DEV Community: Subhamsaxena

19 Ways To Speed Up Testing Cycle

Subhamsaxena — Mon, 19 Sep 2022 09:53:20 +0000

How can we speed up test cycles? It’s a question that large enterprises and SMBs alike often wonder. Evaluating a system and its components to check whether they satisfy the end-user requirements or not is as important as developing the system itself.

Organizations are constantly leveling up to ensure they have speed and quality going hand-in-hand while shipping new features or new products entirely. This is why automation testing in Agile has been a key to accelerating go-to-market without missing out on quality metrics. However, automation alone isn’t going to give you all the boost required to increase your test velocity.

1. Leverage database calls as much as possible

A majority of the automated tests create test data through browsers. Rather than going this way, if you create data directly in the database, it would reduce the total time consumed. Database calls, in general, are pretty effective in terms of cost and time. Minimizing the user interface interaction speeds up the test and makes it more reliable.

However, this approach may not prove to be quite beneficial if the project has a complex database interaction. You need to be wary when you perform database testing, such as Oracle testing. It can make your life easier when you approach it the right way.

2. Strategize cross browser testing to speed up testing

The scope of cross browser testing is vast. You get hundreds of browsers and OS combinations that you need to include in your test script, plus there are scores of new devices, and browser updates are being rolled out monthly. So, you need to formulate a proper cross browser testing strategy beforehand to ensure the devices and browsers you will test upon.

Prioritizing the most critical browser and OS combinations will help you stay on top of any cross browser compatibility bug that may arise in your most important browser + OS combinations. This will save a lot of your time without compromising on the quality of cross browser compatibility tests during the test cycle.

Take a quick look at how to perform cross browser testing on the cloud:

Check this out, Automation Testing Platform- Accelerate your release velocity with blazing fast test automation on cloud

All you need to do is subscribe to our LambdaTest YouTube Channel, where you can track what’s happening in the market and stay updated with the latest tutorials around Selenium testing, Cypress E2E testing, CI/CD, and more.

Cloud testing platforms such as LambdaTest provides an online browser farm of 3000+ browsers & operating systems to perform cross browser testing at scale.

3. Optimize your CI/CD build execution

If most of your time during testing gets wasted waiting for a build or an upgrade, it is time to switch your testing strategy. Putting special CI/CD tools can help you save a lot of time rather than going the traditional way. Besides, the scope of the test cases also decides the time required. The goals must be clear, concise, and well-defined. One of the benefits of automation testing, no doubt, is increasing the testing speed drastically, but automating the wrong stuff can backfire. Stop automating everything in a zest to save time.

4. Ensure your developers are automating Unit tests

Unit testing is a critical part of every release cycle. If done well, the QA team might have fewer bugs to report on that front.

With cloud-enabled testing platforms such as LambdaTest, you can get started with automation testing across 3000+ browsers & web apps.

5. Leverage parallel testing

Rather than performing each test one after the other sequentially, executing two or more test cases together can help you finish the task much earlier. There is no denying the fact that automation helps you test more parts of your software faster.

Parallel testing lets more test cases be executed in a relatively shorter time and is your ticket to a quicker test cycle. However, a good parallel testing strategy is using different browsers to run different threads. Using the best Selenium Grid Online with a cloud-based infrastructure for parallel testing can help you perform parallel testing seamlessly.

6. Stay organized with the best test automation practices

This tip is often underrated but is one of the most crucial tips ever to speed up testing process. Organizing your test cases may not be one of your priorities while putting the software through various test cases. It may be the last thing on your mind, but it saves a lot of time. It makes the process much smoother for you.

Hence, following the best practices in test automation and knowing the right testing methodologies, in general, are vital skills to be possessed by a software test engineer. All the data and automation reports must be maintained accurately for later use and reference. If the test cases need to be re-run, the cycle can be repeated in a shorter time interval.

7. Adopt a modular approach

Using a modular approach for test management helps you create a complete test suite of manual and automated tests, which are comparatively easier to maintain. At times, when defects are detected, these suites make it easier for the engineer to analyze failure. Moreover, it is possible to reuse the modular tests, saving the quality assurance team a lot of time spent rewriting the tests. The approach results in tests organized by function and gives the process a strong foundation for automated test development.

Apart from that, instead of writing tests from scratch every time, the tester should focus more on their execution and detection of defects in the application. A lot of time can be saved during the test cycle by looking for an existing module and editing the same to adhere to the testing requirements.

8. Communication is important

Working in a team has its prospects and consequences. A test engineer must use his team as the most significant asset at his disposal. The division of the workload between the team should be even. With everyone on the same page regarding documentation, test automation strategy, planning, and implementation method, the task will be performed easily and in a shorter interval of time.

You can also hold a G-meet or Huddle call on Slack to let the developers and testers connect to check what the bug is about and where they can improve. Other than that, the best way is to take a screenshot or record a video on how the bug thrives during the test cycle. Using the right collaboration tools can make this process simpler.

9. Look for the right parameters

Judging your team’s performance on the right parameters is as important as anything else. If the team keeps focusing on the wrong set of parameters, it will ultimately lead to a waste of time. The testing goals must be well-defined to proceed in the right direction.

Mapping your test strategy to high-level business goals can become a real struggle if the team keeps focusing on an out-of-reach set of targets. The parameters set for the test cycle must be precise, concise, and as per the requirements. Overestimation or underestimation of goals can lead to wasting a lot of time.

To begin, you can perform exploratory testing where you combine your plan, test, and execute it into a rapid form of simultaneous events. This goes well with Agile since the testing process can start with design, reviewing acceptance and requirements criteria, and the theoretical side of the development cycle. This continuous testing process is what makes exploratory testing quite effective. You can also cover every important parameter through this method.

