Page Factory and Page Object Model in Selenium WebDriver

An emphasis on expedited time to market has made test automation an unavoidable necessity in an agile and fast-paced company environment. 

Automation testers are working hard to make sure that test cases match the features being added to the product as product development moves forward. For instance, even minor UI changes to the web application will cause the test automation scripts to alter if the tests are created without considering scalability and maintainability.

Keeping the test implementation “more detached” from the web elements utilized in the test scripts is the major issue. POM, or Page Object Model, is a well-liked Selenium design pattern that is used to build an object repository for WebElement storage.

In this article, we’ll deep dive into Page factory and Page Object Model in Selenium. 

Introduction to Page Factory in Selenium

Page Factory is a design pattern used in Selenium for web automation testing that simplifies the process of creating Page Objects. It helps reduce the boilerplate code needed to create Page Objects and makes the automation code more maintainable and readable.

In Page Factory, the Page Object Model (POM) is combined with the @FindBy annotation to create Page Objects. The @FindBy annotation is used to locate and initialize web elements on a web page. It is used to find web elements based on their types, such as ID, name, class, or CSS selector.

The @FindBy annotation’s main advantage is that it lets you initialize page elements without using Selenium’s FindElement or FindElements.

Page Factory makes it easy to create Page Objects by allowing the automation developer to define the web elements more concisely. 

The benefits of using Page Factory include reduced code duplication, improved code readability, and improved test maintenance. By creating Page Objects with Page Factory, the automation developer can focus on the logic of the tests rather than the implementation details of the web elements. This can help to reduce errors and make the automation code more maintainable over time.

In summary, Page Factory is a powerful design pattern that simplifies the process of creating Page Objects in Selenium for web automation testing. It can improve the efficiency and maintainability of the automation code, making it easier to write and maintain test cases.

Advantage of Page Factory in Selenium

The advantages of using Page Factory in Selenium for web automation testing are:

• Reduced code duplication: Page Factory allows for more concise and reusable Page Objects. This reduces the amount of boilerplate code required to create and maintain Page Objects, leading to less code duplication and better code maintainability.


• Improved code readability: Page Factory makes the automation code more readable by separating the initialization of web elements from the test code. This makes it easier to understand the intent of the code and the interactions with the web page.


• Improved test maintenance: Page Factory makes it easier to maintain the automation code by separating the Page Object initialization code from the test code. This makes it easier to update the code when changes are made to the web page, reducing the risk of errors and making test maintenance more efficient.


• Better test performance: Page Factory can improve test performance by reducing the overhead of locating web elements on a web page. This is achieved by initializing the Page Object only once per test, rather than for each test method.

Overall, Page Factory is a powerful design pattern that can help improve the efficiency, maintainability, and scalability of automation code. 

Initializing Web Components in Page Factory in Selenium

In Page Factory, web elements can be initialized using the @FindBy annotation, which is used to locate and initialize web elements on a web page. The initElements method is used to initialize web elements.

1. @FindBy annotation 

The @FindBy annotation is a powerful feature in Selenium’s Page Factory that is used to find web elements using various types of locators, such as ID, name, class, tag name, link text, partial link text, and CSS selector. It is used to map a web element on a web page to a field in a Page Object so that it can be easily accessed and manipulated during test execution.

There are 2 ways in which you can use @FindBy annotation

Method 1

The ‘How’ attribute takes a value of the How Enum, which defines different locator types. For example, How.ID refers to locating an element by its id attribute. The using attribute is used to specify the value of the locator, which in this case is the id of the web element.

Method 2

In this example, we are using the @FindBy annotation to locate a web element with the id attribute of “search-box”. The WebElement object named “searchBox” will be initialized with a reference to the web element found by the locator.

Using the @FindBy(id = “search-box”) annotation simplifies the process of locating and initializing web elements in Selenium’s Page Factory. Instead of writing code to find the web element using the By.id() method, we can use the @FindBy annotation to locate and initialize the web element with a single line of code.

2. initElements()

‘initElements()’ is a method provided by the Page Factory class to initialize elements defined in a Page Object.

