Test Triangle

Many times, a browser does not support a particular website, but the other one does. The problem is not with the browsers, but with the website. However, the website is not actually broken in such type of a case, but it lacks compatibility with different browsers. Yes, this is true. In fact, not a single website looks similar on different browsers even if they are compatible to them all. Look at the images given below. Facebook at Chrome looks different than Facebook at IE. In terms of colours, fonts, graphics etc., many changes can be witnessed just having a glance at the site.   Check another cross-browser compatibility issue with the image given below:    What are most frequent cross-browser issues and how cross-browser testing helps to eradicate them?  Besides Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Mozilla FireFox, and Safari, there are hundreds of other web and mobile browsers available on the Internet. Each browser has different versions. Inconsistent views of a website across multiple browsers create cross-browser compatibility issues. Let us have a summary of some of the common cross-browser compatibility issues:  1. DOCTYPE Error –When the ‘doctype tag’ is missing in a webpage, it leads to faulty rendering.  2. No valid HTML/CSS –Here, the error occurs when a tag is missed to be closed. Some browsers might auto correct it, some may not. Hence, HTML/CSS code validation is implemented.  3. Absence of CSS reset –Browsers by default apply a design layout (CSS style) to a website. To implement a different design layout, the default one needs to be overridden.  4. Vendor specific functions –New browsers mostly hide their latest CSS functionality in front of the vendor-specific CSS style. To avoid this issue, users should add the function without the prefix as well.  5. Older browser –If you are using an older version of a browser, it may create the compatibility issues. The older version of Javascript does not run in the modern browsers and makes loading pages difficult.  Cross-browser testingmeans testing your website or application in multiple browsers. This applies to both web and mobile applications. This testing method is used to know what is wrong with the website so that it can be fixed and enhance its efficiency and user experience.  The two ways of cross-browser testing includes manual testing and automated testing to observe a website or application’s behaviour on different browsers and report a bug.    Now, let us discuss about some of the best cross-browser testing tools that are popular among the users. They are:  1. LambdaTest:  This cloud-based testing platform offers manual and automated cross-browser testing across more than 2000 browsers, OSes, and devices for free (basic version). It is trusted by more than 100,000 users. As per my opinion, this tool runs genuinely faster than the rest, especially on the desktops. If offers really clean UI, and easy-to-use testing experiences.  2. Sauce Labs:  Sauce Labs is one of the leaders in cross-browser testing market. It is a selenium based cloud solution for test automation on more than 260 browser platforms and devices. The state-of-the-art mobile testing it offers is exceptionally better than the others.  3. SmartBear:  SmartBear software is a leading information technology company that delivers top-rated software testing solutions all across the globe. It offers cross browser testing solutions utilizing 1500+ browser configurations.  4. Browsershots:  It is a free and open source and screenshot-based testing software that works for 200 browsers and operating systems. It allows you to enable or disable Javascript and Flash, and it is good for simple content pages.  5. Browserstack:  Browserstack is one of the oldest players in cross-browser testing arena with a huge market share. It is a cloud-based tool that lets you test your website or application on more than 2,000 browsers. It does not require any specific setup, and can run on interactive devices as well.  Now let’s compare these cross-browser testing solutions to know best about them. Refer the comparison chart given below:    Final Verdict:  Here, I have covered top-5 cross-browser testing tools, though there are many. Each of them differs in terms of budget, functionality and skill-set requirements. As per my personal opinion, you can try Browsershots, if you don’t want to invest much into a project. If you want to invest to get a higher degree of automation service, then Browserstack and SmartBear would be the best to choose. But for the real device-based experiences, you should definitely give LambdaTest a chance.  I hope these details will surely help you in automating your cross browser testing efforts.