10. Make use of the right testing tools

Irrespective of the type of testing you’re performing, having the right arsenal of the testing tool will make the job easier. Efficiently using all the tools to manage your test cycle at your disposal can be one of the most important tester skills. Investing in the right open source frameworks or automation testing tools can make life as a quality assurance person much easier. Many tools are available to improve productivity, quality, and client satisfaction. Selecting the right set of tools per your application’s requirements can help you save a lot of time.

Sometimes, the teams try to make the most out of outdated tools while new or better alternatives are available. If you’re a team lead, a monthly/quarterly audit of the team’s testing tools might help you fix it. If you’re a part of the testing team, keep yourself up to date with the latest tools that are emerging in the testing space, and feel free to suggest them to your team.

When you write more test cases in web and mobile app testing scenarios, it’s obvious to get muddled on which bug you need to prioritize based on the severity level. To keep track of this (which is mandatory), you need an efficient testing tool in the LambdaTest cloud platform.

11. Automate your regression tests

Regression testing is the process through which you make sure that the previous app functionality works perfectly when you introduce new changes to the app. It ensures that there are no new bugs with code addition during the period of your test cycle. It’s unavoidable whether you make minor changes or a huge product update.

Ensuring that the new code doesn’t clash with the former code is a must to confirm that the previous code works as expected after the code change. The code can be automated easily and preferably should be in all cases. As they are implemented for testing functionality, they are more than often repetitive. Thus, automating them can free the manual testers up for other tasks on the plate.

We implement frequent build cycles during agile testing and continuous integration, changes, and deployment. Hence regression testing should become an unavoidable companion for agile testing when you want to get continuous feedback. To encourage 100% success during regression testing, the testing team should start it from the beginning of product development. You should be building it continuously with development sprints during your test cycle.

12. Conduct code reviews

It’s always good to look into the code review when you want to reduce the overall coding errors drastically. You can improve how you do code review by providing training, tracking it, and writing better test cases to report the code review results to your team. You can depend upon several tools to check for memory leaks. During the test cycle, you need to get details on the bug’s root cause and regularly analyze to pick the scope of improvement.

13. Finding the right team support

It’s technically impossible for a single tester to test a large e-commerce app. You need to hire more people. As I say, I cannot stress enough that you need to hire the right people to help you perform tests. Delegating your team members with the right tasks can also go a long way in one-upping the productivity of your testing team. You can keep track of your team and what they are up to through cloud testing. With test integration with project management tools, knowing where you stand regarding your testing progress is quite simple.

14. Fast feedback using container approach

Let’s face it- Sometimes, working on a testing tool is a skill by itself, apart from testing. You will face trouble if the tool is a simple-to-use testing platform with the best UI/UX. Investing in a complex test platform and not getting the best out of it will pull down the test velocity and speed. To avoid that, you need an integrated testing environment where you can access different features, plugins, and extensions at the same time. Combined with the cloud, this can lead you to finish your test cycle faster than ever.

Using the container approach, you can bid adieu to conflict dependencies. You can separate different processes by building different projects using different programming languages or frameworks. Also, you wouldn’t have to build an image belonging to the Jenkins job. Instead, you can use many images for integration testing and unit testing and use them separately. This is how the Docker layer cache can fasten things.

With all these problem statements in mind, we formulated HyperExecute, where you write test cases and leave the rest to our team.

How about enabling a test orchestration platform where you decide why, when, what, and how to perform the test?

HyperExecute, an all-in-one test orchestration platform, combines the local setup speed and the best of the cloud, where you can expect speed + top-class intelligence + autoscaling + zero maintenance.

HyperExecute brings down the developer-to-tester feedback time by 70%. No more pesky tasks of testers modifying the code every time. With abundant features such as auto splitting, artifact management, matrix-based build multiplexing, real-time console and execution logs, dependency cache, and customizable test environment, you are all set to soar your testing experience!

Watch this video to learn about test orchestration using HyperExecute:

Check this out, Automation Testing Platform- Accelerate your release velocity with blazing fast test automation cloud

15. Optimize flaky management

False positives lead to flaky tests. The main task hidden behind flaky test management is to bring down the pain faced by developers due to flaky tests while managing the entire workflow. With TAS (Test At Scale), you can leverage flaky test management to accelerate the speed of your test cycle.

Reduce job times up to 95%.
Expect faster feedback on code changes.
Handle flaky tests better.
Keep your master tracker green and flourishing every time.

16. Switch to online Selenium Grid testing

There are many faces to front-end testing. Ensuring the web app works well across a wide range of environments is extremely important. That’s where cross browser testing comes into play. Cross browser testing refers to running every test once in every environment you want to target. This can be time-tasking. This is where you run parallel tests on an online grid. You can run a huge number of tests simultaneously on a grid, which is a collection of operating systems (OSs), machines, and browsers.

The grid acts like a traffic agent where your staff, integration, machines, and build server act like nodes that should talk to the software alone. When a developer has fixed a particular bug, all they have to do is to send the test set to the traffic agent with the set of environments to execute them. The traffic agent would get back into action to match the test with one or many machines present in the grid and get them to execute all the tests while reporting the results back.

With an online Selenium Grid, you can easily focus on the way you write the best Selenium test scripts instead of thinking a lot over infrastructure maintenance. Leverage a cloud Selenium Grid to trigger the Selenium test scripts anytime, anywhere. Run Selenium tests over 100+ browsers, OS, and devices. This will help you reduce the test cycles endlessly through parallel testing.

Spruce up your testing cycle with our On-Premise Selenium Grid for enterprises, where you can enjoy the features of LambdaTest cloud infrastructure that comes along with performance and security behind your very own firewall.

