The IT sector has experienced tremendous expansion during the past twenty years. With this expansion, many things moved online, and today, practically everything we are aware of is online or available as websites, web applications, or mobile applications. Currently, 4.66 billion individuals, or over 60% of the world’s population, have everyday access to the internet.
People now have various options for accessing a specific thing on the internet which requires to have seamless digital experience. For this, it is important that all the developed software applications are compatible across all browser, version, devices and OS. Here enter cross-browser testing. It is the testing method where software application are tested across different browser and version, device and OS to check its functionality and performance.
Imagine you hired a fantastic group of engineers to produce a world-class web application for you. But how would you define top-notch? You follow the demo exactly on your browser (let’s say Chrome), but that isn’t the end. You do not know who will use which browser to visit your web application. What if it doesn’t function in Safari or Internet Explorer? The buyer will move to another product, so you won’t know. How would you stop that from occurring? How will you keep the client? Testing across browsers is the solution. Let us learn about cross browser testing.
What is Cross Browser Testing?
Texts, photos, videos, and infographics are just a few elements of a website or web application. Cross-browser testing ensures that a website or web application works well in various contexts and browsers.
This testing technique ensures that a website or web app’s text, graphics, videos, etc., all function as they should. Customer experience is the most crucial component of any brand or business. You must confirm that your product passes cross-browser compatibility.
You must make sure that this compatibility largely conforms with the following two requirements:
Operating system and browser
- People use various devices with various operating systems and browsers all around the world. Therefore, you must make sure that your product functions the same in every environment, including Linux, Chrome, Firefox for Windows, Safari for Mac, etc.
Various devices and screen resolutions
- Devices like mobile phones, desktop computers, tablets, etc., come in a variety of sizes and shapes. What functions on a 5-inch screen might not function on a 10-inch screen.
- In a nutshell, cross-browser testing is non-functional testing in which the product (website or web app) is tested in various settings and on different hardware.
You can have a robust and reliable cross-browser tests when performed in cloud-based platform. It allows testing at scale and secure cloud infrastructure. One of those cloud based platform is LambdaTest. It is an intelligent unified digital experience testing cloud where you can perform testing on a large farm of 3000+ browsers (of different versions) installed on different machines & devices (mobiles, tablets, etc.)
It is the ultimate solution for your cross-browser testing needs, ensuring a seamless digital experience for your users. It supports automation test scripts using testing frameworks like Selenium, Cypress and Playwright. Such flexibility allows users to choose the framework that best suits them to perform cross-browser tests and ensure cross-browser compatibility.
Cross-Browser Testing for a Seamless Digital Experience
When the internet began, very few browsers were available. Each of them may be manually tested. However, cross-browser compatibility testing has become even more crucial in the era of heavy internet usage with the emergence of various browsers. The necessity for cross-browser testing is growing because of the endless number of browsers and browser versions.
Code changes may be necessary several times before testing. Fixing defects as soon as testers find them is a good idea. However, even a small modification in the code can impact how a website works on different browsers and versions.
Of course, you can encourage someone to install an alternative browser if they are using a risky browser like Internet Explorer. But do you believe a person will go to all that trouble in today’s fast-paced world only to read your website? Is there a shortage of rivals eager to discover strategies to defeat you? Obviously not!
Testing across browsers has several uses. Let’s look at how it contributes to a seamless digital experience:
More accessible websites attract satisfied customers
Compromised accessibility is the number one killer of consumer satisfaction. The behavior of several properties, like CSS Gradients, CSS Opacity, and others, varies from browser to browser. Such cross-browser incompatible CSS can cause a poor user experience for visually impaired users on your website. They won’t only stop using your web applications; if they choose, they can also post about it on social media.
A website’s own Google search engine rankings may suffer if it is not accessible. Let’s examine how well the CSS mentioned above attributes work across different browsers.
Cross-browser support for CSS Gradients
Have you noticed how incompatible CSS Gradient is across browsers? How can you make it better? You could, however, consult our in-depth blog on the subject. It will assist you in developing fallbacks for browsers that are not supported.
Cross-browser support for CSS Opacity
However, CSS Opacity has been made nearly browser-compatible. Some older browsers are only partially compatible with modern ones.
