Selenium Pros and Cons for Automation Testing

Selenium is a tool for automating various operations that can be performed in a browser, and in this article, we will discuss it. Often they are an open source framework and help the developers and testers in testing the Web applications in different browsers and operating systems.

In this article, you will find the Selenium definition, its main benefits, and possible drawbacks, mostly for web testing newcomers and those users who have already made their decision that it is time to turn to automation. In fact, by the time you complete reading this blog, you will have grasped the concept associated with this common tool as well as how it may be used to improve your testing.

What Is Selenium?

Selenium is software that is available for free, and it assists one in testing web applications through automated tests. This one can issue commands and can perform actions on all the web elements with the help of drivers supported by the browser.

Among the features and benefits that, when compiled, add up to the value are as follows: Selenium supports a number of browsers and platforms. For those looking to dive deeper into Selenium, you can check out this Selenium Training course.

When Should We Use Selenium?

Selenium is a very useful tool that can be used in different types and kinds of testing and improves the quality of the web applications.

Below are some key situations where Selenium is highly effective:

1. Integration Testing

Selenium is helpful when it comes to the integration testing, which is done where two or more modules or subsystems are involved. This kind of testing makes sure that components of a certain application interface with each other as planned to reduce interface problems.

2. Performance Testing

Selenium is used in performance testing where it quantifies the software’s through-put under a given load. This assists in evaluating whether the application meets its intended use in as much as response times are concerned, which is very important to the users.

3. Compatibility Testing

Another strength of selenium is in compatibility testing where the system’s command is tested on different versions to check compatibility. With this tool, you are able to run tests on different browsers and platforms automatically without having to perform the tests for each of the environments.

4. From interaction and URL testing

Selenium is very useful to test web applications which involves form or URLs to be filled up or accessed respectively. For instance, it can find out whether form inputs are handled properly and whether the proper response is given.

5. Cross-Browser and Cross-Platform Testing

Selenium has proven to be very efficient for conducting test on web applications on different operating system and browsers. If you would like to know how your application looks and performs in Windows/Chrome and Mac/Firefox scenarios simultaneously, through Selenium it is possible to execute this scenario without testing each of those in specific combinations.

What Are the Pros of Selenium?

Free and Open-Source

One of the greatest advantages of Selenium is that it is a free and open-source testing tool. This makes it possible for small businesses, medium businesses, and even giant corporate businesses, as well as for internet firms. The tool is also open-source, and it is supported by a huge number of developers who actively work on the tool’s improvement, new features, and making sure it is relevant with the latest technologies.

Cross-browser and cross-platform support

Selenium works with the Chrome, Firefox, and Safari browsers and works on Windows, macOS, and Linux. This makes it very suitable when testing web applications so as to shorten your app’s learning curve on how to serve all its users well.

CI/CD Integration

As a matter of fact, selenium is well compatible with the commonly used CI/CD tools such as Jenkins, Bamboo, and CircleCI, thus facilitating the automation of the testing process. This means that each time new code is installed, your tests are run, which detects problems early during the development phase.

Mobile Testing Support

Thus, with the help of tools like Appium, Selenium is also advanced in mobile testing and can perform the automated test on the web applications of mobile devices. This is handy for teams who are working on both desktop and mobile web applications.

Parallel Test Execution

Selenium Grid lets you execute tests concurrently, and this is why, in cases of a great number of tests, the time needed to execute all of them can be cut down. This is especially true if an application is massive, and the programmer needs to test every bit of the feature, for instance.

Strong Community Support

Selenium has a large number of user groups who participate in the forums, create tutorials, and develop third-party tools. This support system is invaluable to the rookie and the expert testers, who may sometimes find it hard to apply certain features of the tool in testing.

If you’re preparing for a career in Selenium testing, check out this guide on Selenium Interview Questions.

What Are the Cons of Selenium?

Only Supports Web Applications

Of course, Selenium is a great tool for testing web applications; however, it is limited by its functionality and only works with web applications. Selenium alone cannot be used to automate testing of a desktop or mobile application unless it is a mobile browser.

No Built-in Image Comparison

Surprisingly, Selenium does not support image comparison out of the box, which can be an issue if your tests rely on images. To achieve this, you would have to use third-party libraries, which makes the testing more complicated.

No Reporting Features

Selenium, for example, has no function that can create reports automatically. This means that for report creation, testers have to use third-party tools or have to write scripts on their own. For instance, suppose you have a project for which you have to create reports that need to be presented to the management, who are the stakeholders; the Selenium has to be integrated with the reporting tools, including TestNG or JUnit, much of the time.

Lack of Official Support

Selenium does not have a special support service section due to the fact that Selenium is open source. This is interesting because the community is active, but while seeking a solution to a given complication, it may take a longer time to find one, especially if one is new in the field. There is no option of support on that front, and you will have to wait for the forums, the documentation, or a third party for help.

Such limitations make Selenium less suitable for projects that have to support Selenium more comprehensively or are not merely web application testing ones.

Conclusion

Indeed, Selenium is a fast, reliable, and versatile tool that is used in automating web application acceptance testing. It excels most when cross-browser and cross-platform testing is needed, and the fact that it is open source also helps. Still, it has several drawbacks, including no possibility to compare images and no report feature, which makes it possible to state that it may not be useful in every project.