How to Test a Website in Different Browsers

There are dozens of mobile browsers available today including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Safari, Internet Explorer, and Opera. But do they all work in the same way? No. Your website may look or function different in different browsers and this can be a real issue for the organizations.

Components such as JavaScript, Flash, Flex, Ajax Requests, Applets, etc. may perform differently in different browsers. Also, CSS styles may produce different results across different browser versions.

For Example: JavaScript may work fine in Google Chrome but does not work well in Internet Explorer.

To avoid this issue, it is crucial to perform cross-browser testing, both when you are developing a website and periodically thereafter.

After all, one of the most important elements is to give your website visitors a hassle-free, smooth experience, irrespective of the type of device or browser they are using.

In this article, we will discuss how to test a website in different browsers using both manual and automated cross browser testing.

Different Cross Browser Testing Approaches

There are two types of cross browser testing techniques:

• Manual cross browser testing
• Automated cross browser testing

Both types of cross browser testing have their own associated benefits.

Manual Cross Browser Testing

Manual cross browser testing is testing your website across different browsers manually without using any automated scripts/automated tools. One of the major drawbacks of manual testing is that the testers have to spend a significant amount of time in testing different pages of the website across different browsers and their versions.

But it is recommended to have one round of manual cross-browser testing performed in the staging environment before pushing the changes to the production environment.

Code Linters

You can improve manual cross browser testing with the help of code linters. As it is difficult to identify the coding errors just by having a look at your code, it is crucial to lint your code with static analysis tools.

These static code analyzers are known as linters which help you validate the cross browser compatibility of HTML, CSS and JavaScript and in the process save the manual effort significantly.

Some of the examples of popular linters are -

In addition to using code linters, you can also consider installing add ons or plugins of these linters to your code editors to make sure that the linting is done within the development environment premise.

Manual cross browser testing is ideal for verifying those features of the website that are directly linked to the user experience. The above method can save you time and effort while performing manual cross browser testing.

Automated Cross Browser Testing

Manually testing applications for cross browser compatibility can prove to be very tedious and time-consuming. Automated cross browser testing involves creating automated scripts and running the tests automatically with tools.

It is a better option if you want to test a large functionality over 50+ multiple browsers, devices and operating systems in a short span of time.

Cross Browser Compatibility Matrix

It is crucial to analyse the data about your expected user-segmentation across browsers which will help you define the preferred browsers where more testing should be performed.

Once you are done with the analysis of the preferred browsers (which brings the majority of the site traffic), it's time to create a cross browser compatibility matrix to prioritize these browsers.

The cross browser compatibility matrix will never let you miss the browsers that are more important for you to perform your cross browser testing. It will help you reduce your time and effort by giving you clarity about the browsers that are giving you good results and those browsers which do not require much attention.

Once you have the list of prioritized browsers in hand, you can leverage a good cloud-based cross browser testing tool to test your website in different browsers the easy way.

Cloud Based Cross Browser Testing

Under cloud based cross browser testing, the website is tested on remote devices which you can control from your own systems. Every time a new version of the browser gets released, it is important to test your website and this becomes more feasible with the cloud based cross browser testing.

Here are a few reasons why you should go for cloud based cross browser testing -

• Access to a Large Number of Browser and OS: Cloud based cross browser testing provides you an access to a large number of browsers and operating systems along with their different versions

• Zero Setup Cost: As there is no need to carry or maintain any physical devices with different browsers and operating systems, there is no setup cost involved and you can easily start testing on the platform with just a simple login

• Very fast and Secure: Cloud based cross browser testing is fast compared to normal cross browser testing as it allows you to switch seamlessly between browsers and operating systems within seconds

• Scalable: With cloud based cross browser testing, you can scale as much as possible as you don’t have to worry regarding the extra devices

It makes more sense to choose an ideal automated cross browser testing tool that makes your cross browser testing hassle free and fast. Testsigma is a cloud based automation tool that can solve all your cross browser testing related problems as it lets you write automated tests in simple English language.

Running your tests in parallel can radically shorten test execution time thereby giving you more time for innovation and product building. Testsigma reduces your build time by running tests with parallel test execution.

With Testsigma, you can test your website across 2000+ real browsers for both desktop and mobile. With Testsigma’s wide range of features, you can easily deliver a website that renders seamlessly across all the browsers and operating systems.