17. Use testing clouds for mobile app testing

Buying a device farm is expensive and time tasking. Every month, a new version is added, and some get out of date.

It’s not easy to manually test your website using emulators and simulators when you compare emulator vs simulator vs real device. Even if you depend upon an online browser emulator such as Android SDK and a simulator such as Apple XCode, it’s challenging to test it on different browsers, OS, and devices since you need to write the test script, inject it and run the tests. Phew! It can be time-daunting too. With real time live testing, anybody, from your 17-year-old cousin to an A-grade tester, can test their website or app under different browsers, OS, and devices within a very, very short period.

Do you need proof? Take a look at these simple steps to get real time browser testing done.

Testing on emulators and simulators has its cons, such as the inability to mimic or simulate a real time environment, lack of Bluetooth support, and so on. That’s where cloud testing comes into play. With real device cloud testing, you can test your websites and apps on 3000+ real devices where you can imitate real-time circumstances such as gestures and controls. You can test the app and website for reliability, compatibility, and scalability. Needless to say, this will improve the test cycle speed.

18. Use LT Browser to fasten responsive testing

LT Browser is our testing tool to ensure that your website’s responsiveness is top-class. You can test it over many major devices along with the viewports. All you need to do is to open a website on the LT Browser platform. You can easily perform live testing across 50+ pre-installed device viewports. How do you work on LT Browser?

Step 1: Download the executable file after you go to More tools-> LT Browser.
Download LT Browser For Windows. Click on Download Now.

Step 2: LT Browser will be installed.

Step 3: Install LT Browser on your system. Provide the URL on the tab. Choose the device on which you want to test your website.

Step 4: All done! You can also try two devices simultaneously. Click on the three-dotted lines at the top right corner. Select the **New **tab.

Step 5: Select the device configuration of your choice. You can add a custom device by providing the user agent details.

Step 6: Now, you can test two devices simultaneously.

Step 7: You can also take screenshots and compare the results with the expected results.

All these processes will hasten up your test cycle.

19. Understanding the test pyramid

Having a strong theoretical foundation can help you achieve better results. It is the first step towards ensuring a sound performance. Tests can be identified at unit, integration, performance, and user interface levels. The test pyramid advises the testers to add more tests to the pyramid’s lower level. The tests run at the lower level are generally faster than the UI tests. This is the traditional testing pyramid you need to keep in mind while performing both manual tests and automated tests.

Wait! We aren’t recommending this testing pyramid model since it’s the best choice only for low-budget projects with expected requirements and fewer changes during your test cycle.

This is the latest test automation pyramid agile teams use during automation testing:

What makes it unique? Nothing much! This testing pyramid is the inverted ‘ice cream cone’ of the traditional testing pyramid. As you can see, when the ice cream cone melts due to a weaker base, like in the previously shown testing pyramid, it leads to more errors. On the other hand, in an agile testing pyramid, you can find a more robust base due to code automation. The engagement level increases since the developer team contributes much more to the project, leading to a stronger foundation. Agile testing shifts the core factor from ‘identifying bugs’ to ‘preventing bugs’.

But, there are also many agile testing challenges you need to address, such as focusing more on scrum velocity and lacking experience in agile projects.

Thus, when you have a stronger understanding of the web or mobile testing pyramid of the methodology you choose, you will nail it during the test cycle!

Click here- Run Selenium Testing in Parallel.

Conclusion

Thus, these were some of the top tips to speed up testing cycles. Faster testing is not something difficult to achieve. Balancing speed and quality is interesting as well as rewarding. You must refine your current automation strategy a bit to see the magic. Not only will it make your life easier but also win you accolades from your boss! Depending upon the right cloud-based testing tools can easily speed up testing cycle. But ultimately, your team has to decide which testing and methodology would suit you the most.

Happy testing!

10 Ways To Avoid Cross-Browser Compatibility Issues

Subhamsaxena — Tue, 30 Aug 2022 11:07:06 +0000

In the present day, apart from the development phase itself, developers face another major challenge. Even after spending weeks, sometimes months developing a website, most developers have a tough time testing its functionality on all major platforms.

With the wide array of browsers present, chances are that the website will face varied issues over these. Adding to the trouble is the advent of numerous devices which together, create an extremely large number of combinations to test on.

The website might sport the best design and features but as long as it is not tested to work on every possible platform, it will remain a ‘Work in Progress’. So to overcome the challenge of testing and simplifying the process, there are several cross browser testing tools like LambdaTest.

Yet, sometimes some minimal steps can prevent cross browser compatibility issues. Today we’ll look at some of the most common cross browser compatibility issues and how to fix them.

Check Out Some of The Common Browser Compatibility Issues and Their Solutions:

1. DOCTYPE Error

Imagine writing the entire code and missing out on the most basic line! Yes, it can lead to a faulty rendering. Several browsers with outdated versions such as the Internet Explorer 8.0 and earlier often check for the Doctype.

In case it is missing, the site will be not be rendered as per expectations. To understand why the doctype is checked, we would have to understand the two modes in which a browser operates.

The first mode is called the Strict Mode. In this mode, the browser works with stricter code error checks and making sure that the code adheres to the W3C specifications. The second mode is called the Quirks Mode. The quirks mode was created with an intention of providing backward compatibility to older browser version and they do not perform strict error checking.

When there is a missing “Doctype” tag in the webpage, the browser tends to go into the quirks mode. At the same time, if there is a browser which doesn’t support HTML5, it will not understand which version to look for. This would lead to some of the tags to become unresponsive and the webpage will not look as intended.

The solution to this problem is a simple one line code at the very beginning of the code. It looks like this:

!DOCTYPE html

This will ensure a perfectly rendered site in every browser available.

