5-second window that has the maximum computational page load. The fact to keep in mind here is that if the latency is over 50ms, users might perceive the app or website to be very slow.
Make sure to review the suggestions shown in Lighthouse as it will be helpful in reducing load times easily.
Accessibility Score
The Accessibility score helps us understand how accessible the website is to people with disabilities such as vision impairment, hearing disabilities, and other physical or cognitive conditions. If we were to take the example of a visually impaired user, then the user would use a screen reader to access the content. But for the screen reader to work properly, proper heading tags are a must in the content. The alt text for visuals and proper texts explaining the buttons and hyperlinks are also important. So such will be reviewed for this score.
Best Practices Score
The Best Practices aspect primarily revolves around the security levels of the webpage. Lighthouse tests a total of 16 practices and all of them are focused on safety and modern web development standards. You can get a good score here if there are no issues in JavaScript libraries, establish secure database connections, check insecure commands, and so on.
SEO Score
So we’ve seen how fast the page loads, how inclusive it is by checking accessibility, and see if it is secure enough to provide the best user experience. But SEO is also one important action that we have to look into. The reason is that without proper SEO, the webpage itself will not be able to reach your intended audience. So though the above enhancements are important, it is very important for us to make the site appear in the search results.
Lighthouse Tutorial to Share & View reports online
Once the reports have been generated, it is also possible to view and share the reports using the Lighthouse viewer. The report’s JSON is actually needed to use Lighthouse viewer. So let’s see what has to be done to get the report as a JSON file.
Share reports as JSON
Depending on the Lighthouse workflow you’re using, the below steps describe how to get the JSON output.
1. Click on the ‘Tool’ menu once the report has been generated.
2. Choose Save as JSON or HTML.
To view the report data:
1. Open the Lighthouse Viewer in Google Chrome.
2. You can click anywhere on the Viewer to open the file navigator using which you can select the JSON file. You can even drag the JSON file onto the viewer.
Lighthouse Features
There is a lot for web developers to benefit from following Lighthouse’s advice. Here are a couple of Lighthouse features that can enhance that experience with customization options.
Stack Packs
Today’s developers have the option to use various technologies like CMS, JavaScript frameworks, and so on while developing web pages. The best part of Lighthouse is that it can now provide more relevant and actionable advice suggestions based on the tools used. So this makes the first customization option as you’ll receive suggestions that go beyond the general recommendations.
Lighthouse Plugins
Lighthouse Plugins are the second customizability option that enables community domain experts to cater to their specific needs. For example, Lighthouse can create new audits by using the data it collects. Here, a Lighthouse plugin will act as a node module that implements a set of checks that Lighthouse will run and then add as a new category to the report.
We hope you have a clear picture of what Lighthouse is and what it is capable of as well after reading this Lighthouse Tutorial. Since Lighthouse is an open-source project that welcomes contributions, you could look into the issue tracker and find possible bugs or even analyze audits to see how it can be improved. So make sure to keep an eye on the issues tracker as it is a great place to discuss audit metrics, new audit ideas, and so on.
HTML, expanded as HyperText Markup Language is used to define the structure of the content in a webpage. HTML has its origins dating back to 1980 and its first version was officially launched in 1993. Since HTML5 is the most recent version, we will be discussing the key differences and upgrades that were introduced in HTML5. We will be able to understand the advantages that HTML5 has to offer when we pit HTML vs HTML5. We will also be exploring the history of HTML to see how it has transformed over the years.
If in case you don’t know how HTML works, it actually has a series of elements/syntax which you can use to structure and present the different parts of the content like heading text, paragraph text, bullet points, images, and so on. So it basically instructs the browser how to display the text, image, and other elements of a webpage. HTML is now being used with CSS (Cascading Style Sheet) and JavaScript to make the browser more dynamic. As one of the leading Software Testing companies in the industry, we believe that a good understanding of HTML will definitely come to use one day.
HTML’s History
As stated earlier, the beginning of HTML traces all the way back to 1980. Physicist Tim Berners-Lee, a specialist at CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) proposed a new “hypertext” framework that can be used for sharing reports and documents. Ultimately, Tim Berners-Lee got together with renowned frameworks engineer Robert Cailliau to introduce the triumphant proposition called the World Wide Web (W3).
HTML 1.0
The main proper report of HTML was distributed in 1991 under the name ‘HTML Tags’. It is considered a PC relic in today’s world. Though this move was made in 1991, the initial authority proposition to change HTML into a standard was made in 1993 by the IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force). The first version of HTML is regarded as HTML 1.0 and it had 18 elements.
HTML 2.0
HTML did not boom immediately and it also lacked a lot of basic features such as changing the font, including images & tables, and so on. So in 1995, IETF arranged for a gathering to create the HTML 2.0 norm that retained all the elements from HTML 1.0 and added a few features as well. This is the last set of HTML guidelines that were distributed by IETF.
