Benefits of Using Selenium as an Automation Testing Tool

Selenium is so popular that even Google and Facebook use it to automate the testing of their web interfaces. Developed by Jason Huggins in 2004 as an internal tool at ThoughtWorks, Selenium has come a long way to become the most popular open source tools for QA automation. A tool that is available for free, Selenium has two versions – Selenium WebDriver and Selenium IDE. While both these versions are designed to cater to automation testing of web applications and web interfaces, they have distinct functions to perform. For starters, WebDriver is designed for browser-based regression tests. Selenium IDE, on the other hand, is primarily used for the creation of exploratory tests and unit tests.

When used in General User Interface (GUI) testing and functionality testing of web applications, Selenium creates an automation script that instructs the browser to perform actions on the web app that are similar to what is expected from real users, such as clicking on elements and navigation buttons, filling forms, etc. There are several factors that contribute to the popularity of Selenium, and most automation testing tools available today, such as Appium and QARA Test, are based on Selenium.

Selenium is a Cost Effective Tool…

• It does not call for any initial investment as it is a completely free tool.
• It ensures availability of free support too, with an active online community supporting one another and sharing new updates.

Offers the Benefits of Open Source Software…

• Facilitates easy extension and modification of the code to create customized test scripts to meet your requirements.
• Allows users to share their modified code with the active online community.
• Saves time and effort and leads to higher ROI.

Offers Wider Scope of Automation…

• Selenium is, in principle, designed to run on multiple browsers, including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer, Opera and Safari.
• It also offers support for a range of platforms, including Windows, macOS and Linux operating systems.

Offers Unmatched Flexibility…

• Although Selenium is scripted in Java, it beautifully supports a host of other languages to help your QA team choose whichever language they are most comfortable working with. Ruby, Python, PHP, Java, Perl, to name a few.
• It’s an automation testing tool that offers users multiple options to create test scripts. Users can record or saving actions on the web application, or use Firebug and other web development tools to create scripts manually.
• It integrates seamlessly with most popular tools available in the market today, including SauceLabs, Hudson, QMetry, Selenium-Grid, and others, thus offering flexibility in the choice of build systems and reporting tools.

Creates High Performance…

• Selenium’s Integrated Development Environment (IDE) allows creation of test samples, which speeds up the process of test automation.
• The functionality of executing multiple test cases in parallel and grid execution, along with testing simultaneously across devices and browsers, makes it the perfect to make QA a faster process.

As an automation testing tool, Selenium does have a few drawbacks and to begin with, does not offer QA management. However, the benefits it offers to QA personnel across the globe, make it the perfect choice for a host of testing types, including regression testing and unit testing. With the speed it brings into the process, Selenium is also the preferred platform for agile testing.