2. Browser Detection

Unlike any other product, browsers are being loaded with technology to optimize output. This means less consumption, more output. But, due to these advancements, even javascript has a lot to offer to browsers. So, at times, when an old browser is being used chances are the javascript fails to detect the browser.

This is a common cross-browser compatibility issue which is faced due to obsolete java scripts. But, tackling this cross-browser issue is easy. You can remove the browser detection. Instead use Modernizer, a collection of ‘superfast tests’ which list all the features of a browser, hence giving you a seamless experience. Using this the developer can direct the site to focus on features rather than browsers.

3. HTML/ CSS Validation

Another major cross-browser compatibility issue faced by developers is the validation of HTML and CSS codes. This is mainly because different browsers read code differently. And not only read but also handle them differently.

There are times when developers are stuck with an error as small as missing out on closing a tag. While some browsers might auto correct, others might not display the feature it signifies. For example, missing out on might cause an error on Internet Explorer and not on chrome.

It is a very common cross-browser compatibility issue and has a simple solution. One can use code validating tools for HTML and CSS depending on their requirements. These validators are powered by W3C.

3.1 W3C html validator

3.2 Jigsaw CSS Validator

4. CSS Resets

Browsers by default have a design layout (CSS style) which is applied to the website. For any website to implement its own layout, the default has to be overridden. Until implemented, websites will be rendered differently on different browsers.

To overcome this cross-browser issue, the websites rendered are ‘reset’ to the same basics. For this, developers use CSS reset style sheets. Addition of the style sheet ensures avoidance of any layout design issue.

Some common reset style sheets used include HTML5Reset, Eric Meyers CSS Reset and the Github based Normalize.css.

5. Layout Compatibility

As previously mentioned, browsers have default layout styling. But, developers started using ‘Resets’ in CSS to remove the default design and apply their own.

It has been one of the most common cross-cross-browser compatibility issues and has often been associated with one of the two reasons. It is either due to an irresponsive design on mobile devices or due to the difference in or lack of support for layouts by modern browsers.

These issues are now easier to solve. A common solution is the use of floats which is supported by most browsers. But, a float is a floating image inside a text box and comes with limitations.

For the modern-day layout, dedicated layout mechanisms such as CSS grids and Flexbox have been introduced. These are supported by most modern browsers and are effectively used by developers.

6. Vendor Specific functions

The functions defined by the developer are, at times, contain functionality specific to browsers. While writing the CSS code, these browsers are denoted by specific codes.

To ensure proper functionality and avoid this cross-browser issue, one needs to ensure the addition of the function without the prefix as well. This will ensure there is no error in other browsers.

Common vendor prefixes include:

Mozilla Firefox (-moz)
Internet Explorer (-ms)
Opera (-o)
Safari and Chrome (-webkit)

7. Website Feature Functionality

While technology keeps evolving and there are workarounds for the changes, a check on the features of the website should be on your checklist to avoid cross-browser compatibility issues.

While cross-browser testing with tools is a part of the process, cross-checking the feature support with various browsers before putting it out in the market. Another important aspect is the use of polyfills and feature detection. This is a preventive measure which can improve cross-browser compatibility.

8- This certification is for anyone who wants to stay ahead among professionals who are growing their career in Selenium automation testing.

Here’s a short glimpse of the Selenium 101 certification from LambdaTest:

Hey! To detect on safari browser, click here. Test on Latest Safari Desktop and Mobile Browsers for Cross Browser Compatibility. Test on real Mac machines running real Safari browser online.

Use cross-browser friendly libraries and frameworks

Most websites are comprised of various third-party libraries and frameworks. These tools help developers to bring in structure, scalability, and security to the web applications. Using the wrong alternatives to these libraries can lead to a variety of cross-browser issues that can range from the incorrect working of library features to the complete framework crash.

To avoid such issues, it is highly recommended to use well known and trusted frameworks that are cross-browser friendly.

Angular JS and React JS are some examples of cross-browser friendly web application development frameworks.
Bootstrap, Animate are examples of trusted CSS libraries.
JQuery is an example of a cross-browser friendly scripting library.

9. Use Separate Stylesheets For Different Browsers

Stylesheets tend to have the capability to quickly turn into a mess. As more and more styles come into the picture, they get bulky and unstructured. In addition to this, if all the styles that cater to different browsers come into the same stylesheet, it becomes a maintenance nightmare.

To navigate from this difficulty, it is beneficial to keep the styles separate for each type of browser that the website supports. Once the separation is complete, it can be included within the same HTML page by using conditional comments which help in invoking the right stylesheet for the right type of browser.

Looking for the best Android emulator? Check out this blog, you will find a detailed list of all our top picks.

Use Separate Stylesheets For Different Browsers

In order to make sure that your website doesn’t have any cross browser compatibility issues, you need to test it across various real browsers and devices. The idea is to make sure your website performs seamlessly across various real browsers and devices used by your users.

Setting up your own device lab and infrastructure can be exhausting and consume a lot of time and money. This makes cross browser testing more difficult, as in order to scale your testing efforts you need to keep on adding more devices. With online Selenium Grid like LambdaTest, you can easily scale your efforts without worrying about setting up your own infrastructure. You just need to login to the platform and choose the device and browser combinations you want to test on.

New to safari developer tools? Check out this blog

Don’t forget to be sure by performing cross-browser testing

No matter how much you avoid bugs, they always find a way to creep in so you always need to test for cross-browser compatibility issues. At LambdaTest, we provide you with a seamless framework to perform cross-browser compatibility of your application. We are positive that our interactive and real-time testing platform will help you identify bugs, and issues and enable you to a proactive approach of fixing them.