HTML 3.2
The HTML guidelines started getting distributed by another standard association called W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) instead of IETF from 1996. So on January 14, 1997, the HTML 3.2 variant was distributed by the W3C. It introduced a lot of great features like Java applets, text streams around pictures, and so on.
HTML 4.0
HTML 4.0 (A revised variant of the first distribution of December 18, 1997) was distributed on April 24, 1998. It came with significant additions like CSS templates, the ability to remember little projects or scripts for the sites, working on the openness of the planned pages, complex tables, and upgrades in the structure. A rather update came in the form of HTML 4.0.1 on December 24, 1999. It was a modification and update of the HTML 4.0 form, so it didn’t address a lot of critical aspects.
HTML 5.0
With the distribution of HTML 4.0.1, the normalization movement of HTML halted as the W3C zeroed in on the improvement of the XHTML standard. So in 2004, organizations like Apple, Mozilla, and Opera expressed their anxiety about the absence of W3C’s interest in HTML and decided to arrange another affiliation called the WHATWG (Web Hypertext Application Technology Working Group). Owing to the strength of the organization that made up WHATWG, W3C came back to the normalizing movement of HTML and distributed the initial HTML 5.0 drafts in March 2007 and the first authority draft on January 22, 2008. Corresponding to its movement with HTML, W3C also proceeded with the normalization of XHTML, a high-level adaptation of HTML.
HTML vs HTML5
HTML5 is no longer just a website builder, it has evolved to become an entire application builder on its own. Unlike older versions of HTML, which only allowed you to create primarily static sites that needed to be spiced up with CSS and JavaScript, HTML5 is much more dynamic and includes multimedia elements.
Audio and Video Tags
With the introduction of
Games & Interactive Media
Browsers can display interactive 3D graphics using the computer’s own graphic processor. The need for any extra software or plugin to run games or any interactive media in web browsers also has been eliminated.
Data Storage
HTML employed cookies to store temporary data. Whereas, HTML5 utilizes web SQL databases, web storage, and application cache for storing the data offline. Since it became possible to store the data on the user’s device, certain app functionalities will work properly even without having an active internet connection.
Vector Graphics
We were only able to add vector graphics in HTML by VML, Flash, Silverlight, and other such technologies. But HTML5 introduced the ‘svg’ tag that enables us to include vector graphics directly.
Mobile-Friendly
The ability of HTML5 to generate better forms, the elimination of the flash player dependency, and general improvements like the introduction of the header, footer, and nav that adds the much-needed structure to the website make HTML5 a more mobile-friendly option in this HTML vs HTML5 comparison.
Cross-platform support
Since HTML5 can be used for deployment across various platforms, it acts as a huge time and money saver during the development phase.
Drag and Drop
HTML5 made it possible for the objects on the page to move according to the user’s cursor movement. So HTML5 was also able to enable drag and drop effects that HTML lacked.
Font Options
The look of the webpages also greatly improved with HTML5 supporting more fonts that can be displayed in a wide array of colors and with different effects as well.
Character Encoding
The introduction of the charset attribute meant that the character encoding process which was long and complicated in HTML got simplified in HTML5.
Geolocation
It was not possible to track the geolocation of a user with HTML. But since HTML5 allows JavaScript to run in the browser, a user’s geolocation can be easily tracked using the JS GeoLocation API. So that’s another major win for HTML5 in this HTML vs HTML5 comparison.
Ping
In addition to that, the ping attribute that came in HTML5 makes it possible for a list of URLs to be notified if and when a user clicks on a particular hyperlink. So the geolocation tracking and such features make HTML5 more resourceful when it comes to tracking and monitoring usage.
Disadvantages of HTML5:
Now that we have seen the HTML vs HTML5 comparison, let’s explore the few downsides that need improvement.
Since HTML5 requires modern browsers to access it, users utilizing old versions of the browser will face issues while accessing a website. There are also browser compatibility issues. So users might get unnecessarily frustrated with the website though there are no issues.
The language is always a work in progress and so you would have to be constantly following for any changes that might cause issues to your site. Though we can benefit from improvements, practically it might work as a threat.
Since media licensing is an issue in HTML5, it cannot produce dynamic outputs. Though we can embed audio files, graphics, interactivities, and videos, we will not be able to use HD videos and rich visuals that will make us miss Adobe Flash.
The security elements offered are also very limited.
Conclusion
Despite the few advantages, there is no denying the fact that HTML5 is very easy to use in comparison to HTML all thanks to the simple syntaxes. A few HTML tags were even removed completely in the update and a few tags were changed to a different syntax. For example, ‘dir’ was changed to ‘ul’. We hope you had a good time reading our HTML vs HTML5 comparison and learned the key differences between the two as well. As one of the top QA companies, we will be constantly updating a lot of useful information through our blogs. So make sure to stay tuned to this space for more.