Cross-Browser Testing Can Aid in Making Your Website Compatible with Smartphones
Gone are the days when desktops or laptops were our only means of accessing information. Thanks to incredible technological progress, we can easily find the information we need with just a few taps on our smartphones. However, unlike iOS devices, Android phones come with various browsers. People can download third-party browsers from the Play Store, like Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, and more. Hence, if you want your website to be available to everyone regardless of their chosen browser, it must be compatible with these different options.
For instance, a user is using Mozilla Firefox to purchase airline tickets. Great pricing and top-notch onboard amenities are offered. The browser crashes out of nowhere. What will you do as a user out of instinct? Change to a different browser? Actually, no! And even if you switch to a different browser, you can’t simply continue your ticket booking where your normal browser left off in the new browser!
Cross-browser testing can assist you in maximizing your website’s or web application’s performance across several platforms, including desktop, mobile, and tablet. Often, testers believe that their responsive testing has covered this area. However, this is not the case.
Simply said, responsive testing renders your website for the various viewports devices provide. Contrarily, cross-browser testing will assist you in being ready for various mobile operating systems and browsers.
Complete CTA Rendering
A website aims to keep visitors interested while drawing attention to your offerings regarding goods, services, or features. Your website’s Call to Action should be appealing and easy to use to keep users clicking. A special call to action feature would be useless if a user couldn’t access it or use it.
It’s crucial to ensure your CTAs pass comprehensive functional and visual tests in various operating systems and browsers. The nice thing is that functional testing for CTAs is among the simplest processes to automate.
Simple & Reliable Navigation
Google concurs that website navigation is one of the most crucial elements of how your web content is presented to a visitor. Google takes the website’s navigational ease into account when displaying search query results, among other things. How many steps are required for a user to move between pages?
Your website tells a narrative that ends with the user purchasing your goods, completing a form, or reaching their aim. Your navigation represents the story’s plot, and any technical problems would represent plot holes.
The most prevalent problem with mobile browser and cross-browser incompatibility is inconsistent navigation. It is crucial incompatibility with a certain browser or browser version does not derail your well-planned user journey. This makes evaluating your navigation’s cross-browser compatibility an essential step on your QA checklist.
Login Forms that Work with All Browsers
Login forms are crucial for websites to convert visitors into customers. When considering cross-browser compatibility testing, it is important to ensure that login forms work seamlessly across different browsers. Thorough testing on popular browsers is necessary to identify and address any compatibility issues. Adhering to web standards and widely supported technologies helps maintain consistency and reduces the risk of compatibility problems. By prioritizing cross-browser compatibility, businesses can provide a smooth user experience for all visitors, regardless of their chosen browser.
Website templates maintain their integrity across various browsers
Thanks to website builders like WordPress, designing a website without any coding knowledge is now possible. These builders offer generic templates that visitors can customize with their own content. However, it’s important to note that some templates may not be compatible with multiple browsers.
Incompatibilities can arise with custom menus, sliders, toggles, and other features, which may lead to functionality issues on certain browsers. To ensure a smooth user experience, conducting a comprehensive cross-browser compatibility test on your website template is highly recommended.
Variable fonts compatible with browsers
In modern web development, variable fonts are highly encouraged because they offer a wide range of font style variants, including font animations, all from a single font file. However, it’s important to understand how variable fonts function across different browsers. Older versions of major browsers lack sufficient support for them. Notably, some versions of Opera and Internet Explorer (IE) do not support variable fonts.
Cross-browser compatibility allows understanding the nuances of variable fonts and implementing appropriate fallback strategies. You can ensure that your website maintains consistent typography across different browsers, providing an optimal user experience for all visitors.
More Sales Termination
Having a website that tests for cross-browser compatibility is crucial for increasing the conversion rate of your sales staff. If a potential lead is using a browser incompatible with your website, it can negatively impact the credibility of your software application and hinder successful demos. However, with a cross-browser compatible website, your sales team has a higher chance of closing leads as they can confidently present your product on any browser. A smooth user experience across browsers builds trust and enhances sales effectiveness.
Conclusion
A successful application on one browser does not mean it will succeed on other browsers. To ensure their UX remains seamless for the user, developers, and testers should conduct cross-browser testing. It is important to remember that users will switch to rivals if they cannot receive the best user experience across all browsers. If they do, it will benefit your existing customers and the sales team, who will close more deals. Cross-browser testing is, therefore, essential in contemporary web development to guarantee a flawless end-user experience.