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August 13, 2021

10 Questions To Ask While Selecting A Cross Browser Testing Tool



In the Software Development Industry, cross browser testing is also popularly known as cross Browser compatibility testing. The primary aim of this testing process is to ensure a consistent User experience across all platforms and browsers. Moreover, with the help of this testing, the developers can reveal various fatal issues that were hidden during the development process. So, with the help of cross-browser compatibility testing, the developers can exactly find the location of all the bugs and remove them quickly. No company wants to alienate a major portion of the audience base due to device incompatibility. The developers need to find a unified platform that serves all the requirements for a successful web application.



The tools for Cross-browser testing plays a vital role in ensuring the success of the entire development process. The developers need to consider various factors while making the choice. So, in this article, we will discuss all the vital questions that can help you choose the perfect tool according to your business requirements. 

10 Questions to Ask for Selecting the Perfect Cross-Browser Testing Tool

1. Does it Support all the Popular Browsers and OS Combinations?

While selecting a cross-browser testing tool, you must ensure that it allows you to test your web application for all the browsers and operating systems. This process will allow you to ensure that the application is responsive, accessible, and has a fluid design. Before starting the testing process, the developers need to perform thorough research on all the popular browsers and OS combinations.  Accessing the traffic analysis data can help developers to get a rough idea of all the popular browsers in the present market. For instance, developers should test the web application on all browsers that gets at least 5% of the total internet traffic. The development project requirements also have a vital role in choosing the various combinations. 

2. Can the Testing Tool Integrate with Your Company’s Development Workflow?

Continuous integration and continuous delivery are considered to be some of the most important parts of the modern development process. For instance, the developers follow Agile (News - Alert) development practices that require them to conduct frequent test cases. So, it is helpful to choose a tool that allows them to effortlessly integrate CD/CI technology. Moreover, the developers must ensure that the cross-browser testing tool allows them to run parallel test scenarios on various browsers and OS combinations. It is a good idea to ensure that the cross-browser compatibility testing tool supports various features like scriptless test automation and test scheduling. These features are highly essential considering the modern web development trends. 

3. Is there any possibility to Increase the Test Coverage?

All modern web applications consist of complex requirements and features. So, the developers have to create large test suites with lots of test cases to focus on certain user interface requirements. Executing all these test scenarios will consume a massive portion of the total development life cycle. While the developers might focus on these test cases, they can easily forget to test the web application on certain device-specific configurations. In the modern web Development Industry, every browser comes with its unique set of features, and missing any of them might drastically influence your web application performance. The developers must also remember that most of the end-users will not be using the updated version of any Browser. So, they should give priority to older versions of all browsers.  

4. Does the Tool Promote Time-Efficiency?

Time is one of the most important aspects of the entire world. In the competitive web Development Industry, time is one of the deciding factors that can influence the success of any company. So, the developers must choose a tool that requires very minimal maintenance and human intervention. It is a wise decision to choose a Cross-browser compatibility testing tool that is user-friendly and simple to learn for beginners. Certain features such as accessible components, a quick start guide, and intuitive navigation make a tool easily graspable for beginners. In this competitive world, the developer must choose tools that require minimal human intervention for the development and execution of test suites. In simple terms, all these features can help companies significantly reduce the development time and quickly deliver high-quality web applications to the end-users. 

5. Can it Generate Test Report for each Configuration?

Powerful test reports are the easiest way to fix bugs quickly and efficiently. Moreover, the quick actionable feedback should also generate a detailed report about all the failed test cases. All these reports will help the developers to analyse the vital flaws that are present in the core framework of the web application. The developers can also adopt a drill-down approach to carefully analyse all the failed test cases and report the identified bugs. Certain Automated cross-browser platforms like LambdaTest attach screenshots or videos along with the test reports. This additional data helps the developer to detect bugs along with the configuration-specific test reports. Moreover, it allows the developers to get a basic idea about which part of the application fails to perform. They can perform these tests on any specific browser or operating system. 

