DEV Community: RileenaSanyal1

Benefits Of Cloud Testing And Best Practices

RileenaSanyal1 — Mon, 04 Apr 2022 07:29:27 +0000

Imagining the digital world running through limited disk space on your computer sounds like a travesty, if not an illogical villain origin story! Cloud, therefore, is inevitable if you want to use anything on the Internet. The cloud is quite amazing when you think of all the great things it lets you do without hassles. The entirety of the online space runs on the basic principles of the cloud. As per Statista, the Cloud applications market size worldwide is expected to reach 168.6 billion U.S. dollars by 2025.

Virtualization became a catchphrase in the market a few years ago, and it developed, evolved, and eventually grew as Cloud computing. Cloud testing was carried out to ensure the quality of everything that is rendered in the cloud environment, using either manual or automated testing, or both. So what really is the cloud?

What is the Cloud?

Cloud is one of the basic requirements of the world today. Servers located across the world help you access resources online. This is typically what the cloud is. As a user, you are spared the horror of managing your own physical servers and using all your software on your machines. Moreover, you can use your files and tools from any device synced with the cloud, thereby helping you save local memory.

Cloud computing makes the technology much cheaper and more manageable for the IT industry. Servers no longer need updating and maintenance, infrastructure does not have to be strictly internal, and international operations take place with convenience. Therefore, clouds eliminate the boundaries. Remember the famous quote: ‘the world is a small place’? It is the cloud that makes it that.

What is Cloud Computing?

Cloud computing refers to cloud-based services offered by third-party providers. These services can include databases, networking, servers, intelligence, storage and aim to optimize resource utilization, promote flexibility and facilitate scalability. As a result, cloud computing lowers operational expenses while providing a powerful ecosystem for better IT-related tasks.

The services hosted on the cloud can be broadly divided into three categories. These are as follows:

Infrastructure as a Service or IaaS: Often referred to as ‘the building block of the cloud’. In IaaS, companies aim to provide servers, network devices, and storage to their consumers as a form of service.
Platform as a Service or PaaS: Platform as a Service was developed to help users explore the possibilities of developing, running, and managing multiple applications on the cloud, without interrupting or utilizing the inherent capabilities of the device’s operating system.
Software as a Service or SaaS: Probably the most popular cloud computing service. Hosts allow their consumers to use certain centrally hosted applications against a subscription fee.

These are the three kinds of cloud computing services that are provided across the globe.

What is Cloud Testing?

In essence, cloud testing allows you to test your software on the cloud. This means you get to use your entire testing infrastructure on the cloud for web testing and application testing. Cross browser testing is made simpler using cloud infrastructure. Cloud-based platforms like LambdaTest offer cross-browser cloud testing services that help execute automated test scripts on the scalable cloud grid.

You can also Subscribe to the LambdaTest YouTube Channel and stay updated with the latest tutorials around Selenium testing, Cypress testing, CI/CD, and more.

Cross-browser website testing on a remote Selenium Grid cloud, for example, can be quite advantageous because automated tests can be run in parallel on the Grid. Without cloud testing, you need to maintain multiple devices with multiple browsers in multiple locations to test one software!

Cloud testing, therefore, reduces the usage of resources like time, money, and workforce engagement. This is especially crucial for IT companies who have a limited amount of resources, thereby eliminating the burden of the manual testing process. Cloud testing can be broadly divided into three types.

Testing resources of the cloud: Here, the cloud is treated as an entity of its own, and its resources are used for testing purposes, like performance and functionality. Such procedures involve testing the cloud provider’s services like PaaS (Platform as a Service) or IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service). Tests for disaster recovery, scalability, and data privacy may be performed in this process.
Testing software native to the cloud: This refers to testing the SaaS (Software as a Service) products of a company that are stored in the cloud.
Testing software with tools based on the cloud: Here, testing teams use tools that are based on the cloud to conduct their QA testing procedures. LambdaTest helps you test your websites and applications using automated scripts on the cloud grid. You can also use our cloud testing platform to conduct live testing on actual browser ecosystems.

On LambdaTest’s automated cloud test platform, you can now run test scripts quicker than any other automation testing grid.

Why is Cloud Testing needed?

Cloud testing, on a broad spectrum, is of great use. It can reduce resource utilization, save time, money, and manual intervention on a big scale. Here are a few reasons why cloud testing is in much demand in the software development ecosystem around the globe.

Cloud testing works wonders in reducing the testing time required for heavy applications. The ROI for automated cloud testing is massive compared to more traditional methodologies, owing to the flexibility and scalability offered by this process. Moreover, the resources consumed are drastically reduced in the case of cloud testing, thereby adding to the ROI. Hence, it is better to calculate the ROI of automation testing besides deciding on the budget.
Cloud testing can be made available for several users on different devices for each, without any participating component interrupting another. This dramatically decreases the need for hefty infrastructure that would have required a company to shed a good amount of its pockets.
Cloud testing is highly cost-effective due to its flexibility and compatibility with various ecosystems. Cloud testing can also be used by remote teams situated in multiple locations around the globe.
Cloud testing offers high scalability and a more efficient testing cycle. Increased scalability demands quicker, more robust testing procedures that can often send traditional methods crashing down. Cloud testing, on the other hand, is well-equipped to handle such requirements.
Cloud testing also offers increased mobility. Physical restrictions do not interrupt the development and testing procedures when the cloud is involved.

Challenges of Cloud Testing

Although a convenient method to perform complex procedures, cloud testing can still be challenging in many cases. This section on the benefits of cloud testing outlines a few things that users should be cautious about while performing tests on the cloud.

Security and issues around data privacy: Security and data privacy issues may be looming behind unless the cloud is carefully monitored and precautions are taken to preserve privacy. Security is always hard to retain in a shared environment. However, plenty of cloud testing providers like LambdaTest provide robust security solutions to their users. LambdaTest is also compliant with leading security standards — SOC2, GDPR, and CCPA.
Problems of using multi-cloud models: Multi-cloud models typically consist of various kinds of cloud, like public, private, and hybrid. Complexities around security, synchronization and other issues arise when several cloud providers are associated together.
Ecosystem development: There may be plenty of issues around specific configurations of the server, network, and storage that can hinder cloud operations. It is additionally cumbersome to replicate a user’s ecosystem as it is not always possible to circumvent discrepancies. Furthermore, the modules that must be tested may be on the outskirts of the testing environment’s control limits.
Bandwidth troubles: Bandwidth issues can arise due to shared resources on the provider’s end. Unless managed with greater efficiency and maximum tech support, it may be tough to handle heavy traffic with limited infrastructure.

Types of Cloud Testing

Cloud testing is a vast subject under cloud operations. It can further be divided into the following types:

Functional testing: Functional testing in a cloud environment entails testing all of the system’s features and functionalities, including hardware and software. It is usually carried out on a fully integrated software platform to ensure that it complies with the standards.
System Testing: System testing ensures that an application in the cloud performs well under a given range of system requirements.
Interoperability Testing: Interoperability testing checks if an application present in the cloud is flexible and compatible enough to keep performing with the same efficiency after a change in infrastructure.
Acceptance Testing: Acceptance testing ensures a particular application on the cloud is aligned with the expectations of the consumer base.
Availability Testing: Availability testing is more of an admin’s job where they are to ensure the cloud services are available round the clock and other things happening in the cloud do not interrupt the functionality of the application in concern.
Multi-tenancy Testing: Multi-tenancy tests check if an application present in the cloud is performing the way it should in spite of heavy traffic and multiple user requests appearing simultaneously.
Performance Testing: Performance testing can typically be divided into two categories- Stress testing and Load testing. These tests ensure that an application present in the cloud is competent to handle a given number of user requests. The cloud must also have a certain degree of elasticity to allow an increase in usage demands if required.
Security Testing: Security testing ensures only individuals with proper authorization can access some data, and the information stored in the cloud always has extra layers of protection. For example, LambdaTest is a cloud testing platform with SOC2 certification and is compliant with GDPR and CCPA. This means that all our services are SOC2 compliant, ensuring our client data’s safety, management, and privacy.
Disaster Recovery Testing: Sometimes, it may so happen that the data stored in the cloud may be lost due to unforeseen circumstances. Disaster recovery testing checks to see how fast this data can be recovered and to what extent.

What are the Benefits of Cloud Testing

The benefits of cloud testing include the following:

Cost-effective: Since consumers only pay for the resources they use, cloud testing tends to be a lot more cost-effective than traditional methods of testing apps.
Availability: If there is a network connection, resources can be easily accessed anywhere and from any device. Therefore, physical restrictions like location are completely eliminated from the QA testing procedure. Moreover, testing teams can collaborate in real-time to work on the cloud testing process owing to the in-built tools present to facilitate collaboration.
Scalability: Cloud testing has the provision to facilitate the scaling up or down of computing resources, as per the requirements of the testing procedure. For example, you can use the LambdaTest Concurrency Calculator in determining how many concurrent sessions you’ll require to speed up your test build process.
Quicker testing process: Cloud testing processes are much faster than traditional testing procedures. This leads to a quicker initiation of the marketing process.
Disaster recovery is much simpler: Disaster recovery methods are simpler for the cloud than they are for traditional procedures. Cloud disaster recovery (CDR) is a service that is offered to help firms recover critical data after a mishap- like data breaches. A safe virtual environment is used to remotely access the files. This makes disaster recovery a fairly simple process, eliminating extra hassles.

Cloud Testing Tools

Cloud testing is a simple, convenient method for mobile application testing and web application testing without worrying about the local cyberinfrastructure available to you. Testing on the cloud helps you utilize different machines and various ecosystems online without exhausting your resources on eliminating limitations like OS coverage, devices, and browsers.

You can test your website from different locations. There are cloud testing platforms like LambdaTest that offer 3000+ browsers and real devices on the cloud. LambdaTest’s cloud-based Selenium automation testing tools also integrate with popular test management and reporting tools, allowing you to analyze which tasks can be automated.

Here are a few tools that facilitate the automation of cloud testing procedures to make the process infinitely more manageable and scalable for you. You can select the best test automation tools based on your desire and budget and categorize them depending on the applications you are willing to test.

SOASTA CloudTest: SOASTA CloudTest is a cloud testing automation tool that allows four kinds of automated performance and automated functional testing.
Functional cloud testing for mobile devices
Performance cloud testing for mobile devices
Functional cloud testing for web-based applications
Performance cloud testing for web-based applications
CloudTest facilitates the simulation of more than a million users across the globe to check the load handling capacity and performance of an application or website.
The tool also provides data analytics in real-time and seamless integration of testing, monitoring, and reporting modules to facilitate efficient cloud testing procedures. CloudTest Lite is the lightweight version of the SOASTA CloudTest automation tool.
LoadStorm: LoadStorm is a perfect choice to test the load-taking capabilities of mobile and web applications. The tool is user-friendly and affordable. LoadStorm has high scalability with the power to simulate multiple users to reach the breaking point of the app.