If you have been wondering if it is possible to perform mobile app testing on all mobile devices (Android & iOS) without purchasing them, the answer is yes, it is very much possible to do that. There are even a couple of options to do so as well. You can either opt for cloud-based solutions to access real devices or use simulators and emulators to mimic a device. Each of these options does have its own advantage and disadvantages, but as a leading mobile app testing company, we always prefer to use cloud-based solutions to get the best results. So in this blog, we will be listing the various cloud-based mobile app testing solutions you can use to test an app on all devices without purchasing them and explore the scope of emulators and simulators. Let’s get started.
Prioritization is the key to having an effective testing mobile app testing strategy. Your objective shouldn’t be to just test your application on every available device out there as it is not smart to do so. There is nothing wrong with being thorough, but you shouldn’t waste your time and resources on obsolete devices or devices that will not be used by your intended audience. With that said, let’s first explore cloud-based solutions.
Cloud-Based Mobile App Testing Solutions
BrowserStack
pCloudy
Sauce Labs
AWS Device Farm
SeeTest.io
Perfecto
Kobiton
Firebase Test Lab
Though this list has been mentioned in a random order, BrowserStack is undoubtedly the best choice from these options. BrowserStack keeps adding new devices instantaneously and they stand out from the crowd with their helpful blogs and tech support that can guide you through the entire mobile app testing process. But if you do feel like you want to check out all the other tools before making a choice, make sure to visit our Cloud Testing Platforms blog as we have discussed these tools individually.
Emulators
Though emulators are open-source options, they are not as effective as cloud-based solutions. They are also not easy to use as you would have to download and install the emulators for each and every device you want to test. Since emulators just mimic devices, they are also not that reliable to use. So the only possible scenarios where emulators would be effective would be when it is used during the early stages of development or for simple tests.
Now that you know the ways you can test the mobile app without buying new devices, make sure to go through our Mobile App Testing Checklist and its Peculiarities blog.
The Alternative Solution
If at all you feel overwhelmed by all these options and think you will not be able to handle the task on your own, do not fret. You can always outsource the tasks to a leading Mobile App Testing Service Company like us. We have been able to extend our mobile app testing services to large firms, start-ups, and even independent developers. The scale of the project has never been an area of concern. If you compromise on your testing, the chances of your app succeeding in the market becomes very slim. So we hope you now have a clear understanding of all the various options you can employ to get your app tested effectively.
Not many know that there is a lot of difference between Quality Assurance and Software Testing. Though they both contribute towards better software quality, they differ in terms of goal, approach, and so on. To put it in simple terms, software testing is the process of finding bugs that already exist in the software. Whereas, Quality Assurance is the process of preventing the creation of such bugs and future problems. So we would first perform software testing to find all the bugs, then with the available data, we will be able to perform quality control to achieve quality assurance. As a leading QA company, we have been able to successfully test products and provide quality assurance to many of our clients. So in this blog, we will be focusing on the core differences between QA and Software testing and explore why Quality Assurance is important.
The Differences between QA and Software Testing
Quality Assurance is much broader in scope as covers every process, policy, tool, guideline, training, workflow, etc. that a team will need to meet with their quality objectives. So software testing is basically a sub-branch of the quality assurance process. Now let’s take a look at the tabulated version of the key differences between QA and Software Testing.
S. No
Software Testing
Quality Assurance
1
The Primary Objective Is To Make The Application Bug-Free.
The Primary Objective Is To Make The Application Meet The Stakeholder’s Expectations.
2
Performed Once The Code Has Been Written.
Involved In Every Step Of The Development Process.
3
Checks Or Validates The Behavior Of The Application.
Improves The Application’s Quality Using Various Methods, Tools, Policies, Etc.
4
It Is Reactive In Nature As It Is A Corrective Action.
It Is Proactive In Nature As It Is A Preventive Action.
5
Focused On The Product.
Focused On The Process.
6
Developers Or Testers Perform The Tests.
Quality Assurance Activities Are Followed By All. (Stakeholders, Business Analysts, Developers, And Testers)
The Importance of Quality Assurance
We know for a fact that lack of bugs alone doesn’t make a quality product. If we were to go by an analogy, we can consider a dish that has been cooked in accordance with the given recipe & procedure. But what if there was something wrong with the recipe or the cooking process itself? The consumer still may not like the food though everything went according to plan. Likewise, an end-user might not feel satisfied with your product though it is bug-free.
Moreover, believing that the software being developed will have zero errors is a fallacy. Since we are aware of the obvious result, is it not wiser to follow quality assurance methods to minimize the effects of any quality issues later down the pipeline? It is impossible for the software tester who receives the code with the bugs to have any control over the development process. So the more attention and effort you put into quality assurance, the easier it gets while testing a product.
So it is evident that creating a successful product without either of these two is not possible. Though companies might have an internal team for executing basic tests, it will not be enough. A dedicated QA team will be mandatory as we all know that quality cannot be tested into a product. If there are any doubts regarding the team’s expansion, one can always outsource their QA needs to one of the best outsourcing companies such as us to get the job done without breaking a sweat while still staying on budget. We hope you are now clear of the various differences between QA and software testing