6. Does it Help the Teams to Collaborate?

For the creation of a high-quality web application, the testing team should work in close coordination with other teams working at different levels of the development project. This process will allow the testers to document and share the final test results with the specific teams that can debug and remove those issues. Bug reporting plays a vital role in the entire software testing life cycle. It is a good idea for the testers to categorise the bugs according to their severity and occurrence. This process saves a lot of time and resources in the development life cycle. For instance, the developers do not have to make any duplicate efforts to find the bugs again. 

7. Does it offer Effective Customer Support?

Customer support should be one of the most important aspects of the developer’s checklist for finding the best cross-browser testing tool. As we already discussed in the early part of this article, every tool has its unique set of features and a learning curve.  So, the developers must ensure that it is quite easy to learn for new testers. The tool must have proper means to support customers with the help of emails, phone calls, or live chat. It is also a wise decision to analyze the reviews of the cross-browser testing tool. This process will help to understand its features from a customer's point of view. 

Certain cross-browser testing platforms like LamdaTest have introductory videos and a quick start guide. These can help the testers get accustomed to their unique features. In simple terms, the developers must invest in those cross-browser compatibility tools that deliver their promises. 

8. How Appealing is it for New Companies?

The web development industry is often considered to be one of the fastest-growing businesses in the entire world. So, it is a common assumption that every day, new companies are entering this comparative segment of the business. So, if you work for a Start-up business, then you cannot afford to invest thousands of dollars behind a cross-browser testing tool. From a business point of view, you need to find a cross-browser testing tool that will not only serve your purpose but also suit your business budget. In such cases, it is a wise decision to look for open-source tools. These tools are usually maintained by a community of tech enthusiasts. Once the company starts making enough, you always have the opportunity to upgrade your test environment

9. Can it Help with an Automated Testing Environment?

Automated testing has become one of the dominant norms of the present web Development Industry. In this present generation, almost all development companies are transforming their manual testing environment into a cloud-based automated testing setup. The developers must ensure that the cross-browser testing tool is compatible with the already existing automated testing setup.  Certain platforms like LamdaTest help companies to perform automated cross-browser testing on Selenium servers. All these features are highly essential to maintain the quality of the web application. Developers should also pay proper attention to enable DevOps integration in their cross-browser testing setup. The DevOps and Agile integration help the different teams of the company to work together and create high-quality apps. 

10. How can Your Company Profit from the Tool?

While running a business, the primary motive is to consider the long-term profit of the business. This same rule is applicable for the tool selection process as well. The companies can easily conduct this process by comparing their initial investment along with their yearly return estimates. They should also consider the maintenance charges during this process. As we discussed earlier, the new companies should concentrate on open-source tools. These tools are highly competitive considering the current market standards. As the company grows, they can consider upgrading their tools and testing environment to improve their company standards. In simple terms, companies should integrate a tool only after considering that it can influence the testing environment in the long run. 

In various parts of the article, we have used LambdaTest as a reference for high-quality automated cross-browser testing platforms. So, it is a fair opportunity to learn more about this tool. LambdaTest allows the developers to perform automated cross-browser testing on an online Selenium grid. The servers provide a safe and secure testing grid for the developers. By using LambdaTest, the developers can test the web application on thousands of operating systems and device combinations. LambdaTest also helps the developers to verify the cross-browser compatibility of the locally hosted web applications. It also helps the developers to verify the proper placement of all the visual elements in the web application. Lastly, the developers can quickly log all the bugs using this platform and sort them out before the official launch. 

The Final Verdict

Cross-browser compatibility testing plays a vital role in providing high-quality web applications for the end-users.  A faulty web application can result in irritated customers which can finally cause the downfall of the company. This is also one of the main reasons for high bounce rates and low conversion rates. So, companies need to choose proper cross-browser testing tools to utilize the full potential of the development environment. In this article, we discussed various points that will help companies to choose the perfect tool according to the business requirements. It is also a good measure for the developers to perform thorough research on the recent market trends and customer demands.  All these factors will help the companies to understand the demands of their end-users and provide customised services.  



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