16 Major Challenges Faced By Testers While Testing a Web Application

Subhamsaxena — Mon, 29 Aug 2022 12:20:18 +0000

Testing a web application can be a very hectic task. With the number of devices and browsers increasing day by day, apart from testing the functionality and performance, proper testing needs to be conducted to ensure that there is no impact on the overall user experience of the website. In this article, we shall discuss 16 challenges often faced by testers while testing a web application.

Cross Browser Compatibility

Earlier, when internet explorer was the only browser available, just unit testing would have done the job. But, currently, with hundreds of browsers along with their different versions available for desktop and mobile, cross-browser compatibility is a common issue. It is ideal for a tester to use a cloud testing platform like Lambdatest for testing whether the application is compatible across different browsers.

Responsiveness

The one thing to look out for while testing is whether the application fits properly in the device resolution. A tester must check if there are any horizontal scrolling, alignment or padding issues, and sizes of font and buttons in different devices.

It’s of utmost importance that your images are responsive to different resolutions. In this case use LT Browser a dev-friendly browser for mobile view debugging on which you can see the mobile view of your website on Android and iOS resolutions.

Cross-Device Compatibility

Nowadays, people mostly use mobile devices to access websites. Although there are a limited number of devices in iOS, the count increases tenfold when it comes to Android. It is important for a tester to target the devices where the application is meant to run and start testing in each of them.

Integration Testing

The rating of an application depends on its usability as well as functionality. Integration testing is a must thing to carry out at the user’s end to check whether the application is reliable, all the critical functionalities work properly as well as there is no significant impact on performance after merging new features.

Security

If the application has features like online transaction and payment gateways, testing should be executed to ensure that there are no chance of any fraudulent activities and local storage of payment-related data in the device.

Performance Testing

Often a web application gets too slow or crashes when the internet traffic increases all of a sudden. Performance testing should be carried out to ensure that there is no impact on the speed of performing an activity using the application.

Application Getting Slow

It does not matter what device is used to access the application, due to poor network coverage or low configuration of processor or physical memory an application may run slower or take an infinite time to load a page. Testing should be conducted to ensure that it is properly optimized to run properly under any condition.

Usability Testing

Interactive and dynamic web applications are always popular among users. Proper unit testing should be carried out across devices from the user’s perspective to ensure there are no such issues that may impact the usability of the application.

Entry and Exit Points

There are stages when a user will need to navigate out from the application to a third-party website and redirect from another website or gateway to the application. It is a real challenge to test whether this feature works properly.

Checking the Standards and Compliance

W3C has stated several standards and guidelines that every web application must comply to. To ensure proper site ranking in the search engine index, the code should be tested properly to check whether the website follows those standards and guidelines.

Firewalls

Often a web application is blocked by certain firewalls or port. This may be because of the security certificate or something else. Testing should be conducted to ensure that it behaves properly across all firewalls.

Accessibility Testing

W3C has mentioned several guidelines stated in Section 508 and WCAG which requires a website to be accessible by all people, especially people with disabilities. Testing should be conducted to ensure that users with hearing or sight disabilities can access the website with the use of screen-reader and other devices.

Hey! For Safari browser test, check this.

Project Deadline

Testing is often not conducted properly when a project is coming nearer to the deadline. It should be planned beforehand to ensure that there is a proper time for testing the functionality, performance, and usability of the application before it is deployed in production.

User Experience

Users love an application not only based on its functionality. But also on how great it is to use. Testers must check the overall design and user experience of the application to ensure that the user gets attracted and engaged while using it.

Hey! For safari simulators, check this.

Web Service Requests

All the latest web applications are integrated with web service layers like SOAP/JSON/XML, etc. The requests sent by those web services contain certain parameter values that need to be tested. This testing is particularly important if your web application has a Google Map API integrated with it.

Hey! To test on Safari, check this. Test on Latest Safari Desktop and Mobile Browsers for Cross Browser Compatibility. Test on real Mac machines running real Safari browser online.

User Input Validation

This is an important part often skipped during testing. Web applications may often feature forms to be filled up by users. Testing should be conducted to ensure that there are proper validation rules and in case of wrong input, the user is warned and further proceeding with the form submission is blocked until the input is corrected.

That’s all from our side. Always remember to test the above-mentioned facts carefully before your website is launched. Do let us know if you have faced any other challenges while testing your web application.

Now start your free web testing on the world’s fastest testing platform.

Some Common Layout Ideas For Web Pages

Subhamsaxena — Thu, 25 Aug 2022 13:19:00 +0000

The layout of a web page is one of the most important features of a web page. It can affect the traffic inflow by a significant margin. At times, a designer may come up with numerous layout ideas and sometimes he/she may struggle the entire day to come up with one. Moreover, design becomes even more important when it comes to ensuring cross browser compatibility.

Do you ever wonder why people tend to visit websites? Have you ever wondered why all websites seem similar? Most web designers keep their design subtle not merely due to sheer laziness or lack of ideas, but series of basic rules that come along with hidden advantages. They tend to follow it as a rule of thumb no matter much they want to satisfy the goals of the project.

The common layout of a web page holds a sense of familiarity with the user boosting their connection with the website. This leads to a shift of focus from the lavish designing of page to the substantial content which holds the supreme importance.

Overtime layouts have become usable, well-structured and easy to understand. This also enhances the reusability of existing web-layout reducing the time and money investment to a large extent., Let’s absorb the major thumb rules for the web layouts which holds a vital stand among the mainstreaming websites:

Present An Enthralling Start

The user mainly focuses on how simple or complex the information presented is. Header, yes the major the major attention to your brand begins here. The logo, links to contact, and other relevant information regarding website all lies in this one place. The one value proposition of the brand name can be enriched by working on essential features which can be incorporated in the website.