Load testing scenarios on LoadStorm can also be customized to suit the unique requirements of the application.

Nessus: Nessus is a great tool for scanning vulnerabilities, missing modules, and poorly or incorrectly configured features in a variety of devices, cloud infrastructure, firewalls, etc. Testing teams and developers can use it to detect the presence of malicious elements like malware and web services linked to questionable sources.

Nessus also supports compliance auditing, a crucial service for the banking and healthcare sectors. All the reports and recommendations that the tool generates are in easy-to-use formats, including emails for targeted users.

Real-World Example of Cloud Testing

Developers build websites and applications all the time. When the main features of a project have been developed, the website or app must be tested thoroughly to ensure they are ready for the real world. Tests are conducted to check functionality, compatibility, security, performance, scalability, reliability, etc.

However, owing to massive levels of device fragmentation on a global level, the tests must be run on real devices and in the real-world ecosystem to ensure they will not falter when a human uses them. When we talk about mobile device fragmentation, we almost always refer to the Android operating system. If we merely look at the Android OS version, for example, it has the following market share:

Setting up an infrastructure consisting of thousands of actual devices to check one website or app sounds witless.

To avoid this, cloud testing was introduced. Here, testers get access to almost all the devices being used across the globe and to multiple tools that can help them carry out all their tests in less time. Cloud testing spares companies the resources that a device lab would have demanded and makes a simple process much simpler and more exhaustive.

Choosing the Best Cloud Testing Provider

In this section on the benefits of cloud testing, we look at the factors to consider when selecting the cloud testing provider.

As a first step, it is imperative for developers and testers to narrow down to one platform that provides all the devices and browsers that are popularly used across the globe, especially by the target audience of the enterprise in question. For example, LambdaTest provides an online browser farm of 3000+ browsers and OS to run tests on. These are real machines, operating systems, and browsers that ensure an application is aligned with the demands of its desired end-users.
However, before choosing the ideal cloud testing partner, extensive research must be put in to understand if the company is providing a secure environment, round the clock tech support, and the tests are being conducted quickly and efficiently. The ideal partner should stand true to the real purpose of moving tests to the cloud- a faster testing process without any compromise on quality or security.
Additionally, a cloud testing provider must also have provisions to incorporate a team of testers and a manager to keep track of the progress. And this entire suite should not be expensive as that would defeat the purpose of moving to the cloud.

Summary

Developers are responsible for building websites and applications that are required to undergo tests before they can be launched for end-users. Hence, conducting the tests in a real-world ecosystem is necessary.

However, setting up a device lab consisting of thousands of devices would be a costly and ineffective affair. Therefore, cloud testing providers have the provisions to facilitate device and browser compatibility testing on the cloud. LambdaTest provides 3000+ real machines, operating systems, and browsers to its clientele for testing purposes.

However, before choosing a cloud testing partner, one should be wary of the devices and browsers being provided. Extensive research should also be conducted to ensure the cloud infrastructure is secure, reliable, fast, and overall cost-effective in the long run.

Cloud testing is therefore cost-effective, scalable as per requirements, is a much quicker process, customized for the benefit of the testing teams, and has a much simpler disaster recovery process. It even helps in solving the biggest remote testing challenges.

Organizations can accelerate their testing efforts and improve the quality of their products by utilizing parallel execution on LambdaTest’s cloud-based Selenium Grid. However, it’s also time for your team to make the changeover!

11 Best CSS Grid Layout Generators

RileenaSanyal1 — Fri, 01 Apr 2022 16:10:49 +0000

HTML5, CSS, and JavaScript are the three most popular languages for building a website. Earlier, developers would have to learn programming before explicitly creating responsive web design. However, with the recent trends in web development, things have gotten a lot easier with tools that can help you build the website of your dreams with zero code knowledge (although knowing how to code does not hurt)! One of those tools is a CSS grid layout generator. It creates responsive grids that you can later incorporate into a website for the design layout.

CSS grids are elements on the screen that help you neatly segregate an area of your page into responsive divisions. There are ‘containers’ that hold these grids, which in turn have placeholders for texts, images, buttons, and other website elements that make a website highly responsive. Grids can be scaled to change shape and size depending on how a user views a website. Grids are handy for giving your website structure and a more polished appearance.

This CSS grid tutorial talks about 11 CSS grid layout generators that can help in the fast prototyping and front-end design of CSS layouts for your projects.

Let’s dive in with the 11 best CSS grid layouts generators.

New to CSS Selectors? Check out this Ultimate CSS Selector cheat sheet to boost your web designing career.

Top CSS Grid Layout Generators

The following 11 CSS layout generators are the best grid layout tools available on the Internet.

1. Griddy

Griddy is a CSS grid layout generator that lets you design your boxes with considerable ease. It has a sidebar that enables you to add or delete rows and columns. It also allows you to align the components of the container as per your preferences. You can use the appropriate options to justify items and manipulate the grid gaps.

Pros:

Overall, it is clean and gets the job done.
It has a tidy interface, and the grid alignment can be manipulated conveniently.
Griddy is also user-friendly.

Cons:

It only produces the CSS component, which might not be convenient for non-coders and beginners. Their team could work on this aspect.

.container {
    display: grid;
    grid-template-columns: 1fr 200px 1fr 1fr 1fr;
    grid-template-rows: 2fr 100px;
    grid-column-gap: 20px;
    grid-row-gap: 13px;
    justify-items: stretch;
    align-items: center;
 }

Given below is the image of how the grid looks on the Griddy website.

2. Layoutit

Layoutit is probably one of the best CSS layout generators on the Internet. The interface is user-friendly, with simple, easy-to-use options. But most importantly, Layoutit is a treat for the eyes! The visual elements are perfect and can be manipulated without touching either sidebar.

Pros:

The website is neat, has colorful labeling options (it is almost like using post-its in school!)
It produces an all-encompassing code for you to try later.
Layoutit is also the only CSS grid layout generator in this list that allows the code to be exported to CodePen with one button. Brownie points for that.

Cons:

I loved Layoutit and have no complaints against this tool! I suggest our readers try using this CSS layout generator and let us know if they particularly like anything. We are always happy to explore unchartered domains!

Code:

HTML

<div class="container">
  <div class="A-Fun-Project\!"></div>
  <div class="Hi\!"></div>
  <div class="Coding-is-fun\!"></div>
  <div class="Try-it-out\,-may-be\?"></div>
  <div class="Do-you-code\?"></div>
  <div class="Bye\!"></div>
  <div class="See-you-soon\!"></div>
</div>

CSS

.container {
  display: grid;
  grid-template-columns: 1fr 1fr 1fr;
  grid-template-rows: 0.5fr 1.4fr 1.5fr 1.2fr 0.4fr;
  gap: 1em 0px;
  grid-auto-flow: row;
  grid-template-areas:
    "A-Fun-Project\! A-Fun-Project\! A-Fun-Project\!"
    "Hi\! Coding-is-fun\! Coding-is-fun\!"
    "Do-you-code\? Try-it-out\,-may-be\? Try-it-out\,-may-be\?"
    "Bye\! Try-it-out\,-may-be\? Try-it-out\,-may-be\?"
    "See-you-soon\! See-you-soon\! See-you-soon\!";
}

.A-Fun-Project\! { grid-area: A-Fun-Project\!; }

.Hi\! { grid-area: Hi\!; }

.Coding-is-fun\! { grid-area: Coding-is-fun\!; }

.Try-it-out\,-may-be\? { grid-area: Try-it-out\,-may-be\?; }

.Do-you-code\? { grid-area: Do-you-code\?; }

.Bye\! { grid-area: Bye\!; }

.See-you-soon\! { grid-area: See-you-soon\!; }

html, body , .container {
  height: 100%;
  margin: 0;
}

.container * {
  border: 1px solid red;
  position: relative;
}

.container *:after {
  content:attr(class);
  position: absolute;
  top: 0;
  left: 0;
  width: 100%;
  height: 100%;
  display: grid;
  align-items: center;
  justify-content: center;
}

The image below shows the Layoutit interface.

3. Angry Tools

Angry Tools is user-friendly and helps you create designs without hassles. The visuals are pretty and let you mess around with colors a little. Angry Tools was a happy discovery, mainly because I had a lot of fun playing around with this tool.

Pros:

It is convenient for beginners or non-coders as it allows you to work only with the pre-made grid outlines.
For someone at a more advanced level, they have a navigation bar towards the top that helps you make better numerical choices.
Towards the end of the page, the website lets you look at the comprehensive output without the shenanigans on the screen. (Both the outputs are attached below.)

Cons:

Yet again, they never produce the HTML version of the code, which could cause a problem for those not well acquainted with the same.

Code:

<style>
.angry-grid {
   display: grid;

grid-template-rows: 1fr 1fr 1fr;
   grid-template-columns: 1fr 1fr 1fr 1fr 1fr;

   gap: 5px;
   height: 100%;

}

#item-0 {

background-color: #ec091f; 
   grid-row-start: 1;
   grid-column-start: 1;

grid-row-end: 2;
   grid-column-end: 3;

}
#item-1 {

background-color: #5bd777; 
   grid-row-start: 1;
   grid-column-start: 3;

grid-row-end: 3;
   grid-column-end: 4;

}
#item-2 {

background-color: #2546b1; 
   grid-row-start: 2;
   grid-column-start: 1;

grid-row-end: 3;
   grid-column-end: 2;

}
#item-3 {

background-color: #21e441; 
   grid-row-start: 2;
   grid-column-start: 2;

grid-row-end: 4;
   grid-column-end: 3;

}
#item-4 {

background-color: #d84e13; 
   grid-row-start: 3;
   grid-column-start: 1;

grid-row-end: 4;
   grid-column-end: 2;

}
#item-5 {

background-color: #CD5779; 
   grid-row-start: 3;
   grid-column-start: 3;

grid-row-end: 4;
   grid-column-end: 6;

}

Output 1:

Output 2:

4. CSS Grid Layout Generator

CSS Grid Layout Generator is another top CSS layout generator by Dmitrii Bykov. Its interface was confusing at first, and it can be quite a challenge unless one follows the tutorial video. But once that is done, it is quite a neat tool.

Pros:

It has a pre-made grid that you can manipulate and see the results just beside the same.
The sidebar has multiple options that let you add, remove and manipulate items in the container.

Cons:

The code, however, is not produced well.
It might not be conducive for beginners looking to understand the generated code.
If you are an intermediate or advanced HTML and CSS programmer, you will have to make hefty changes before the code produces desirable results outside of the website interface.
On top of this, it is cumbersome to understand the tool without referring to their tutorial video first.