The initElements() method takes two parameters: a WebDriver instance and a Page Object instance. It scans the Page Object for any fields that are annotated with the @FindBy annotation and initializes them with references to the corresponding web elements on the page. initElements() is an overloaded function which can be modified or used in multiple ways.

First Selenium program using Page Factory

 In this section, we are going to automate the Gmail Login page.

Test Scenario:

• Launch the Gmail website.
• Locate the element like email, password, and next button.
• Click on the Next button.

Code snippet:

In this example, we have a GmailLoginPage class which represents the Gmail login page. We use @FindBy annotations to locate the email, password, and Next button elements on the page, and then use the PageFactory’s initElements() method to initialize those elements.

In the constructor, we initialize the driver and navigate to the Gmail login page using the driver.get() method. We then call PageFactory.initElements() method passing in the driver and the instance of the class, which sets up the elements with the correct locators.

We then define methods to perform actions on the elements. These methods interact with the elements we located using the @FindBy annotations.

To use this Page Object in our test, we would simply instantiate the GmailLoginPage class and call its methods to interact with the page.

Code Snippet:

Note that we need to initialize the driver before creating an instance of the GmailLoginPage class. We also call the clickNextButton() method twice, once after entering the email and once after entering the password, as the Gmail login process is split into two separate pages.

Introduction to Page Object Model – POM in Selenium

The Page Object Model (POM) is a design pattern used in web automation testing to create an object repository for web elements on a web page. The idea behind POM is to separate the web elements of a web page from the test code, allowing for better organization, maintainability, and reusability of the code.

In POM, a web page is represented as a class, where each web element on the page is defined as a class variable. These variables are typically annotated with the @FindBy annotation, which specifies the type of the web element and the way to locate it on the web page, such as by ID, name, class, or CSS selector.

The POM pattern allows for easy maintenance of the test code, as any changes made to the web page can be updated in the Page Object class without affecting the test code. It also allows for better code reusability, as the same Page Object class can be used across multiple test cases.

Overall, the Page Object Model is a powerful design pattern that helps in creating a more structured and maintainable automation codebase. It also helps to make automation testing more efficient, as tests can be easily created and maintained without worrying about the changes made to the web page.

Advantages of Page Object Model

The advantages of using Page Object Model in Selenium are:

• Improved code reusability: The same Page Object class can be used across multiple test cases, reducing the need for code duplication and improving code reusability. This saves time and effort in creating new tests, as the same Page Object class can be used again and again.


• Easy maintenance: POM separates the web elements from the test code, making it easier to maintain the code. Any changes made to the web page can be easily updated in the Page Object class without affecting the test code. This makes maintenance of the test code more efficient and less time-consuming.


• Enhance collaboration: POM can enhance collaboration between the development and testing teams. Developers can create the Page Object class while testers can use it to create test cases. This promotes better communication and collaboration between the teams.


• Increases test coverage: POM enables testers to create more tests with less effort. This improves test coverage and helps identify more defects, resulting in higher-quality software.


• Better code readability: POM makes the test code more readable and easier to understand. By separating the web elements from the test code, it is easier to see the intent of the code and how it interacts with the web page.

Overall, POM is a powerful design pattern that can make automation testing more efficient, organized, and maintainable. It promotes better collaboration between the development and testing teams and improves the overall quality of the software.

First Selenium program using Page Object Model

A few unspoken guidelines for using the Page Object Model with Selenium Java testing must be kept in mind before we begin constructing the Selenium Automation test case in order to improve its effectiveness.

• There should never be any assertions or associated functionality in a page object file. Only web element variables and their interactions are intended to be stored.


• Web page interactions virtually always reroute users to another page. In all circumstances where it is appropriate, the page should therefore return an object of the next page.

Let’s understand the POM concept with a complete set of programs. 

