Cross-browser testing: the best prerequisite for successful websites

In the last few decades, the Internet has experienced tremendous growth. As a result, more devices led to more users, more platforms and browsers, and ultimately more ways to view websites. We explain why this aspect is important in website development and introduce you to five cross-browser testing tools.

Each browser supports a diverse mix of web technologies. In order to create a website that should look good on as many browsers as possible, it is advisable to carry out systematic cross-browser testing. After all, if your website isn't compatible with a wide range of browsers, your competitors will take advantage. Users are unlikely to visit a website that has design or functional errors a second time. It also reduces trust in your products. There is a good chance that potential customers will switch to your competition.

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Why is cross-browser testing important?

Cross-browser testing ensures that your websites and web applications work on an acceptable number of web browsers and for as many users as possible, regardless of which browser or device they are using. you must remember

  • Test different browsers, including slightly older ones that some people might still be using and that don't support all of the latest CSS and JavaScript features.
  • Test different devices with different features, from the latest tablets and smartphones to Smart TVs, cheap tablets and even older phones with features that may run browsers with limited functionality.
  • that people with disabilities use the web with the help of assistive technologies such as screen readers or do not use a mouse (some people only use the keyboard).

What do you need to test?

There are a few factors that go into cross-browser testing:

  • HTML or XHTML validation
  • CSS validation
  • Ajax and JQeury functionality
  • Special characters with HTML character encoding
  • all images and alignment and font size validation
  • Page validations with and without JavaScript enabled
  • Page styles in multiple resolutions
  • footer and header
  • Zoom in and out of the page
  • date formats

What does cross-browser mean?

When people say "cross-browser websites," the first thing they say is that they should provide an acceptable user experience across browsers. It's okay if a site isn't equally user-friendly across browsers, as long as the core functionality is accessible. On modern browsers, users might get something animated in 3D, while on older browsers they just get a flat graphic that provides the same information.

How many browsers do you need to test?

Testing "across an acceptable number of web browsers" doesn't mean 100 percent of the world's browsers. While you can find out what browsers and devices your users prefer, you can't make any guarantees. As a web developer, you need to agree on a set of browsers and devices that the code definitely needs to work on. In addition, you must program defensively to give other browsers the best possible chance of using your content.

Why do cross-browser problems occur?

There are many different reasons for cross-browser issues:

  • Browsers have bugs or implement functions differently. Luckily, many browsers these days adhere to standards much better than they used to.
  • Some browsers may have a different level of technology feature support than others. This is inevitable when you need to support really old browsers that are no longer being developed and may have been frozen long before a new feature was even invented.
  • Some devices may have limitations that cause a website to run slowly or display poorly. For example, if a website was not designed to be responsive.
  • If your website has a lot of large animations, it may be fine on a high-spec tablet, but sluggish or jerky on a low-end device.

5 top cross-browser testing tools

To ensure that your websites work for as many users as possible, we present five cross-browser testing tools:

1. Cross browser testing

Cross Browser Testing offers interactive browser compatibility tests for both mobile and desktop browsers. It is available for multiple operating systems. It is a well-known commercial cross-browser testing tool and supports around 2,500 different operating systems and browsers, including mobile browsers. Mainly, the tool offers live testing (manual testing), visual testing (screenshots), and automated testing. It's a great platform for designers and developers to collaborate on testing projects. Among other things, CrossBrowserTesting has automated screenshot functions and localhost support.

2.Sauce Labs

Figure - Sauce Labs

Sauce Labs is a premium all-in-one cloud-based framework for testing your websites and mobile applications on all major devices and browsers. Another feature that makes it stand out from the crowd is that it does not require any VM setup or maintenance to run the test cases. Sauce Labs typically focuses on continuous testing so you get instant feedback on your changes throughout the development process. It offers you scalability, broad test coverage and years of experience to accelerate the software test lifecycle and shorten your build times.

3. BrowserStack

Figure - BrowserStack

BrowserStack is the world's leading cross-browser testing tool. It tests with real browsers on real machines that allow both software testers and developers to test websites and mobile applications. It's cloud-based, so it doesn't require any installation. The pre-installed developer tools are helpful for quick debugging and cross-browser testing. With it you can run live tests and automated tests on mobile devices and web browsers.

4. Browser Shots

Figure - browser shots

With browser shots you can test a website in any browser and operating system for free. It is a widely used browser compatibility testing tool due to its features and available customizations. You can run cross-browser compatibility tests with excellent customization options such as browser type, operating system, screen size, color depth, JavaScript status, and Flash enable/disable settings. Just enter your website URL, select compatibility test parameters and submit the test request.

However, you must repeat these steps for each test. This cross-browser testing tool can be used to take website screenshots in different browsers and operating systems. It supports 200 different browsers such as Firefox, Google Chrome, Opera, Safari, SeaMonkey, Arora, Dillo, Epiphany, Konqueror, Lynx, Luakit, Rekonq and Midori many more browsers with all versions.

Main disadvantage: The tests take a relatively long time. Also, a timeout error is often displayed.

5. Lambda test

Figure - LambdaTest

LambdaTest is a cloud-based powerful cross-browser testing platform that allows you to perform cross-browser compatibility testing of your web application or websites. This tool allows you to test your website in over 2,000 web browsers and their respective versions. The special thing about the tool is that it offers both automated and manual cross-browser tests for your web application.

Biggest benefit: The LambdaTest tool is faster than its competition, especially on desktop, and it also has good support. It has a clear user interface and offers easy-to-use testing options.

Conclusion

There are still a variety of cross-browser testing tools that you can use to test your web application and mobile application (Android and iOS) for cross-browser compatibility. Choosing a good cross-browser testing tool depends on your needs, since each of these tools has its own set of features.

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Cover motif: Photo by Domenico Loia on Unsplash

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