Code:

HTML:

<div class="container">
 <div class="item-2"></div>
 <div class="item-3"></div>
 <div class="item-4"></div>
 <div class="item-5"></div>
 <div class="item-6"></div>
 <div class="item-7"></div>
</div>

CSS:

.container {
 display: inline-grid;
 grid-template-columns: 1fr 1fr 1fr;
 grid-template-rows: 1fr 1fr 1fr 1fr;
 grid-gap: 0em 0em;
 justify-items: stretch;
}

.item-2 {
 grid-area: 1 / 1 / 2 / 3;
}

.item-3 {
 grid-area: 2 / 1 / 3 / 4;
}

.item-4 {
 grid-area: 1 / 3 / 2 / 4;
}

.item-5 {
 grid-area: 3 / 1 / 5 / 3;
}

.item-6 {
 grid-area: 3 / 3 / 5 / 4;
}

.item-7 {
 grid-area: 1 / 1 / 2 / 2;
}

5. CSS Grid Generator

CSS Grid Generator by Sarah Drasner is yet another popular choice among the crowd. With CSS Grid Generator, you will need to specify the number of rows, columns, and gaps across rows and columns. It will then generate a CSS class with a single button click.

Pros:

It has a user-friendly interface.
The grid looks clean and is easy to design.
Every other option is neatly arranged on the screen.

Cons:

The code is not well produced.
The tool might not be suitable for beginners who don’t know much about CSS.
This tool might not be a good choice for coders who want to embed the HTML and CSS code into their website.
One might be required to make many more additional changes to work well.

Code:

HTML:

<div class="parent">
<div class="div1"> </div>
<div class="div2"> </div>
<div class="div3"> </div>
<div class="div4"> </div>
<div class="div5"> </div>
<div class="div6"> </div>
<div class="div7"> </div>
<div class="div8"> </div>
<div class="div9"> </div>
<div class="div10"> </div>
<div class="div11"> </div>
<div class="div12"> </div>
<div class="div13"> </div>
<div class="div14"> </div>
<div class="div15"> </div>
<div class="div16"> </div>
<div class="div17"> </div>
<div class="div18"> </div>
</div>

CSS:

.parent {
display: grid;
grid-template-columns: repeat(5, 1fr);
grid-template-rows: repeat(5, 1fr);
grid-column-gap: 0px;
grid-row-gap: 0px;
}

.div1 { grid-area: 1 / 1 / 2 / 2; }
.div2 { grid-area: 1 / 1 / 2 / 3; }
.div3 { grid-area: 1 / 3 / 2 / 4; }
.div4 { grid-area: 1 / 3 / 3 / 4; }
.div5 { grid-area: 2 / 3 / 3 / 4; }
.div6 { grid-area: 1 / 3 / 3 / 4; }
.div7 { grid-area: 1 / 4 / 2 / 5; }
.div8 { grid-area: 1 / 4 / 2 / 6; }
.div9 { grid-area: 5 / 4 / 6 / 5; }
.div10 { grid-area: 4 / 4 / 6 / 5; }
.div11 { grid-area: 3 / 2 / 5 / 4; }
.div12 { grid-area: 2 / 1 / 6 / 3; }
.div13 { grid-area: 5 / 3 / 6 / 4; }
.div14 { grid-area: 5 / 3 / 6 / 4; }
.div15 { grid-area: 3 / 4 / 4 / 6; }
.div16 { grid-area: 2 / 4 / 3 / 6; }
.div17 { grid-area: 4 / 5 / 5 / 6; }
.div18 { grid-area: 5 / 5 / 6 / 6; }

Output:

6. cssgr.id

Cssgr.id is another best CSS layout generator on this list due to its visually stunning and user-friendly interface. It hardly takes a minute to make a grid with different elements, and it does a marvelous job with the neat sidebar.

You can add text placeholders and choose from a checklist of pre-defined grids. Here, ‘Gallery’ was used and modified to look like the final result.

Pros:

The code is a clean one too.
Beginners can easily understand and implement the program.
More advanced users can make desired changes to enhance the layout.

Cons:

The layout of the tool may not be to everyone’s taste as it is essentially minimal.

Overall, cssgr.id serves as a good experience for coders and non-coders alike.

Code:

HTML:

<div class="grid">
  <div class="span-col-2 span-row-2">Item 1</div>
  <div class="span-col-2">Item 2</div>
  <div class="span-row-3">Item 3</div>
  <div class="span-col-2 span-row-2">Item 4</div>
  <div>Item 5</div>
  <div>Item 6</div>
  <div class="span-row-3">Item 7</div>
  <div class="span-col-3 span-row-2">Item 8</div>
  <div class="span-col-2 span-row-2">Item 9</div>
  <div class="span-row-3">Item 10</div>
  <div>Item 11</div>
  <div>Item 12</div>
  <div>Item 13</div>
  <div>Item 14</div>
</div>

CSS:

.grid {
    display: grid;
    grid-template-columns: repeat(6, 1fr);
    grid-gap: 10px;
}
.span-col-2{grid-column: span 2 / auto;}

.span-col-3{grid-column: span 3 / auto;}

.span-row-2{grid-row: span 2 / auto;}

.span-row-3{grid-row: span 3 / auto;}

7. Flex Layout Attribute

Flex Layout Attribute is a lesser-known gem in the CSS community. It is based on the CSS flexbox standard and serves as a quick flexbox shorthand by utilizing two custom elements, ‘layout’ and self.

Pros:

The minimal interface makes the website easy to use.
The container for the grid is pre-defined to create a nice boundary area around your screen.
It helps you adjust your grids holistically while designing your grid.
Towards the bottom of the page are the controls that help you change the configurations of the boxes, as well as their alignments.

Cons:

The code here is only in HTML. There are no CSS components explicitly generated or could be seen by the user. This is a curious flaw that their team can further enhance the website.

Code:

<div layout="rows center-justify">
    <div self="size-x2 left">1</div>
    <div self="size-x1">2</div>
    <div self="size-x1">3</div>
    <div self="size-x1">4</div>
</div>

Output:

8. Vue Grid Generator

Vue Grid Generator is a modest CSS grid layout generator with an all-encompassing user interface that lets you customize your grid designs. There are also a few available formats under the ‘Presets’ tab that help you choose an initial layout to modify. Here, the ‘articleList’ option was used and then altered.

Pros:

The interface is user-friendly.
The design is simple and involves only the essential components.
It is a good tool for beginners to start with.
The preset options are helpful to create a basic design first before the chosen format is further modified to suit the user’s unique needs.

Cons:

A few more alignment options could be explicitly included to make things a tad easier.

Code:

HTML:

<div class="container">
  <div class="header">header</div>
  <div class="side-0-0">side-0-0</div>
  <div class="article-2">article-2</div>
  <div class="article-1">article-1</div>
  <div class="side-0-1">side-0-1</div>
  <div class="side-2">side-2</div>
  <div class="article-4">article-4</div>
  <div class="article-6">article-6</div>
  <div class="footer">footer</div>
</div>

CSS:

.container {
  display: grid;
  width: 100%;
  height: 100%;
  grid-template-areas: "header header header"
  "side-0-0 article-2 article-1"
  "side-0-1 article-2 article-1"
  "side-2 article-4 article-1"
  "side-2 article-6 article-1"
  "footer footer footer";
  grid-template-columns: 120px 1fr 1fr;
  grid-template-rows: 2fr 1fr 1fr 1fr 1fr 60px;
}
.container > div {
  border: 1px dashed #888;
}

.header {
  grid-area: header;
}
.side-0-0 {
  grid-area: side-0-0;
}
.article-2 {
  grid-area: article-2;
}
.article-1 {
  grid-area: article-1;
}
.side-0-1 {
  grid-area: side-0-1;
}
.side-2 {
  grid-area: side-2;
}
.article-4 {
  grid-area: article-4;
}
.article-6 {
  grid-area: article-6;
}
.footer {
  grid-area: footer;
}

Output:

9. Bootstrap 4 Interface Builder by Layoutit

Bootstrap 4 Interface Builder is another Layoutit product that outperforms many competitors.

Pros:

The options are neatly organized in the sidebar.
Users can easily add, remove and modify the grids with minimum numerical values directly from the sidebar.
One can add headings and images to the structure itself, thus giving them a clear idea of what it will look like when they use it in their project.

Cons:

Here is another tool that I found no issues with. The interface was great to use and caused no hassles whatsoever. But if our readers face trouble, we will only be too happy to investigate the tool further!

Code:

.container {
  display: grid;
  width: 100%;
  height: 100%;
  grid-template-areas: "header header header"
  "side-0-0 article-2 article-1"
  "side-0-1 article-2 article-1"
  "side-2 article-4 article-1"
  "side-2 article-6 article-1"
  "footer footer footer";
  grid-template-columns: 120px 1fr 1fr;
  grid-template-rows: 2fr 1fr 1fr 1fr 1fr 60px;
}
.container > div {
  border: 1px dashed #888;
}

.header {
  grid-area: header;
}
.side-0-0 {
  grid-area: side-0-0;
}
.article-2 {
  grid-area: article-2;
}
.article-1 {
  grid-area: article-1;
}
.side-0-1 {
  grid-area: side-0-1;
}
.side-2 {
  grid-area: side-2;
}
.article-4 {
  grid-area: article-4;
}
.article-6 {
  grid-area: article-6;
}
.footer {
  grid-area: footer;
}

Output:

10. CSS Layout Generator

CSS layout generator by Braid Design System has a comprehensive arrangement of the options and the aesthetic vibes it gives off!

Pros:

Designing your grid using this tool is simple and takes only a few minutes.
The boxes are neatly marked to help you gauge the grid better.

Cons:

Too many options may confuse a beginner. You may require a thorough walkthrough to avoid mistakes.

Code:

HTML:

<section className="myGrid">
  <div>1</div>
  <div>2</div>
  <div>3</div>
  <div>4</div>
  <div>5</div>
  <div>6</div>
  <div>7</div>
  <div>8</div>
  <div>9</div>
</section>;

CSS:

.myGrid {
    width: 480px;
    height: 480px;
    display: grid;
    grid-template-columns: repeat(4, 1fr);
    grid-template-rows: repeat(3, 1fr);
    grid-gap: 16px;
    grid-auto-flow: column dense;
    justify-content: space-between;
    align-content: start;
}
.myGrid > div {
    background: gray;
}

Output:

11. Grid.Guide

Grid.Guide is a minimal CSS layout generator for creating pixel-perfect grids in your designs. You need to specify the requirements, and it will generate all the possible pixel combinations.

Pros:

The designs are easy to download and share.

Cons:

It produces the grids in the form of a PNG file.
It is not as user-friendly and has a confusing interface.
It did not generate a code.
Grid.Guide allows generic and minimum modifications. There is not much scope for your design using this website.

Browser Support For CSS Grid Layout Generators

CSS grid layout is unprefixed in Safari, Chrome, Opera, Firefox, and Edge, except in Internet Explorer. This is because all browsers support the properties and values of the CSS grid layout generator. It implies that if you develop Grid Layout code in Firefox, it should also work in Chrome.