Make Readability Laid-back

For a reader, it is cumbersome to scroll a page horizontally. A majority of the users prefer the web browser to be wide enough in order to avoid horizontal scroll . The main viewing window should be at least 780 pixels wide. Thus enhancing the readability level.

A website contains many pages, but no visitor tends to read beyond the first page. Therefore, web site designers try wrapping maximum amount of information into a single page. This usually leads to designing of web pages with width ranging from 780 to 640 pixels.

Click here to know more about safari developers tools

The Main Content

The maximum space of the website should be covered with well-structured content. Although this part of website holds the maximum transitions but the main content is preferably static.
Content can be put up through divisions of the layout into one column or two or maybe three. It is in the hands of the designer to add a spin to this section depending on the website and client requirement.

1-column layout

This kind of layout is generally preferred with the upcoming revolution for mobile browsers. This is one of the easiest layouts as not only does it provide smooth navigation to users but also fits mobile screen perfectly. This kind of layout is best suitable for personal blogs and microblogs like Tumblr. The addition of ‘sticky’ for this layout allows comfortable scrolling through pages, making the visitor avoid scrolling way back up to navigate.

2-column layout

Often termed as the split-screen layouts, it is most preferable for medium sized screens like laptops and tablets. A website tends to offer such designs if information to be presented holds equal weightage . It is advisable to avoid this layout style, but one can try adding animation or visual representations to make the outcome more engaging and dynamic

The 2-column layout can have an upgraded version with asymmetric column which helps the user to differentiate between useful and less useful content. The asymmetric view uplifts better segregation behaviour by focusing user’s attention on the informative objects. The use of high colour contrast can add weightage to this version.

3-column layout

The only suitable layout for big screens like desktop comes through this section. The entire focus lies on the central part of this layout. Because content is all that you survive on! The unequal arrangement in this column earns the website a quick glance as well as makes the navigation rapid.

Though we had a brief insight of the most common transformations which can be done with this version, but the real magic begins when we mix match them and come up with brewing layouts.

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Fixed Sidebars

Along with the top-side horizontal navigation, it is also possible to provide assistance of menus by keeping them static in the side bars of the web page. If the website holds limited navigation options this layout supports the designer. It is a preferable look for a majority of websites as it gives the user an overview of the entire website in a single glance.

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Footer

While you are underestimating the importance of footers, it is saving the day all around the internet. Before the visitor hits the bottom of the web page, it catches the visitor like those safety nets. Footer is nothing but choosing how to conclude, with a purpose of helping visitors and meeting the business goals.

This layout is visible at the bottom of every page of the web site. Likeheader, this section generally covers the often ignored yet global information like copyrights, contact details, office locations.

With the growing twists to each section, this static footer can be transformed to dynamic by upgrading it with easy-to-navigate feature to other sections of the web page. How much can you make the visitor scroll down depends on how well you summarize your footer.

Designing and developing a web page is one thing but making sure that it is working as intended, the other. Yet, both are equally important. So, you need to make sure that the webpage that you have developed works perfectly across all browsers, OS, and devices( mobile, desktop, and tablets). You can use LambdaTest after developing your web page to test for cross browser compatibility.

Well, now that your mind is all set with the structure and ideas to shape a perfect yet simple website, make sure that content remains the king. A website manages to be sustainable if among all the visual variations it manages to channelize the traffic towards itself. We know that clients often demand tested and tried solutions but with a basic understanding the layouts, we can come up with designs that are outstanding and would not get lost in the sea of homogeneity.

Making cross browser compatible Vue.Js Apps and the challenges involved

Subhamsaxena — Thu, 25 Aug 2022 11:53:00 +0000

Since the day world’s second browser was launched, Cross-platform support seems to be one of the major issues faced by designers and developers worldwide. Web developers were already tackling with issues such as faster development time, code reusability, accuracy, etc, and were building robust prepackaged frameworks to help in development. So it was no surprise that they added cross browser compatibility as a major feature of these frameworks. Out of those frameworks, one the most popular ones is Vue.JS and this post is all about cross browser compatibility in Vue.JS apps.

So, what exactly does it mean for an app to be cross-browser compatible ? Let’s understand it through an example –

Just imagine that you work in an office and they follow the BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) trend. ‘Bring Your Own Device’ means the employees need to carry their personal device to the workplace so that the applications used for work can be run on the employee’s own device thus, saving the company from the need to provide each employee with a device.
For this set up to work properly, the apps of the company must have been developed in such a way that they operate flawlessly across all the devices irrespective of the software/hardware environment of the device. That is without worrying about the operating system, configuration or the browser, the company should be able to command the employees to install the apps on their personal devices and the apps must work well.

This is where cross-platform mobile development support steps in. It is all about developing the apps in such a way that they run on different platforms flawlessly. A lot of technologies provide commendable support for easy development of such apps.

Vue.js is comparatively a new entrant in the market of web app development. Still, it has managed to steal a significant number of developers as fans giving other technologies a run for their money.

First of all, let me make it clear here that out-of-the-box Vue.js framework is pretty cross browser compatible. Nearly all basic components are supported by all major browsers that support JavaScript. However, and this is the major point here, no website is build using just out-of-the box Vue.js. In it’s a framework, and people use it to build apps faster. Nearly every project that I have worked on required tweaking some classes, adding functionality thourgh Vue.js plugins, integrating with other custom modules, integrating with third party modules, and most importantly a large amount of custom CSS and JS. This much mess is bound to create CSS clashes, incompatibility, JS errors and as expected, browser compatibility errors.

