Most of the applications companies are developing these days are web-based. Software that can be installed on a system are taking a backseat as most of the modern software are hosted on cloud. There are several reasons for the shift towards cloud-based apps like instant online updates in the application, consistent app behaviour all across the user base, light-weight execution and unlimited storage limits. These web applications are easier to maintain and provide better performance due to its distributed client-server architecture. The users of such apps arrive with diverse devices, OS versions, browser settings and network constraints. Hence, it becomes crucial to test the product across all the possible configurations and environments. Cross-browser testing is specifically useful to test all these scenarios for an application to run. It ensures that your application gives a consistent performance and behaviour irrespective of the device, OS, browser or network settings of the user.
In this article, we will explore 5 reasons why companies perform cross-browser testing along with discussing the elements of it.
Elements of Cross-browser Testing
Cross-browser testing is not just about validating your product on different browsers. It goes much beyond that to test your product on all the possible configurations. Let’s look at them below.
Browser Coverage
This is the most common form of cross-browser testing as the name itself suggests what it does. First and foremost, testing must be done across different browsers – Chrome, Opera, Mozilla, Edge – with their different versions. The same browsers should also be tested on mobile and desktop devices as the rendering mechanism differs in both.
OS Compatibility
Your product must also be tested on different operating systems like Windows, Linux, macOS, iOS and Android. Browsers have different behaviour on each platform. Hence, they must be tested on all of them to ensure consistent performance.
Diverse Screen Settings
An application must adjust itself according to the different screen size, resolution and orientation. There’s no constant setting which every user will follow. They all have different types of display configurations against which your product must be tested thoroughly.
Functional Testing
All the basic functionality of the software like navigation workflow, menu, button, shopping cart, login method, etc, must be tested. Interactive elements like hover effect, image click, animation and modals behave differently on each browser and must be tested as well.
Load and Performance Testing
You must check if the page is loading quickly with responsive attributes. Check what all elements are taking more time to load on the page, e.g. image, button, etc. and fix the issues behind them if any.
5 Reasons for Adopting Cross-browser Testing
Once we have covered the basic elements of the cross-browser testing that shows all the areas covered while testing, now let’s explore 5 reasons that you must consider before adopting it.
Diverse behaviour of browsers
Users access the applications from different browsers. Developers usually prefer either Safari on macOS or Android WebView. There are many variations in their versions as well. Enterprise customers mostly use Chrome or Edge due to company policy. Users who prioritize privacy often tweak default settings, block third-party scripts or disable cookies. All these different settings can potentially produce different results in the page layout, storage or API performance. Inconsistency in app behaviour can cause bad customer experience and hamper your credibility. Hence, you must ensure site compatibility with cross-browser testing.
UI differences can affect usability
There are chances that the site would be loaded properly but subtle differences in the UI can be seen on different browsers. Those differences can be like:
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Text may overflow out of their designated fields.
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A navigation bar may get divided into two lines when the site is opened on a smaller screen.
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The login button may be shifted to another location on the screen.
While these issues do not have a direct impact on the site’s functioning, they create a poor impression on your customer. A professional site should always be consistent without any discrepancy in the UI elements.
Varied privacy and security features
Most of the browsers have introduced strong privacy protection rules while following the government regulations. Customer data must be handled with proper care by the companies. But each browser has its unique privacy protection preferences like:
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A “Login with your Google Account” may work perfectly on Chrome but fail on Safari.
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A payment popup may load perfectly on Mozilla but gets blocked on Chrome due to popup handling settings.
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A browser blocks cookies while another one limits how long will they last.
If a user faces challenges during login, payment or cookie settings, due to stricter and varied policies of your browser, it may cause lost business opportunities. Hence, your browsers must be tested against all the privacy and security features for consistency.
Diverse performance
If you have ensured that the application is loading and performing faster on one browser, it doesn’t imply that it will behave the same in all others as well. Each browser has a different rendering mechanism. Safari may run JavaScript fast while Firefox can load images at a different rate. Older devices may cause applications to take longer to load due to inefficient execution. A mobile device with less RAM may get slower while loading animation inbuilt applications.
Performance glitch can have a major negative impact on your user experience which may cause your business loss. Hence, performance across different devices and browsers must be tested thoroughly to provide consistent user experience irrespective of the environment.
Varied accessibility options
The accessibility option is used to make your site accessible to disabled people as well. Few common accessibility options are:
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Relying on screen reader
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Voice Navigation
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High-contrast mode
Each browser has a unique way of integrating with the accessibility menu. Hence, these features must be tested thoroughly on all the browsers to avoid any problems being faced by the users.
Conclusion
Cross-browser testing is nothing new. It’s been in use ever since people started using applications on browsers. Just that the browsers keep evolving with more advanced features like better rendering algorithms, security and performance. But it is also a fact that all the browsers do not upgrade at the same time with the same features. They all have different approaches towards achieving the end result. The different technological solutions running in the background. Hence, your web-based software must be tested against all those configurations on all the browsers to ensure a consistent user experience with highest possible performance.
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