After implementing CSS grid layout in websites and web apps, it is crucial to perform browser compatibility testing of CSS grid layout to ensure that they render correctly on major and legacy browsers and operating systems. Various cross browser testing platforms are available in the market, such as LambdaTest. With LambdaTest, you can run browser compatibility tests online across 3000+ browsers and operating systems combinations without the hassle of maintaining an-in house infrastructure.

Responsiveness Test Of CSS Grid Layout Generators

A responsive web design is crucial for an excellent online presence. Google prefers responsiveness for SEO since such web pages tend to increase user satisfaction. Hence, responsiveness tests of the website components are essential.

However, performing tests to check responsiveness can be cumbersome. It is nearly impossible to own devices of all sizes to see how a website performs on all of them unless there is enough support to set up that infrastructure. This is where LT Browser — a mobile-friendly checker tool by LambdaTest, comes into the picture with its 50+ pre-installed device viewports spanning across all the major operating systems. Moreover, LT Browser has advanced developer tools to help you with testing.

Some below are the top-notch features of LT Browser:

Device sync feature to scroll on two devices simultaneously.
Network throttling feature to test websites on different network conditions.
Capture full-page screenshots of the web page.
Generates performance reports powered by Google Lighthouse.
Video recording of a running test session, and much more.

Here is a short tutorial on how to get started with LT Browser.

You can also go through the LambdaTest YouTube Channel to stay updated with more videos on Selenium Testing, Cypress Testing, and more.

Conclusion

CSS grid layout generators help create responsive, state-of-the-art websites. This CSS grid tutorial aims to give our readers an overview of tools that can make the website creation process easier, especially for beginners or non-coder.

You can leverage LambdaTest and LT Browser for browser compatibility and responsive testing needs for seamless user experience across different browsers, OS, and mobile devices.

I hope this CSS grid tutorial will help you select the best CSS grid layout generator for your project. Also, share your thoughts after using these CSS grid layout generators in the comment section below.

Difference Between Web vs Hybrid vs Native Apps

RileenaSanyal1 — Fri, 01 Apr 2022 14:58:03 +0000

Difference Between Web vs Hybrid vs Native Apps

The number of mobile app downloads worldwide has constantly increased from 2016 onward, surpassing 200 billion in 2019. Consumers downloaded 218 billion mobile apps to their connected devices in the most recently measured year, up by more than 50 percent from 140.7 billion app downloads in 2016.

With so many apps released every year, it is essential to understand the difference between web vs hybrid vs native applications.

What is the difference between Web vs Hybrid vs Native Apps?

Web apps are responsive websites that do not need device installation through an app store. Instead, they are accessed through browsers either from the desktop or from mobile phones.

Native apps are developed specifically for one platform. Hence they are fast and deliver superior performance. They can be downloaded from various app stores and are not accessible through browsers. Therefore, code reusability is minimum in the case of Native apps.

Techniques for both web and native apps are adopted to develop Hybrid apps. Such applications can be downloaded to a mobile device and can also be accessed using browsers. However, they are not as well-performing as native apps but work better than responsive websites.

This blog deep dives into understanding the difference between the Web vs Hybrid vs Native apps.

What Are Web Applications?

A web application is a responsive website that can be accessed using a desktop or mobile browser. Given the popularity of cell phones, approximately 94% of visitors judge a web application based on how mobile-friendly it is.

Web applications are inexpensive as compared to mobile applications. They are also less complicated to build and maintain. Businesses running on a budget often stick to web applications due to the minimal cost of production. Web applications are made differently, and there is a marked contrast between web app testing and mobile app testing.

1- Ruby on Rails: Ruby on Rails is one of the most efficient frameworks to develop web applications. It is faster than a standard Java framework and uses the Model-View-Controller architecture to create a web app complete with a database at the back end. Websites like GitHub, Shopify, and Airbnb use Ruby on Rails.

Advantages of Ruby on Rails

Ease of modification: Ruby on Rails makes it easy for developers to modify their codes and add new attributes to the existing web application. Thanks to its predictable and stable features, Ruby on Rails is a practical framework for extended projects.
Dynamic solutions to vulnerabilities: Ruby on Rails has well-pronounced security features incorporated within the framework. The community supporting Rails is dynamic in approaching any spotted vulnerabilities and is quick to fix them.
Flexibility: Ruby on Rails makes it easier for developers to create and connect the backend and frontend of a web application.
Productivity: Rails is fast, efficient, and effective. When combined with other third-party libraries, the framework’s attributes are enhanced.

2- Django: A popular framework, Django is known for its capability to create and support fast, adaptable, flexible, and secure web applications. It is based on the Model-View-Template architecture. According to Statista, Django enjoyed a 14.99% share of global respondents in 2021. Websites like Quora, Pinterest, and Instagram use Django.

Advantages of using Django:

Out of the box: Django provides many features outside of the box. Developers do not have to write lengthy codes for everything explicitly- importing packages is enough.
Powered by Python: Since Django is a Python framework, it has inherited some of the most beneficial attributes of the language. This makes it a powerful tool to have at one’s disposal.
Stellar community support: Django’s detailed documentation is testimony to a robust community that supports the smooth functioning of the framework. The Django community works on making it more comfortable for beginners to use. However, it also shoulders the responsibility of adding new attributes and stabilizing the framework after that.

3- AngularJS: Owned by Google, AngularJS powers highly efficient, expansive web applications while ensuring they are easy to maintain. Websites like Netflix and PayPal were developed using AngularJS.

Advantages of AngularJS

Two-way data binding: AngularJS supports smooth synchronization between the model and the view. Any change of data in the model reflects in the view and vice versa. This two-way data binding feature simplifies the presentation layer of the web app, thereby restricting an invasive route to the DOM display while constructing the UI.
Real-time testing: AngularJS is a framework built to suit mobile app testing requirements. It supports both unit and end-to-end testing. In addition, AngularJS offers testing attributes like dependency injection to offer developers and testers a bird’s eye view of the generation of web components.
Some other testing features in AngularJS assist developers and testers in resolving the dependencies that arise. Hence, it becomes easier for tech teams to conduct web and mobile app testing.

Frameworks used to test web applications and their advantages

One of the most popular tools to test web applications is Selenium. It automates web app testing across various available browsers. Selenium is used widely to ensure web applications are high in quality and performance. Cross browser testing platforms like LambdaTest provide automated web and mobile app testing across 2000+ online browsers on desktop and smartphones to perform Selenium.

Selenium testing tools

Selenium IDE: Selenium IDE is used to record and play the tests performed during automated browser testing. SIDE (abbreviation for Selenium IDE) Runner has immediate feedback facilities and supports cross browser testing. Selenium IDE can run on the online Selenium Grid provided by LambdaTest.
Selenium WebDriver: Selenium WebDriver helps developers and testers to launch various browsers. Many popular frameworks like CodeceptJS and Protractor have dewillrived heavily from Selenium WebDriver and have added other capabilities to their interfaces.
Selenium Grid: Selenium Grid, a proxy server, utilizes innovative technology to run parallel tests on several machines. Here, a server takes the role of a Hub while commands are routed to other web browsers present remotely. LambdaTest provides an online Selenium Grid for more than 2000 web browsers. Users can thus focus on writing scripts for Selenium rather than focusing on the maintenance of infrastructure.

Advantages of using Selenium testing tools

Supports all the major languages: Selenium is a powerful tool because it supports all the major programming languages. Java, Python, Ruby, C#, JavaScript, Perl- are all supported. One only has to concentrate on writing the automation code in one of these languages before Selenium converts it into a code compatible with its interface.
Open source: Selenium is an open-source framework, meaning it is free to use by all. The community supporting Selenium does a great deal of work to ensure it retains its user-friendly reputation.
One script for multiple browsers: Selenium scripts are reusable. Hence, they need to be written just once before being run on all the leading browsers like Chrome, Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, and many more. This makes web app testing much more straightforward.
Parallel testing: Selenium Grid performs parallel testing with the help of the cloud. This saves time and resources on a large scale. LambdaTest provides free automated parallel testing across 2000+ browsers on their cloud.

Check your web applications in all major browsers by web testing that too for free!!!

What Are Mobile Applications?

The Web vs Hybrid vs Native apps debate resonates strongly with this section. According to Statista, mobile applications are predicted to generate 935.2 billion US dollars by 2023 compared to 808.7 billion dollars in 2022. The industry is growing rapidly.

Mobile apps are of two types.

Native apps: Native apps are designed to work on one particular operating system. Hence, there are native apps for Android and those for iOS and Windows too. Here, native Android apps cannot be used on iOS and Windows and vice versa. WhatsApp and Spotify are two of the most popular native applications.
Hybrid apps: Hybrid apps are an amalgamation of both native and web app-building features. Developers are inclined towards such apps as they provide the flexibility of reusing code on various platforms and operating systems with little to no changes in the script. Instagram and Evernote are some highly efficient hybrid applications.

Frameworks used to build mobile applications and their advantages

According to Statista, 218 billion mobile app downloads were recorded in 2020. Hence, the demand for fast, efficient, and high-performance mobile apps is evident. Mobile applications are predominantly built using the following frameworks.

1- React Native: One of the most popular frameworks for building mobile applications, React Native was developed and is maintained by Facebook. It is an open-source software that is extensively used for developing cross-platform applications. Some of the most widely used applications like Amazon Prime and Skype were built using React Native.

Advantages of React Native

Code reusability: React Native provides 90% code reusability, making it a favorite among the developer community. This attribute minimizes cost and time consumption on a large scale.
Superb performance: React Native uses native controls and modules to enhance the performance of the apps. The framework interacts with native components of iOS and Android and generates codes translated to native APIs. In addition, react Native uses a thread isolated from native UI and APIs that relates directly to the superb performance of the apps.
Live reloading: React Native supports live reloading that detects and compiles the modifications made to a code. Then, it feeds the simulator with a new, compiled file.

2- Flutter: Flutter, a Google-produced open-source framework, utilizes one codebase to develop native applications for iOS and Android. Flutter is complete with its rendering engine, widgets, and provisions to test and integrate APIs. Applications like Google, eBay, and BMW use Flutter.

Advantages of Flutter

Rapid development: With Flutter’s hot reloading feature, apps come to life within minutes.
Expressive UI: Flutter has a multilayer architecture that facilitates complete customization. This makes the rendering fast, giving rise to an expressive UI.
Native performance: The codes on Flutter are compiled to machine code in native ARM. The widgets included in the framework are navigation, scrolling, and fonts and icons.

3- Xamarin: Xamarin is an open-source software that Microsoft developed. It uses .NET and C# to build native Android, macOS, watchOS, iOS, and tvOS. Here, a layer of abstraction deals with the interaction between the platform code and the shared snippet.

Advantages of Xamarin

Single stack: One of the most potent attributes of Xamarin is the use of one language to achieve everything. C# is all-encompassing here to create sustainable solutions.
Easy maintenance: Maintaining applications developed using this framework is simple. Any updates or changes need to be incorporated into the source code, and the app reflects the changes without much ado.
Testing: Xamarin Test Cloud and Xamarin Test Recorder make mobile app testing a much easier process. Testing teams and developers can automate the procedure and check for bugs and errors before launching the application.