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The challenges of making a cross browser compatible Vue.js app

A common problem faced by developers while working with Vue.js is that it doesn’t support IE8. The language only works on DOM elements in Internet Explorer 8. No way is present to polyfill it for JavaScript objects. This is one of the major issues faced by the developers while developing cross platform apps with Vue.js.
Making use of tools such as Capacitor and Electron, development of cross-platform apps using Vue.js has become exceptionally easy. Acting as a native bridge for cross-platform web apps and popularly known as a spiritual successor to Apache Cordova and Adobe PhoneGap, Capacitor allows you to build applications with contemporary web technologies and run it literally on any platform. You can now start with your free PhoneGap testing on the cloud.

Making use of Capacitor, Vue and some other tools, we will here look at the major steps involved in designing an innovative mobile application for Android. We won’t go into understanding the source code as of now. Let it be a story for another day.
The following are the steps involved –

The first step is to install the Vue CLI V3 followed by generating a new Vue project. We also need to add Ionic 4 to our environment since we shall be using some Ionic 4 UI components to do a bit of styling for our mobile application.
The next step is to add the Vue components. We will also add a navigation to our app using the Vue router here.
In this step, capacitor is added. There are two ways to add it –

You may create a new capacitor project from scratch.
You may add capacitor to an existing front-end project.

In the next step step, we integrate capacitor with Vue and use various capacitor plugins to gain access of native features of devices without having to write specific code for each platform.
In the final step, we build the app for target platforms.

That was a quick overview of the steps involved in using Capacitor to build a cross-platform app with Vue.js. For the detailed source code, you may refer to this website and launch your own mini mobile application like a pro

Rather than using Capacitor, Electron can also be used for developing cross-platform apps with Vue,js. Combining the best of React’s component approach and Angular’s templates, Vue.js has the best of all worlds. Developing native apps using Vue.js using Weex or NativeScript is another popular topic of study for budding as well as experienced developers.
NativeScrip for Cross Platform Mobile and Web Apps Using NativeScript with Vue, using the nativescript-vue plugin provided by the NativeScript community has bridged the gap between virtual DOM and NativeScript components making the development of cross-platform apps with Vue.js literally a walk in the park. Here is a brief introduction of using Vue.js with NativeScript for further reference.

Vue.js being a JavaScript framework faces some common JavaScript problems. Some of the features of this modern framework are not supported in old browsers and lead to error messages.

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Code Quality Leads To Browser Compatibility

Using Linters can help you here by providing better quality code, vulnerable to less error messages. Apart from that, resorting to browser developer tools can help you debug the code and add breakpoints. These breakpoints can be of immense help and help you layout the path for further action.

Hey! For Safari Browser online testing try LambdaTest Latest Safari Desktop and Mobile Browsers for Cross Browser Compatibility

Pollyfills

Another way out, that can effectively help you secure a way out of cross browser problems is using polyfills. These provide the necessary functionality to the old browsers using which the browsers start supporting the features of modern frameworks like Vue.js. Feature detection is another important method to judge whether a feature will be supported by a browser or not. Using these two in collaboration can save you from a lot of cross browser trouble.

Adapting to coding practices making use of ready-made code libraries supporting cross browser compatibility can also help you develop nice applications.

It can safely be concluded that even though it is a new entrant as compared to Angular and React, Vue.js is one of the best technologies available today for cross platform development of apps. The number of problems faced is significantly low as compared to the prospects.

Curated Tools For Accessibility Testing Of Websites

Subhamsaxena — Mon, 22 Aug 2022 13:00:00 +0000

Accessibility testing means to make sure that your website is user-friendly for the users with disabilities like hearing, color blindness, old age and other disadvantaged groups. It is a subset of usability testing. The Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) defines and lays out the strategy for preliminary and conformance reviews of websites for accessibility testing. The Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) consists of a list of software tools. These tools help with conformance evaluations.

A lot of online tools are also available these days to performing streamlined accessibility testing of websites. Here, we have compiled a list of such tools for you –

1. DYNO Mapper

DYNO Mapper is a tool that is used to check the accessibility of various websites and applications. You may test the accessibility of any public website or online application using DYNO Mapper. The platform has a feature called ‘visualize’ that lets its users view the accessibility tests live in a browser. Apart from that, it evaluates HTML content of the website and creates a sitemap for URL. It generates efficient online reports which are saved for easy access by shared sub-users.

2. Bureau Of Internet Accessibility

With the passage of time, it has become essential for all the mobile and desktop applications to be compliant with the accessibility standards. However, it can be difficult to understand the WCAG 2.0 Guidelines and other complex standards. The Bureau of Internet Accessibility (BoIA) has been set up with an aim to make the web as accessible as possible. The platform generates extensive outputs and has been helping the business houses resolve their accessibility testing issues since long. It has an easy to understand interface and makes sure that the web and mobile accessibility efforts are meaningful and successful for the user.

3. Automated Accessibility Testing Tool

No longer do you need to develop, test, and use a separate accessibility test suite for your website. Make use of Automated Accessibility Testing Tool by PayPal to put together accessibility testing into the testing regime that you already have been using and save a lot of time. The tool is renowned for testing web applications regarding conformance to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 with ease and accuracy. You may even configure test server configurations inside the firewall, and test individual pages using this platform.

4. CKEditor 4 Accessibility Checker

Use CKEditor 4 accessibility checker to inspect the accessibility of your created content. The tool helps you resolve any issues at once and ensures compliance with the latest WCAG 2.0 and Section 5.08 requirements. It makes your content accessible in real time and is a real lifesaver. The accessibility checker is a whole new feature launched by CKEditor. The latest version 1.0 was released on May 19, 2016. The tool has an incredibly simple user interface and ensures the accessibility of the content without any complications. This award-winning platform has been getting excellent reviews from users all over the world.