Scenario:

Pages – GmailHomePage.java and GmailLoginPage.java

TestBase.java

GmailLoginTestCase.java

Code Snippet:

GmailHomePage.java class

GmailLoginPage.java class

BaseClass.java 

GmailLoginTest.java class

Page Factory vs. Page Object Model

Below is the difference between Page Object Model and Page factory:

Aspect	Page Factory	Page Object Model
Purpose	To initialize WebElements of a page class	To represent a web page as a Java class
Usage	Used for initializing WebElements	Used for representing web pages as Java classes
Implementation	An annotation-based approach	A design pattern
Locators	Locators are defined inside the page class	Locators are defined in a separate class
Constructor	A default constructor is not required	A default constructor is required
Code Reusability	Less code reusability due to tight coupling	More code reusability due to loose coupling
Maintainability	Requires frequent updates for element changes	Easier to maintain due to separate locator class
Code readability	Can be more concise and readable	Can be more verbose and repetitive
Performance	Slightly slower due to runtime initialization	Slightly faster due to compile-time initialization
Supports multiple browsers	Yes, can switch to different browser drivers	Yes, can switch to different browser drivers
Recommended for	Small and less complex test automation projects	Large and complex test automation projects

Challenges with Selenium and how to overcome them

There are several challenges with Selenium that can make it difficult to create and maintain effective test automation scripts. However, with the advent of revolutionized tool – Testsigma, you can begin your test automation journey effortlessly! 

 Let’s see how Testsigma helps overcome the challenges you face with Selenium: 

• Script maintenance: One of the biggest challenges with Selenium automation is maintaining the test scripts, especially when the web application undergoes frequent changes. Testsigma uses an AI-powered test automation engine that automatically updates the test scripts when changes are made to the application’s UI. This can significantly reduce the time and effort required for script maintenance.


• Complex data-driven scenarios: Data-driven testing is essential for testing web applications with large data sets. However, writing and maintaining data-driven test scripts can be time-consuming and complex. Testsigma provides a visual scriptless interface for creating data-driven tests, simplifying the test creation process.


• Limited parallel testing: Running tests in parallel can significantly reduce the time required to execute a large number of test cases. However, managing and executing tests in parallel using Selenium can be challenging. Testsigma provides built-in support for parallel test execution, enabling testers to run multiple tests simultaneously on a distributed test environment.


• Test reporting: Selenium provides basic test reporting features, which can make it difficult to analyze and interpret test results. Testsigma provides detailed test reports with screenshots and logs that enable testers to quickly identify the cause of test failures and take corrective action.

Conclusion

Page Object Model (POM) and Page Factory are design patterns used in Selenium with Java to make test code more readable, maintainable, and efficient. Both patterns aim to separate the page elements from the test code and encapsulate the interaction with those elements within page classes.

The Page Object Model pattern involves creating a separate class for each page or section of the application being tested. Each class contains methods that interact with the page elements and perform actions on them. The test code then uses these methods to perform the necessary actions.

Page Factory is an extension of the Page Object Model pattern, and it uses annotations to locate and initialize the elements on the page. This reduces the amount of code needed to locate the elements and makes the code more readable and maintainable.

Overall, POM and Page Factory are essential patterns in Selenium with Java, and using them can improve the efficiency and maintainability of test code. 

Frequently Asked Questions:

What is POM structure?

POM stands for Page Object Model, which is a design pattern used in Selenium to make test code more modular, maintainable, and efficient. 

The POM structure typically consists of the following components:

Pages: Each page or section of the application being tested is represented by a separate class, called a Page Object. The Page Object contains methods that interact with the page elements and perform actions on them.

Test Cases: The test cases interact with the Page Objects to perform actions on the application and verify its behavior. 

Test Data: The test data is used to drive the tests and can be stored in separate files or databases. The test data can include inputs to the application, expected results, and any other data needed to perform the test.

Is POM a framework?

No, POM (Page Object Model) is not a framework, but rather a design pattern that can be used in conjunction with test automation frameworks such as TestNG, JUnit, or Cucumber.

POM is a design pattern that helps to make the test code more modular, maintainable, and efficient. It involves creating a separate class for each page or section of the application being tested, called a Page Object. The Page Object contains methods that interact with the page elements and perform actions on them.