Frameworks used to test mobile applications and their advantages

1- Appium: Appium unites the three components of the Web vs Hybrid vs Native debate. It is a robust, open-source framework that is used to automate mobile app testing. It is currently a sprightly GUI-based software for the desktop that simplifies testing of web, native and hybrid mobile applications.

Advantages of Appium

Multiple languages are supported: Appium is flexible in supporting various languages, including Python, C#, Java, and PHP. Moreover, applications do need any changes in code or recompilation to run on Appium.
Record and playback: Appium investigates the Document Object Model or DOM and tracks the bearing of the native application using the record and playback option. This makes the testing process much faster.
CI tools integration: Popular CI/CD tools like Jenkins and Bamboo can be integrated with Appium to automatically trigger tests during its development phase.

2- Espresso: Espresso is a powerful tool for automation testing. Created by Google, it supports testing the individual components of an app and its complete black-box testing.

Advantages of Espresso

Quick feedback: Espresso provides instantaneous feedback to developers when modifications in the code reduce time consumption.
High stability: Espresso provides a coordinated implementation procedure during mobile app testing cycles, hence increasing the stability of the process. Moreover, an attribute in Espresso ensures the Object or Element is shown on the screen before moving onto the consequent steps. This little detail restricts breaking the cycle when errors are encountered.
Ease of use: Espresso lets programmers create test suites as single APKs. This APK can then be downloaded onto a device besides the original app, and execution can be accelerated.

Web vs Hybrid vs Native Applications

The Web vs Hybrid vs Native app debate is now conducive to discussing that in detail. The following chart depicts the differences between web vs hybrid vs native applications.

Criteria	Web Applications	Hybrid Applications	Native Applications
Brief	Web apps are responsive websites that are dependent on browsers, not operating systems. HTML5 is generally used to build such applications.	Hybrid apps are created to work on more than one operating system or platform. Hybrid apps are built using a combination of HTML5 and languages like Java.	Native apps are developed to work on one operating system. Native apps are built using Java, Swift, Objective-C.
Performance	Web apps are responsive but have decreased intuitiveness and are much slower when compared to native applications.	Hybrid apps, although slower than their native counterparts, perform based on the user interface.	Brilliant user experience is guaranteed since the performance of native apps is superb. Moreover, theydevelopingAs a result, nativea are fast and have expressive UIs.
Cost and time	Web apps are the cheapest to develop and take the least amount of time. Hence, companies on a budget and a tight schedule opt for responsive web applications.	Hybrid apps are not as expensive to develop as native ones. Maintenance is much simpler as it requires only one codebase to create multiple versions of the same application.	Native apps are expensive to build, especially if the same application is required for multiple operating systems. Building native apps is also a time-consuming process. These apps also require high maintenance.
Testing	Web app testing involves UI testing, checking battery usage, detecting connectivity issues, and tracking bottlenecks caused by advertisements.	Native and hybrid apps undergo screen, network, compatibility, and gesture testing, besides others.
Advantages	"Compatible across multiple platforms: Web apps are consistent across various platforms since they run on web browsers. Hence, their smooth working will depend only upon the desktop or mobile browsers like Chrome, Firefox, Safari, etc., and not on the operating systems like macOS, Android, Windows, or Linux.	"Excellent user experience: Since hybrid apps adopt technology used by both web and native apps, they deliver a fantastic user experience. They are fast and have an optimal performance level.	"Delivering superb performance: Since native apps are built using programming techniques specific to one platform, they deliver the best performance compared to web and hybrid applications. Native apps are faster and more efficient.

	Minimum end-user requirements: The end-user requirements are minimum since systems aiding in the development of web apps need to be present on the server. Thus, it is easy to upgrade and maintain over a long time.	Greater reach in the market: Hybrid apps can be used through browsers and installed onto a device. This gives them a bigger audience as hybrid apps can operate under minimum platform restrictions.	Intuitive interface: A native app is designed to run on one operating system and thus feels more like an integration of the OS rather than downloaded software. Native applications are more intuitive and interactive with the user interface, thus offering the end-user a great experience.

	Easier deployment: Deploying web apps is made simpler by their cross-platform compatibility and minor management hassles. A web app can be deployed to any system with only a web address and internet connection.	Can be developed in a shorter interval: Hybrid apps can be built faster than native apps. This helps brands utilize their present toolkits available for web development and create a more inclusive hybrid application."	The complete feature-set can be utilized with native apps: Developers build native apps for a singular platform that allows them to use the operating system’s comprehensive feature-set. Native applications can thus interact directly with the hardware interface of the device and execute commands faster"

Testing Mobile Applications — Web vs Hybrid vs Native

Testing mobile applications is crucial. Given the competition for your product, you must ensure that your app is fast and reliable.

Shown below is a survey that depicts the leading challenges in testing mobile and multi-channel (mobile, social, and traditional) applications.

The following categories of mobile app testing are common to all applications. Platforms like LambdaTest provide the entire suite of application testing for their clientele. LambdaTest allows you to accelerate mobile app testing using its platform.

LambdaTest allows you to perform mobile device cloud testing using mobile app emulators and simulators. It helps you run tests and detect bugs early in the development cycle using mobile app emulator and simulator across different devices. This allows you to replace your expensive in-house device labs with a mobile app emulator and simulator for all your manual and automated browser testing needs.

Functional tests: A functional test checks if an application is working or not. There are only two possible outcomes of this examination- ‘pass’ if the app is working and ‘fail’ if it is not.
Performance tests: Performance tests ensure the application is capable of working under various conditions. It checks for qualities like speed, scalability, and stability of the app. According to research, 85% of users expect their mobile devices to load web pages faster than their desktops. Technical teams ensure this yardstick is satisfied during performance testing.
Usability tests: In usability testing, dev teams observe how an app functions when users use it. Beta versions of apps are released to run usability tests.
Compatibility tests examine an app’s compatibility in different software, hardware, and network conditions.
Localization tests: Localization tests are conducted to check if an app works appropriately and entirely in a particular location.

Here’s a short glimpse of LambdaTest mobile app testing features:

However, you can follow the LambdaTest YouTube Channel and stay up to date with the latest tutorials around mobile app testing, test automation, and more.

Summary

Now that we have reached the end of the blog, we hope that you have understood the difference between web vs hybrid vs native apps.

To summarize, web applications are responsive websites that can be accessed using browsers. Users do not need to download web applications separately onto their devices but prefer a mobile-friendly interface. Native apps are built to work on one specific operating system. They can be downloaded from app stores, while hybrid applications combine native and web app features.

Web apps on desktop and mobile browsers are developed using Ruby on Rails, Django, and AngularJS. Selenium is the most popular tool to test such apps. LambdaTest is a platform that allows its users to access 2000+ web browsers to test web apps in real-time. They are cheaper, faster solutions and can be maintained easily.

Native and hybrid apps are created using frameworks like React Native, Flutter, and Xamarin. Appium and Espresso are popular tools to conduct mobile app testing. While native apps are built strictly for one specific platform, hybrid mobile applications adopt the coding techniques of web and native apps. While native applications are the most powerful and deliver superior performance, their hybrid counterparts have a larger target audience due to their minimum platform restrictions.

The Web vs Hybrid vs Native apps factor around criteria like their performance, cost of production, time consumption, and testing procedures. However, there are a few tests that are common to all apps. Such tests are performed in stages and ensure the app is ready for its end-users.

Mobile App Testing Basics [With Real-Time Examples]

RileenaSanyal1 — Wed, 30 Mar 2022 15:27:22 +0000

Mobile App Testing Basics [With Real-Time Examples]

It’s no wonder that the mobile app industry is booming, with over 3.2 billion smartphone users globally. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, mobile app downloads increased by 23.3% worldwide in 2020. According to Gartner, smartphones were sold 10.2% more globally only in the second quarter of 2021, despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

This is enough evidence to show that mobile apps and mobile app testing are especially significant in recent times. By 2023, mobile applications are expected to generate more than $935 billion in revenue. Therefore it’s important to have the right mobile app testing strategy to smoke the competition.

For an ultimate mobile app experience across different mobile devices and OS versions, it is crucial to perform end-to-end mobile app testing.

This article covers the basics of mobile app testing, types of mobile apps, and the frameworks and tools to develop and test them.

Let’s begin!

What is Mobile App Testing?

Mobile app testing plays a critical role in ensuring applications work efficiently on all mobile devices and their OS versions. 2020 noted 218 billion mobile app downloads, thus reinstating the importance of deploying well-planned applications to draw users’ attention. Mobile application testing typically refers to checking functional and non-functional components of an app. In addition, highly skilled experts test its consistency, usability, performance, and compatibility across various platforms and devices.

A mobile application goes through several rounds of testing before it is released for end users. Corporates with big budgets also often launch a beta version of their apps to detect and eliminate bugs in the prototype. Several mobile app testing tools aid technical teams in carrying on the intricate testing procedures.

Android App Testing

Developed by Google and launched in 2008, Android is currently the most popular mobile operating system globally. As of September 2021, 72.44% of global smartphones run on Android. Hence, most mobile phone users across the world use Android, which makes it all the more important to test applications built to work on this platform.

The following tests are typically performed on Android apps to test real-world scenarios.

Functional tests: Tests if the app does what it was built to do.
Performance tests: Tests if the app is fast and efficient in its job.
Accessibility tests: Tests if the app works properly with accessibility attributes.
Compatibility tests: Run Android device test to check if the app works correctly on all Android devices and API levels.

Get your free Andriod browser testing online started!!!

iOS App Testing

Apple is one of the leading tech companies globally, quadrupling its growth in the last decade. In 2021, Apple earned a revenue of $365.82 billion, a whopping increase from its 2020’s $74.52 billion. In addition, the company has its own operating system, iOS, that powers all its mobile phones. From its popularity, it is not hard to guess how vast its app market must be to align with the growing needs of its users.

Since iOS has a limitation- it is available only on Apple devices, it is much easier to test iOS apps due to reduced device complexities.

Here are a few advantages of testing iOS apps:

The sizes and specifications of Apple devices running on iOS are already fixed. Hence, QA testers find it much less complex to handle device testing. They can easily set up the basic premise for testing their apps.
iOS is a closed operating system; hence it does not consume a magnanimous amount of resources like time and money for in-depth OS analysis.
Because it has an entirely different operating system, Apple also has an array of mobile testing tools to facilitate the mobile testing of iOS apps.
It is not easy for an application to be listed on the Apple app store. The company has stringent guidelines for it, and all iOS developers have to keep that in mind. Although this might seem like an inconvenience initially, it reduces the number of bug fixes and the constant need to keep upgrading and test the same app multiple times. Hence, once an app is out into the market, developers and testing teams can pretty much consider their job done for quite some time.

