Cross-browser testing is a part of the mobile application testing pipeline that helps verify if the concerned application under test (AUT) will deliver optimal performance. It helps to assess the app’s compatibility with different browsers. The browser refers to a software app to retrieve, read, and display the data on the World Wide Web. Each browser differs and has its version, font type, font size, plugin. The web browser still is one of the primary gateways that channel the end-user’s interaction with the app. As the functionalities of an app are becoming more complex, advanced, and resource-intensive, these apps now bear a heavy client-side behavioral footprint. Hence, testing the client-side rendering of the app on different browsers is essential.
Cross Browser refers to a website, app, or an HTML construct to support different web browsers and be adequately rendered by these browsers. Cross-browser compatibility is widely recognized as a critical issue by the QA during app testing. Besides the UI elements, QA should also focus on checking the functional consistency of the app across web browsers. Various testing tools and services available in the market, both open-source and licensed, can help the QA appropriately leverage the cross-browser tests. The QA must apply the tool to assess the app’s compatibility across several browser-OS combinations in a consistent and repeatable manner. You can run a Proof of Concept on the app testing tool to check its feasibility in your cross-browser compatibility testing project. Moreover, it must also have robust reporting features to help the QA visualize the test results. It will help them determine if the app is appropriately functional, available in different browsers, and ready for release.
The Goal of Cross-Browser Testing
Cross-browser testing aims to ensure that the app behaves precisely in the same manner regardless of the rendering browser. The app should act and respond the same way across different browsers in terms of functionality and look and feel. Cross-browser compatibility testing helps verify the page layout, navigation, color & graphics, multimedia, content presentation, functionality, and accessibility of an app. It allows the QA to ascertain that the application’s rendering on target web browsers is error-free.
Parameters For Cross-Browser Testing
Cross-browser tests involve various parameters. Code validation helps to validate the code’s JavaScript and CSS across different browsers. The performance testing parameters allow the QA to determine that the app delivers seamless web performance to these target browsers. With the advancement in technology, since there is more significant fragmentation of mobile devices and supports varying screen sizes, OS, and more, cross-browser tests also involve testing the app’s responsiveness on different browsers in varying mobile devices. UI parameters are critical to developing the cross-browser test cases and helps determine that the designed UI matches the original plan. It helps in confirming that the app delivers similar behavior such as dialog boxes, navigations, links, and more across the target browsers.
Hence, the font size and style, special characters with HTML character encoding, the alignment of controls, text alignment, CMS compatibility, HTML5 video format, and plugins developed by external sites must be checked while performing cross-browser compatibility testing.
Manual Cross-Browser Testing
The QA must identify the target browsers that the end-users are likely to use the concerned AUT. They must prepare the test cases and re-run the same cases using different browsers. The testers must check the app’s behavior across other browsers and appropriately debug it. Since cross-browser testing is repetitive and time-consuming, the QA must choose to automate the testing procedure.
Automated Cross-Browser Testing
Using automation for cross-browser testing can help to save time and costs involved. With the right tool and testing approach, the QA can accelerate the cross-browser tests. It also enables them to scale the testing and focus the manual tests on the areas where it’s most needed. These tools provide CI/CD integration and support testing in real-world scenarios. Using these tools, you can perform cross-browser tests on devices with different resolutions, configurations, and browsers in real-time.
How Do You Choose Suitable Browsers for Testing?
Besides testing the app on the recent browser versions, the QA must also target older and rarely-used browsers. Some end-users continue to operate these older versions for running the app; hence testing on these browsers is necessary. Check the usage of browsers by users, and prioritize them based on risk. The low-risk category will include the top few browsers that have wide usage and can minimize risk to your app. The medium-risk browsers are not used extensively or rarely. High-risk browsers are no longer maintained and upgraded and pose the highest risk to your app. First, test the high-risk browsers and change the resolution, screen size, and more on different devices, followed by testing on low-risk browsers. Finally, the QA must test the app on some medium-risk browsers. They must keep debugging the app until there are no more issues.
To Conclude:
With the right approach for cross-browser testing, you can ensure that the design and functionality of the AUT are optimized for all target browsers. It will enable the app to deliver optimal performance, hence providing the best end-user experience.