5. Cynthia Says

Cynthia Says is a portal offered through HiSoftware and assists its users in identifying the web accessibility compliance errors in their website or web portal. Using the platform, the users can test their individual pages on their website. The tool will provide them with feedback in an easily understandable format. It was launched with an aim to inform the community on what constitutes accessible web design and accessible content.

6. Tenon

Tenon is yet another renowned web accessibility testing tool. The tool is quite famous for being flexible, rigorous and accurate. The program makes use of API, and will easily get integrated into your already existing toolset. It creates reports of evaluation results. Apart from that, it automatically checks single web pages, groups of web pages or websites. Password protected or restricted pages also fall under its domain. The format of the reports generated can be HTML, XML, CSV, and JSON.

7. SortSite

Federal agencies, Fortune 100 Corporations and a lot of independent consultancies use this one-click website testing tool called SortSite. The tool may be used as a desktop application for Window and Mac environments but is also available as a web application. The tool checks your web page for accessibility, compatibility, privacy, usability and search engine optimization. The tool is offered through PowerMapper and presents reports of evaluation results. It makes use of inside and outside firewalls, including intranets and development sites for functioning.

8. Axe

Axe is a secure and popular tool for accessibility testing of websites. It is rather a well-developed library of open source rules for accessibility testing. It was developed with an aim of allowing the developers to perform automated accessibility testing easily. You may add it as an extension to your browser and get started instantly. It will point out the piece of code that causes the issue and proposes a solution for it as well.

Click here for Safari browser test on Desktop and Mobile Browsers for Cross Browser Compatibility. Test on real Mac machines running real Safari browser online.

9. AInspector Sidebar

AInspector Sidebar is a Firefox extension. It is a well-known tool for performing the accessibility testing of websites. This decent web accessibility evaluation tool makes sure that your website conforms to the accessibility standards based on WCAG 2.0 Level A and AA requirements and other web accessibility standards (e.g. WAI-ARIA 1.0).

Click here for Safari simulators on Desktop and Mobile Browsers for Cross Browser Compatibility. Test on real Mac machines running real Safari browser online.

10. AChecker

AChecker is an open source tool used for the evaluation of the accessibility of various websites. It evaluates single HTML pages for ensuring their conformity with the accessibility standards set and helps you ensure that your content can be accessed by everyone. The tool has been designed by Inclusive Design Research Center and is a popular platform for accessibility testing. Simply enter the URL of the website that you want to test or upload an HTML file to get the results. It will generate an accessibility report for you in a format that you want.

Apart from that, an important point to note here is that accessibility has a deeper meaning. Apart from making sure that your web application is suitable for use by people with disabilities, the factor is an indicator of how accessible your website is for different users. For instance, in case different users accessing your website using different platforms or operating systems can operate it flawlessly, your website stands well on the accessibility front. A lot of online tools like LambdaTest are available today that help you test your website for cross-browser accessibility. Tools like LamdaTest make sure that your website is accessible to each and every section of users.

Click here to test on safari emulator for windows.

100+ Free Online Tools From LambdaTest!

LambdaTest has come up with an index of 100+ free online tools for developers and testers. From HTML, XML, and JSON formatters to robust data generators, and hash calculators. LambdaTest’s free online tools are built to help engineering teams accelerate and be more productive with their daily activities.

Code Tidy

JSON Prettify
JSON Minify
HTML Prettify
HTML Minify
JavaScript Minify
CSS Minify
CSS Prettify
XML Minify
XML Prettify

Data Format

IDN Encode
IDN Decode
XML to JSON Converter
JSON to XML Converter
BCD to Decimal
HEX to Decimal
Decimal to BCD
UTF8 Decode
UTF8 Encode
HEX to RGB Converter
RGB to HEX Converter
HTML to Markdown Converter
Markdown to HTML Converter
Decimal to Gray Code Converter
Gray Code to Decimal
URL Decode
URL Encode
Base64 Encode
Base64 Decode
Text to HTML Entities Converter
HTML Entities to Text Converter

Random Data

Random JSON Generator
Random XML Generator
Random CSV Generator
Random YAML Generator
Placeholder Image Generator
Random Binary Generator
Random Character Generator
Random Color Generator
Random Date Generator
Random Decimal Fraction Generator
Random Decimal Generator
Random GUID Generator
Random HEX Generator
Random Octal Generator
Random IP Generator
Random MAC Generator
Random Number Generator
Random Paragraph Generator
Random Password Generator
Random Time Generator
Random UUID Generator
Random Sentence Generator
Random String Generator
Random Word Generator
Random Data from RegEXP
Test Data Generator
Lorem Ipsum Generator
Credit Card Number Generator
QR Code Generator
Random Byte Generator

Security Tools

Hash Calculator
Hash MAC Generator
CRC32 Hash Calculator
CRC32B Hash Calculator
Ripe MD 128 Hash Calculator
Ripe MD 160 Hash Calculator
Ripe MD 256 Hash Calculator
Ripe MD 320 Hash Calculator
MD2 Hash Calculator
MD4 Hash Calculator
Adler32 Hash Calculator
Gost Hash Calculator
Whirlpool Hash Calculator
MD5 Hash Calculator
SHA1 Hash Calculator
SHA256 Hash Calculator
SHA384 Hash Calculator
SHA512 Hash Calculator

Utils

Find and Replace String
HTML Escape
HTML Unescape
Difference Checker
Shuffle Letters
Shuffle Text Lines
Sorting List
Split Your String
Text Lowercase
Text Uppercase
Text Repeater
Text Rotator
Character Count
Word Count
Lines Count
Sentence Count
URL Parse
JSON Escape
JSON Unescape
Extract Text from HTML
Extract Text from JSON
Extract Text from XML
Strip HTML
JSON Validator