Types of Mobile Apps

In a world where different types of apps are being developed for multiple uses, understanding the app complexities in detail has become a critical requirement for success in the app world. Although there are many different types of apps on the market, we will cover Native, Hybrid, and Web Apps.

Native Apps

Native apps are applications built for one specific operating system or platform. Such apps are faster and deliver superior performance due to the ease of interaction between their interface and hardware and software. In addition, since native apps are developed to work on one platform, they can directly use the features made available by the architecture of the gadget.

While creating native apps for iOS or Android, developers use the most popular coding languages for the platform. Native apps for Apple’s iOS are built using Swift or Objective-C, while those for Google’s Android are developed using Java. Native applications like WhatsApp are built separately for all the available operating systems to ensure top-notch performance for all devices.

Advantages of Native Apps

Best performance: Native apps are built to work on one specific platform. This makes them highly efficient and optimized to utilize the operating system’s benefits. Hence, native apps provide the best performance.
uperb support system: Native apps receive immense support from the platform they are built for. The marketplace like Google Play Store and Apple App Store encourages such applications.
Access to the entire feature-set of a device: Native apps have easy access to the whole platform’s feature-set, like a camera, GPS, and other hardware parts of the device.
Single codebase: During the development phase, Native apps seem to have lesser bugs due to a single codebase.
High consistency: Native apps are built with the help of native SDKs. Hence, such applications are highly consistent and have a robust user interface.

Disadvantages of Native Apps

Expert developers are needed: Expert developers must build native apps as they require complete knowledge of the specific operating systems and the coding language.
Expensive and time-consuming: Native apps are costly to build and are highly time-consuming since they are customized for the specific platform.
The frequency of updates is high: Native apps need frequent updates propelled by the operating system they were built for.

Automate your mobile app testing on Apple or Android for free.

Examples of Native Apps

WhatsApp has maintained its position as the most popular messaging app, with 2 billion active users every month across the globe. Since its inception in 2009, the application has become a staple for personal and professional conversations without the constraints of time zones and national boundaries.

WhatsApp is a native app developed by Jan Koum and Brian Acton in 2009. In 2014, Meta acquired it (previously known as Facebook). Since then, WhatsApp has gone through many changes, each of which has made it more robust. WhatsApp is known for its efficient performance, high-quality video and voice calls, and easy media sharing options. All of its advantages are a direct result of its native nature that allowed the developers to explore the full potential of the respective operating systems.

Spotify

Another popular native app in the global market is Spotify. It is the multibillion-dollar music streaming application launched in 2006. The second quarter of 2021 noted 172 million subscribers to Spotify Premium. During the same time, in 2020, they had 144 million paid members.

Spotify uses modern technologies like Conventional Neural Network or CNN to evaluate music. Its algorithms are highly efficient in detecting a song’s volume, key, and tempo utilizing only the audio waveform. Spotify is further supported by the Google Cloud infrastructure that, in conjunction with its native features, helps it deliver high performance.

Web Apps

Web apps are web components that a user can use to achieve an outcome. Web applications are typically stored on remote servers and accessed through browsers on the user’s computer- desktop, cell phones, and tablets alike. The wide appeal of web apps stems from their high usability factor. Anyone can launch a website within a short time, with minimum resources, and still draw substantial global attention.

A good web application works fast and efficiently displays everything correctly. For example, 47% of viewers expect a web page to load in two seconds or less, thereby making efficiency a top priority for developers and mobile app testing teams.

Advantages of Web Apps

Compatible across platforms: Web applications have high compatibility with most platforms across the technology ecosystem. They typically require a web browser only to load completely. This increases their scalability and makes them highly convenient for any firm in any industry.
Easy to manage: Systems used to develop and test web applications need to be stored on the server only. End users are not involved in any of these processes, thus making web apps much simpler to maintain and manage.
Easy to deploy: Web applications are the easiest to deploy. A user only needs the web address, a working browser, and an Internet connection to connect to such an app. In addition, web applications work even on limited bandwidth, thereby widening their scope of usage on a greater scale.
Cost-effective: Web applications are not only affordable when compared to their native and hybrid counterparts, but they are also much cheaper to maintain. Their development and testing processes are hardly lengthy and do not entail hassles. Hence, web apps are cost-effective with great user satisfaction.

Disadvantages of Web Apps

Performance: Web applications can often be large, decreasing their performance largely. They typically have 10 seconds or less to impress users, and unless a web app can load entirely within this time, the company might lose potential buyers because of reduced efficiency.
Security: Security is a key point of concern with web applications. Studies have shown that hackers can use 9 out of 10 web apps to attack users. Further, 68% of web applications are threatened by breaches that steal sensitive data. Interestingly, 82% of vulnerabilities are present in the application’s code.

Examples of Web Apps

Google Docs

Google Docs is a real-time word processing web app that is free to use. It allows multiple users to write and edit as collaborators and automatically saves the document to Google Drive. The web application was built using Java and JavaScript, giving it a clean, easy-to-use interface.

Netflix

One of the most popular OTT platforms globally, Netflix serves 214 million subscribers in 190 countries worldwide. It is a web application supported by languages like Python, Kotlin, Java, and JavaScript. Netflix is known for delivering superb performance and maintaining a high customer satisfaction rate.

Hybrid Apps

Hybrid apps are developed using a combination of native and web app features. They have the shell of a native application over the underlying tech stack of their web-based counterparts. In addition, hybrid apps are typically built over a single code base for all platforms, facilitating high code reusability.

Hybrid apps are an attractive solution to a wider market because of their cost-effective, quicker development process. These apps are worldwidemanylightweight and have a user interface comparable to that of a native app. In addition, hybrid apps can be built using a web app technology stack that typically consists of HTML5, CSS, and JavaScript.

Advantages of Hybrid Apps

Superb UI/UX: Hybrid apps have superb UI/UX, owing to the combination of web and native technologies used to develop these applications. Since HTML5, JavaScript and CSS are used extensively to build hybrid apps, the applications are lightweight, loading the content and graphics quickly and much faster.
Greater appeal: Since hybrid apps are essentially web apps wrapped in the shell of their native counterparts, these can be deployed on any platform. This cross-platform functionality increases their appeal in the competitive market. Developers love hybrid apps too due to the high rate of code reusability where they do not have to write separate programs for Android, iOS, and other operating systems. Clients love hybrid apps because they are affordable to build and simple to deploy.
Faster turnaround time: Building hybrid apps is faster than building native apps. This is because hybrid apps require a single codebase available in the existing web development toolkit that a company already has. Leveraging this helps to eliminate unnecessary jargon, making the process faster.
Easy to maintain: It is easy to maintain hybrid apps because they can simply be updated in real-time (similar to the updation process of web pages) without the need for versioning.
Offline support and availability: Hybrid apps have robust offline accessibility features that make their dependence on connectivity almost negligible. Hybrid apps can load content and graphics without relying on the Internet, thereby finding popularity in rural areas and areas with poor availability of network connections.

Disadvantages of Hybrid Apps

Performance depends on the browser’s speed: Since hybrid apps utilize a lot of the web development toolkit, they rely heavily on their browser’s speed to operate well. Hence, if the browser is slow, the hybrid app will lag too.
The hardware features of the platforms are not exploited: Hybrid apps are not as powerful as the native ones. Native applications utilize all the hardware features of the platform they are built for. However, since hybrid apps are not mainly made for one operating system, they cannot exploit platform-specific hardware attributes.

Examples of Hybrid Apps

Gmail

Gmail is the most widely used emailing platform and has 1.8 billion users around the globe. Launched by Google in 2004, Gmail has many variations- including a web app version. It has an elaborate user interface initially designed by Kevin Fox, who wanted the platform to feel like a one-page application.

One of Gmail’s advanced features is its spam filter and is driven by the community of users. The spam filter is an intelligent algorithm that learns from when a user marks an email as spam and identifies similar messages in other inboxes around the world. In 2020, 306.4 billion emails were exchanged globally every day.

Twitter

The current annual revenue of Twitter is $3.72 billion. It is safe to say the social media app has created quite a stir with its presence alone. The platform is a stellar example of a hybrid app and highlights how powerful a well-made application of this nature can be. As of Q2 of 2021, Twitter had 206 million active users every day. This is enough to demonstrate the kind of traffic the app has to handle regularly without crashing down.

Twitter delivers excellent performance due to its hybrid nature. Hybrid applications do not depend on the network connection to completely load the app onto the device. This feature instantly introduces hybrid apps to a vast arena of users who lack good network connectivity. Moreover, since the loading does not depend on the Internet, it becomes superbly easy for the interface to manage traffic.

With so many apps released each year, it is critical to understand the difference between web, hybrid, and native apps.

Types of Mobile App Development Frameworks

A mobile app framework is a software development package that integrates tools and software, compilers, debugging tools, and programming interfaces. The developer then creates the source code for the application and the framework and uses various elements to develop the application for the different mobile devices.

Some mobile app development frameworks for both Android and iOS are listed below.

React Native

Developed by Facebook, React Native is one of the most widely used mobile app development frameworks. In addition, it is open-source and supports the creation of both iOS and Android apps, thus making it a first preference among the developer community.

Features

React Native supports code reusability, which helps developers spend minimum time programming for an application. JavaScript, the underlying language of the framework, supports this attribute of React Native.
React Native has a powerful user interface that allows coders to play around with the themes without continuously reloading the application. This is especially helpful from a business perspective, where logic can be used only to maintain the strategy from a user’s point of view. At the same time, the design is taken care of in the easiest possible way.
React Native supports both live and hot reloading, thereby reducing the time between saving a change in the developed app and watching its incorporation on screen. This feature goes a long way to establish React Native’s underlying motto- stellar performance for developers.

Advantages

Cost-effective: Owing to features like code reusability, lesser costs of maintenance, plenty of available libraries, React Native is a cost-effective solution for building mobile applications.
Great community support: As an open-source framework used widely across the globe, React Native has a strong community of users who support other users around the clock.
Intuitive architecture: React Native has a modular and intuitive architecture that supports quick app updates. Upgrading an application is also made simpler with this framework.

Disadvantages

Complicated debugging: React Native has a complex debugging process, owing to the underlying languages like C/C++, Java, JavaScript that are inherently hard to debug. Also, since React Native goes back and forth between the native environment and JavaScript, developers need extensive knowledge of the former to understand what is going on.
Too many updates: Powered and supported by a large community, React Native is often bombarded with updates. This can throw developers off guard since it takes time to adjust to changes made to the framework.

Flutter

Flutter is a popular software development kit or SDK used globally for cross-platform mobile application development. Hence, it provides developers with the ability to build Android, iOS, and Windows apps using a single Codebase. Although it started simply as a startup, Google acquired it before planting its roots in the software community.

