The majority of applications are created with the ability to be accessed through a standard Internet browser. Throughout the past several years, the growth of Web applications in almost every industry has led to a substantial increase in the need for powerful and effective testing solutions. The testing industry is filled with various tools and programs designed to review the code-level operation of an application. While important, it’s essential that an application is tested in a manner that closely replicates user interaction. Because of this need, many developers are turning to automation software as a means of testing application functionality and performance.
The advantages of testing automation through browser automation software are many. Perhaps the most important reason why a developer would turn to such a resource is its ability to execute a vast number of tasks without variation. In order to gain a full understanding of the functionality of an application, it’s essential the application is tested in a regular, uniform manner. For many years, developers had to rely on manual testing, which features a high error rate. Moreover, it’s nearly impossible for a human to go through hundreds of identical steps without making a mistake. In the realm of browser automation testing, this fear of variations is removed.
The exact benefits and advantages of browser automation testing solutions vary according to the user. This being noted, there are several universal reasons why you should consider adopting this testing method, these include:
- Frequent, unwavering testing environments. Once a task is created, it may be implemented thousands of times without changing its steps. Therefore, developers are given a clear indication on how the application interacts on a large scale, and not in just localized tests.
- Instant feedback regarding performance and reliability of the application. Because browser automation software is capable of executing a task thousands of times within a single day, developers are given near-instant feedback regarding application functionality and consistency.
- Flexibility in test executions. Traditional automated testing requires a programmer to manually create test scripts. When the developer wishes to alter how an application is tested, the programmer was required to adjust script coding, which is time consuming and costly. Browser automation software provides an extreme level of flexibility in how tests and various tasks are executed.
- Defect Identification. Perhaps one of the most noteworthy advantages of browser automation software testing for applications is its ability to catch various defects and errors that would otherwise be missed in manual testing. Because this software is capable of executing a massive amount of tasks in a repetitive manner, small defects in the operation of an application are highlighted as developers are given a broad scope of data, rather than a small snippet into application functionality.
Additionally, it’s important to make sure that if you’re using shared hosting that you do your due diligence when testing web applications. Shared hosting environments aren’t always the most reliable when it comes to web applications, so extra testing is sometimes in order.
When comparing shared hosting companies, it’s important to take into account whether they let you host web applications as some hosting companies have rules about applications that are too database-intensive and other hosts may prevent them altogether. For example, when looking at Bluehost compared to HostGator, it’s easy to see that both of them allow these things. HostGator is particularly good about these things, where other shared hosts might not be as lenient.
Regardless of which hosting company you use, it’s important to actually test your web applications to ensure that they function properly in whatever environment you’re using.