Features

Flutter is an open-source project and is free to use across the globe. This is especially useful for fledgling developers who can acquire a lot of freedom in exploring all the qualities of Flutter and learn essential components of building mobile applications during the process.
Flutter uses Dart, a programming language that is unique to its framework. Dart was developed by Google and can develop mobile and web applications. Dart was created to also facilitate building apps for desktops and servers. Its syntax is similar to C, but it follows an object-oriented approach.
Apps built on Flutter have a native feel, even if they are compatible across all platforms. Hence, Flutter apps deliver a superb user experience, therefore inheriting a typical characteristic of native applications.
Google added a feature that is now popularly called the ‘App Builder.’ One can think of it as a virtual lego building tool that developers can quickly exploit to create apps. This has proved to be an essential component in developing app prototypes.

Advantages

Instant changes: Flutter allows its users to make instant changes. This comes in handy when developers need to make quick bug fixes to their applications. Without this particular attribute, it would have taken developers hours, if not days, to send out a bug fix.
Superb UX: Applications made using Flutter deliver an effortless, smooth performance that makes for a powerful UX.
Mobile app testing is simpler: Testing mobile apps and their quality assurance checks are more superficial using Flutter, thanks to its single codebase.

Disadvantages

Web apps are not supported: Web apps cannot be built on Flutter. Moreover, the apps built on Flutter tend to be quite heavy, which users may not appreciate over a longer time.
Coding can be tedious: Creating apps on Flutter can soon become a tedious process. This is because Flutter is relatively new to the game, and developers find themselves writing everything from scratch to make things work. Additionally, since Flutter uses Dart, a language that not many are aware of, developers have to learn this before using Flutter extensively.

Xamarin

Xamarin, a Microsoft product, uses C# and .NET to build Android, iOS, Apple Watch, and Wear applications. Xamarin is famous for being a time and cost-effective solution for cross-platform mobile app development.

Features

Applications built on Xamarin use the .NET base class library or BCL. This is essentially an extensive collection of classes loaded with features such as Serialization, XML, String, IO, Database, support for Networking, and many more. It also allows pre-existing C# codes to be used in an application, extending its functionality limit beyond the BCL.
Xamarin utilizes a modern IDE, namely Visual Studio, one of the most popular IDEs around the globe. VS is famous for its auto-code completion features. But it also provides attributes like project and solution management, libraries, source control, and other resources that make it truly powerful.
Xamarin is great for cross-platform app development, supporting the three major platforms- Android, iOS, and Windows. In addition, around 90% of the code written in Xamarin can be reused, thus saving time and cost of development.
Xamarin.Essentials add to the usefulness of the framework. It provides a unified API for resource sharing facilities across all the supported platforms- Android, iOS, and Windows.

Advantages

Xamarin Test Cloud: Xamarin Test Cloud is an excellent platform for mobile app testing. With Xamarin’s cloud, developers can test a single application on multiple devices, point out the issues, and fix them in a jiffy. In addition, Xamarin Test Cloud offers superb flexibility that proves to be a valuable addition to developer toolkits.
Powerful UI features: Developers have many UI components like themes, graphs, charts, and cloud services to choose from. This enhances the user experience in a single jump, thus becoming a popular choice among coders.
Great for cross-platform usage: Due to 90% code reuse, Xamarin is often an excellent choice for developing cross-platform applications. This shared code logic helps developers build an app once and reuse it for multiple platforms.

Disadvantages

Lack of support: Xamarin lacks a community to back it up. Unlike Android, iOS and .NET have robust communities with a wealth of knowledge. Compared to that, Xamarin is still growing and falls short of resources for developers to look into.
App overhead: Xamarin creates a massive overhead that increases the time it takes for users to download and store apps on their devices. This can critically affect user satisfaction.

Frameworks to Test Mobile Apps

Below are the popular frameworks for Android automation testing and iOS automation testing of mobile applications.

Appium

Appium is another mobile app automation testing tool to automate web, native, and hybrid mobile app testing on all mobile and desktop platforms. Apps do not need recompilation or modification and do not need to adhere to any specific languages for Appium to automate their tests. Also open-source like Selenium, Appium proves to be a powerful tool for developers to play around with. Run your free mobile tests on Appium grid.

Ranorex

A software development company, Ranorex GmbH, provides this framework. It is a GUI test automation platform that facilitates testing all kinds of mobile applications. Ranorex Studio supports languages such as VB.NET and C#.

Apache JMeter

Categorized under the Apache project, Apache JMeter is used heavily as a load testing tool. In addition, it is utilized to measure and analyze various services, especially web applications for mobile. But JMeter can also be used as a unit testing tool and has its architecture based on plugins.

To know more about app testing frameworks, you can refer to our blog on the best mobile app testing frameworks for Android and iOS apps.

Key types of Mobile App Testing

Mobile app testing helps identify flaws in mobile apps and refine them for the intended audience. Therefore, it is critical to consider the various key types of app testing to understand the multiple perspectives for evaluating an app’s potential performance.

Below are the listed key types of Mobile App Testing.

Functional testing

Functional testing of mobile applications checks whether the app is functioning correctly. This kind of test ensures the components are behaving as they should- they are responsive, true to their purpose, meet the required specifications, and the flow of the app is being maintained.

Example: Suppose an e-commerce app needs to be tested for functionality. Here, a product can be added to the cart to check the ‘Add to cart’ feature is working fine. The customer can then proceed to checkout to ensure that the payment features are working.

Usability testing

Usability testing brings the user’s experience to the forefront. It checks how user-friendly a mobile app is if it requires bug fixes, how intuitive its interface is, and how easy it is to navigate through the application. Usability testing provides a holistic report of a customer’s feedback while using the application.

Example: A mobile app usability testing example would be creating a survey of questions that an end-user is asked to answer after using an app for a while. This can provide great insight into what needs to be further modified.

Compatibility testing

Compatibility testing is a non-functional technique that checks if an application is ready to deliver great performance on multiple devices and operating systems, in specific network conditions, and with various hardware specifications.

Example: An app like Amazon Prime Video can be tested to check if it is running on all devices- mobiles, desktops, TVs, tablets, etc., of all specifications.

Load and Performance testing

Performance and load testing ensure an application is not performing poorly under specific workloads. In addition, these tests provide the device resource consumption, like battery, time, and memory are not being expended to a great extent.

Load and performance testing also checks for network delays, the performance of servers, and the format in which data is being sent and received at the backend. Applications should also have an inherent backup and recovery system for an unprecedented data loss.

Example: A typical example of load and performance testing is running tests on an e-commerce app before a big sale day. Due to heavy traffic, there are high chances of the application crashing mid-way. Performance and load testing can stop that from happening.

Security testing

Security is one of the deciding factors behind whether a person will download and use the app or not. Unless data privacy, authenticity, and integrity are ensured, users will never feel comfortable using an app, especially since most applications ask permission to access a user’s private information. Hence, security testing is imperative to ensure users’ data is safe and well protected.

Example: An SSL protocol is used by website or web app owners and developers to authenticate communication and data exchange between the client and the server.

Installation testing

Installation testing checks if the installation and uninstallation procedures of an application are smooth and without hassles. This kind of testing also ensures the updates to an app are without errors and undisturbed.

Example: While installation testing, network connectivity can be checked by changing the device connection from WiFi to 4G cellular data. Ideally, the installation should not be interrupted, and the procedure should continue irrespective of this alteration.

Localization testing

Localizing testing ensures an application is ready to be used in various local markets. From a change in currencies to a change in cultures, an app should ideally be able to handle all that, especially if it is targeting a wide demography of audiences around the globe.

Users expect their applications to run smoothly and represent them while solving their particular problems with unique solutions. Therefore, consumers tend to lose interest if an app is not aligned with these clauses.

Example: Running tests to ensure an e-commerce site in the US, the UK, and India has a currency changing feature for the appropriate location.

Device testing

Device testing is an essential part of the mobile app testing process. Many applications’ functionalities depend highly on a mobile’s internal hardware specifications and operating system. Device testing ensures an app is ready to run on a spectrum of devices with any combination of specifications.

For example, since building physical infrastructure to support this is quite cumbersome, the LambdaTest Mobile app testing platform can come in handy here. It provides a wide range of 3000+ devices and OS combinations on the cloud that testing teams can exploit to ensure their app is running everywhere and under all conditions.

Types of Mobile Testing (Manual and Automated)

Mobile testing can be performed using one of two methods:

Manual mobile application testing
Automated mobile application testing

Manual Mobile App Testing

Testing mobile apps manually rely solely on a human to test an application from scratch until the end. This means the quality assurance testers cannot use automation tools, scripts, or other resources to carry on these tests. To begin with, this sounds ghastly, especially when one imagines the number of tests that must be run to ensure one application will perform well in the real world. Hence, one might be tempted to do away with manual testing completely.

However, discarding manual tests is unwarranted as the end-users are still humans, and automation, no matter how beneficial, time, and cost-effective, might not be prepared to guarantee the way an app feels to a real, breathing consumer of flesh and blood. Hence, manual testing is needed and still performed reasonably, just as a final nudge of reassurance for the testing team.

Automated Mobile App Testing

Automated mobile testing eg. android automation testing is the need of the hour when it comes to running multiple application tests. Here, testing teams use mobile app testing tools for automation and testing clouds to test the functionality and viability of an app in multiple conditions. Automated tests are typically used where a number of tests need to be run simultaneously. However, developers and testers still have to partially rely on human supervision in complex cases.

Automated mobile app testing is fast, efficient, and affordable. It does not require setting up a huge infrastructure of physical devices as would have been necessary for manual mobile app testing. In addition, almost all tests can be performed using the cloud, which leading companies like LambdaTest provide.

Testing Your Mobile Apps Using LambdaTest

LambdaTest enables you to test mobile apps on real devices, simulators, and Android emulators online. As a result, you run the tests and detect bugs across multiple Android and iOS devices early in the development cycle. This enables you to replace your expensive in-house device labs with a mobile testing cloud for all manual and automated app testing requirements. Before you kick start Mobile app testing, refer to this ultimate mobile app testing checklist for carrying out effective mobile device cloud testing.

You can also test apps on LambdaTest real device cloud to test real-world scenarios of your app. The real device cloud for Mobile app testing allows users to access real devices and test their apps on a variety of real Android and iOS devices. Using real device cloud testing, you can test your native apps for functionality, compatibility, and reliability.

Here is a quick rundown of the features offered by LambdaTest Mobile App Testing Platform.

Summing Up!

Mobile app testing is an important part of a mobile application’s life cycle. While Android apps seem to have the greatest hold in the global app market, Apple is much more classified and sophisticated while dealing with applications created for iOS. Mobile app development frameworks and tools help developers and testers build state-of-the-art applications for Android, iOS, and Windows operating systems before sending them to various app stores.

In this article, we explored the basics of mobile application testing to understand the topic as a whole and in parts with respect to testing applications for Android and iOS. We also discussed types of apps, mobile development frameworks and tools, and how LambdaTest — a cloud test execution platform caters to your Mobile testing needs.

11 Key Challenges & Solutions Of Mobile App Testing

RileenaSanyal1 — Wed, 23 Mar 2022 15:03:23 +0000

Over the last decade, the usage of mobile devices has skyrocketed globally. According to Statista’s predictions, the number of smartphone users will surpass 1.5 billion in 2040. Hence, it is not hard to envision the enormous mobile app testing challenges that the current and future backend teams will be dealing with.

Due to the surge in mobile devices, the demand for mobile applications has escalated worldwide. This has led to large organizations investing heavily in this domain, thereby increasing the need for a more conducive mobile device cloud testing solution. In this article on mobile app testing challenges and solutions, we will explore the top 11 mobile app testing challenges that riddle technical teams worldwide.

11 key mobile app testing challenges

Mobile app testing is definitely not an easy task. It requires a lot of effort and time to test applications on all platforms. There are various approaches to mobile app testing, but the most important thing for every developer is to build the best quality product that will meet users’ expectations. The main problem for testers is that there are lots of different ways to test apps. Each approach has its pros and cons, which can be tricky to determine in advance.

So, let’s take a closer look at the main challenges faced by mobile app testers.

1. Too many devices globally

38 billion smartphones were sold worldwide in 2020 and 1.53 billion so far in 2021. The numbers make it easy for us to guess the variety of mobile devices being used on the world forum. However, this creates trouble for the testing team since applications are expected to run smoothly on most such devices.

Hence, each app has to be compatible with most of the mobile variants present worldwide. To ensure an app will work on all or most devices, an organization requires an extensive infrastructure consisting of mobile app testing solutions and a physical hub of popular devices. As a whole, it can pose a considerable investment ordeal that early-age startups may not be prepared for.

2. Device fragmentation

Device fragmentation is one of the leading mobile app testing challenges since the number of active devices running an app at any given time increases every year. This can pose a significant compatibility issue since testing teams have to ensure these applications can not only be deployed across different operating systems (like Android, iOS, Windows, etc.) but also across various versions of the same operating system (like iOS 5.X and 6.X).

However, you can overcome this challenge by using a cloud-based mobile app testing solution. A cloud-based mobile app testing interface makes it easier to:

Upload the app with just one click,
Test the app on numerous Android emulators and iOS simulators,
Monitor the quality of the apps,
Rely on the cloud to make speedy deliveries and more.

Now you can test on mobile emulator for browser testing that too free!!!

3. Different screen sizes

Companies across the globe design smartphones of varying screen specifications. Multiple variants of the same model have different resolutions and screen sizes to attract a broader range of consumers. Hence, there is a requirement for apps to be developed in conjunction with every new screen specification released in the market.

The screen size affects the way an application will appear on different devices. It is one of the most complicated mobile app testing challenges since developers must now concentrate on its adaptability to various mobile screens. This includes resizing the apps and adjusting to multiple screen resolutions to maintain consistency across all devices. This might turn out to be a challenge unless an application is thoroughly tested.

4. Numerous types of mobile applications

Mobile app development is a great way to increase your brand’s visibility, bring in new customers and provide a better user experience for current customers. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the three main types of mobile apps: native, web, and hybrid.

Native apps: Native mobile applications are those built for one specific operating system. Hence, apps built for iOS do not work on Android or other OS and vice versa. Native applications are fast, provide better phone-specific features, and have higher efficiency. Here, the mobile app testing challenges include ensuring such qualities are preserved and all features are compatible with the native UI of the device.
Web apps: Web applications are much like native apps, except users need not explicitly download the former. Instead, these apps are embedded within the website that users can access through web browsers on their phones. Web apps are thus expected to provide excellent performance on all devices. To ensure that they do, testing teams have to thoroughly check the app on a large variety of models. However, this is not only a time-consuming procedure but is also critical since failure to work on a few devices can significantly bring down the company’s business revenues.
Hybrid apps: Hybrid apps have the facilities of both web and native apps. They are essentially web applications that have been designed like the native ones. Such apps can be maintained easily and have a short loading time. Mobile app testing teams are responsible for ensuring hybrid applications do not lag on some devices. All their features are available on all operating systems with the capability to support said features.

Each type of mobile application poses a different kind of challenge for the technical teams. When concatenated, the complexity increases manifold, thereby making it a cumbersome process in totality. Testing mobile applications by automating repeated regression tests might ease the stress a little.

5. Mobile network bandwidth

Mobile network bandwidth testing is a significant part of mobile app testing. Users expect high-speed mobile applications that the backend team must ensure. But that is not all. An application that fumbles to produce faster results also performs poorly in terms of data communication.

An app that is not tested and optimized to suit the bandwidth of a variety of users will lag during the exchange of information between the end-user and the server. Therefore, the testing team should ideally test their apps and mobile websites in various network conditions to understand their response time in each case. This shall make the process a lot more efficient and the app much more sustainable.

6. Mercurial user expectations

Users across the globe expect different things from their smartphones. Companies comply by providing variations to attract their target audience. With variations in models come expectations as to what various applications running on these devices should do and how.

Users have high demands from the apps they use. They are constantly asking for new updates to make things easier for them. For example, users might want a separate button for their favorite feature at the top of the app’s home screen display.

As application developers, tech teams cannot help but bury their heads deep into giving their consumers what they want to ensure the user experience is stellar and business is on track. This process, however, keeps the testing team on their toes and might tend to elongate the mobile app testing procedure in several cases.

7. Seamless user experience

The success of an application depends mainly on how creative, contextually specific, and well-defined the user interface is. On the other hand, ensuring an app has all the required features might make it bulky and slow. Moreover, the application runs a risk of working exceptionally well on some devices and not on others.

This would mean poor consistency and might hinder users from shifting devices when required. Such things bring the user experience down. A consumer has no patience to understand developer deadlines and testing complexities.

Hence, the mobile app testing teams are always racing against time and other odds to ensure the user experience is not compromised. This can become a significant challenge unless the right cloud-based mobile app testing strategy is in place, mainly because poor user experience deteriorates the company’s credibility.

8. Security concerns

Security concerns are a huge roadblock for the mobile app testing team. Although private cloud-based mobile app testing tools like LambdaTest are secure, there are several concerns that app developers regularly face.

Easier access to the cache: Mobile devices are more prone to breaches since it is simpler to access the cache. Suspicious programs can therefore find easy routes to private information through mobile applications unless built and tested to nullify the vulnerabilities.
Poor encryption: Encryptions are the first walls between user data and malignant sources. Poor or no encryption in mobile applications can attract hackers like a moth to the flame. The initial half of 2020 witnessed data breaches that disclosed 36 billion records. Therefore, developers must build apps with more robust encryption coding and then the app testing team to ensure the encryption works well.

The process is one of the most crucial mobile app testing challenges since relevant teams have to run all possible test cases to ensure the application is going from the encryption side.

A cloud-based cross device testing solution like LambdaTest, which is GDPR, ISO 27001, CCPA, and SOC2 compliant, can help QA testers to run their tests on the cloud to assure accuracy and proximity to real users conditions.

9. Strict deadlines

User demands are often overbearing, making companies run on a strict schedule to deliver apps. Patchwork, bug fixes, and upgrades are other requirements that keep developer and testing teams on their toes. All of this requires constant and fast mobile app testing procedures.

Given the complexity of testing mobile apps, which includes testing not only on mobile app emulators and simulators but also on the available physical devices, testing teams are often in a fix when it comes to deadlines. More often than not, the strict schedules make it difficult for the technical team to perform extensive tests.

10. Heavy battery usage

Mobile app testing involves testing for heavy battery usage. This is challenging because a truly diverse application should run on almost any battery without draining the device. Unfortunately, the last few years witnessed a surge in apps that are hard on the battery. To deal with this, mobile manufacturing companies across the globe started providing stronger batteries.

However, user dissatisfaction cannot be neglected in the case of apps that still seem to drain their batteries considerably. One of the significant mobile app testing challenges is testing apps to see they are not drawing power, even heavy. Minimizing battery drainage is of utmost importance to ensure a stellar user experience.

11. Too many app testing tools

There is a wide range of cloud-based mobile app testing tools not built from a one-size-fits-all perspective. There are separate tools for the different kinds of applications, some more which only test Android apps and others that check the ones for iOS. There is no shortage of platforms and tools that test applications of all specifications.

However, rather than being helpful, they often make the process more complicated. For example, technical teams might find it confusing to select the perfect platform to test most of their apps, if not all. In addition, subscribing to the many such paid software can be heavy on the company’s budget, while relying on free tools can invite other troubles like data breaches and below-par results.

Overcoming mobile app testing challenges

The main issue with testing mobile apps is the limited availability of real devices for testing purposes. Here are a few solutions to help you overcome the above mobile app testing challenges.

Mobile emulators (Android and iOS)

Emulators are often used for speedy and cost-effective mobile app testing, but they don’t always provide reliable test results. The whole point of using an emulator is to run the software without actually installing it on a real device. The mobile app emulators can be installed on your development machine, and after that, any number of tests can be run on the emulator without the need to install it on a real device.

Mobile emulators will never replace real devices, but they provide a good way of running initial tests without dealing with all the hardware and OS differences among real devices. You should also remember that emulators can never recreate all the features of a real device, such as touch gestures, accelerometer, etc. However, it’s better to understand the emulator vs simulator difference in detail before deciding which to choose.

Using standard protocols common to all devices

One way to decrease the complexity of the mobile app testing process is to adhere first to the protocols common to all devices. This can include features like GPS, camera, audio, and video, etc. Prioritizing procedures like localization and internalization testing help users operate their apps better irrespective of where and what they are doing. Once the standard tests are performed, tests specific to the operating system or its different versions can be conducted.

Leverage cloud-based platform for mobile app testing

For companies with stringent app testing requirements, it might be good to set up an infrastructure to support the demands. For example, a physical lab consisting of mobile devices of various specifications and a cloud-based mobile app testing system can together form a robust combination ideal for in-house testing.

Otherwise, mobile device cloud testing platforms like LambdaTest can be approached to help with the procedure. LambdaTest is a cloud-based cross browser testing tool that utilizes emulators and simulators to provide accurate app performance reports. You can use iOS simulators for app testing now that too free!!!

LambdaTest provides you with a wide range of Android emulators and iOS and simulators that help you test and release bug-free and performant apps. Moreover, you can upload your application’s APK, App, or ZIP file in one click directly from the LambdaTest platform.

Here’s a short glimpse of cloud-based mobile app testing offered by LambdaTest:

Conclusion

The above article aimed to provide a holistic view of the top 11 mobile app testing challenges that technical teams across the globe encounter. We have also tried to explore the essential solutions to deal with the issues. However, readers need to remember that each challenge is unique to the team that experiences it. Hence, it is best to keep investigating and seeking help wherever necessary. We have also seen how we can leverage cloud-based mobile app testing tools like LambdaTest to overcome the challenges of mobile app testing.