Top Limitations and Challenges in Selenium & Solution

Selenium is an open-source testing platform used by developers to automate web applications. However, it has drawbacks such as cross-browser compatibility, sluggish test execution, and trouble managing dynamic web components. It is important to investigate alternative technologies to provide a more efficient and effective testing method. This post will look at the top limitations of Selenium and alternative platforms that developers may use to overcome these restrictions.

Automated Regression Testing using Selenium

Selenium is undoubtedly the most popular and widely used Automated Regression Testing tool in the Test Automation realm. However, it has been a programmer’s tool from the very beginning. Only a good programmer can use the tool properly to meet their automation needs. Besides that, there is a steep learning curve associated with it.

This becomes the biggest hindrance to its acceptance as the go-to tool for functional QA Testers. Also, that’s a significant reason why only Big Enterprises rely heavily on Selenium for Test Automation, and others opt for Manual Regression Testing.

Automated regression testing is a software testing technique that utilizes computer-based tools and techniques in testing software after it has been changed or updated. It is a test automation process that applies the workflow, plan, scripts, and other processes within a regression testing methodology.

In a perfect world, all the QA Testers could perform Automated Regression Testing with Selenium in their toolbox. However, due to Selenium’s code-centric approach, the QAs and Functional testers, who understand the functionality better, cannot participate in the automated regression testing activity. Therefore, companies are bound to invest heavily in recruiting a new team of automation experts, which is not an option for small and medium-sized companies.

Challenges with Selenium-Backed Automated Regression Testing

1. Initial Setup

Though many readily available frameworks exist to build this, putting everything together is still an effort. That’s why starting automation regression testing takes a huge initial time, cost, and resources.

2. Slow Test development and Limited participation from Team

“But in the modern Agile, Continuous Delivery and DevOps practices quality and faster delivery is everyone’s responsibility.”Creating coded Test Scripts that run stable is time-consuming even for the experienced. Also, due to the code-centric Approach, it is difficult for non-programmers to take part in test automation and continuous testing.

3. Test Maintenance and keeping up with growing Regression Suite

Even if we bite the bullet and set up one, it will only get complex and cryptic as the framework matures. It will eventually become a parallel development project with significant Software management and development efforts.

Also, there would be a need for significant Test Script maintenance for any change in the application as the Regression Test Suite gets bigger with releases.

4. Requirement of a complete Test Automation Ecosystem

Regarding Automated Regression Testing, Selenium is just a piece of the puzzle. Moreover, Test Automation is not just about writing Test Scripts. It is an ecosystem of various components like the Team, Tools, Test Environments, Proper Management of Test Data, and Integrations that help deliver quality software faster. And the synergy between these components is as critical as the collaboration between Team members.

Therefore, a single tool such as Selenium cannot effectively steer product development efforts.

Check out – Selenuim alternatives

The below article mentions the Essential elements of the Automated Regression Testing Ecosystem:Essential Elements of Test Automation

5. Team Collaboration

As we mentioned in the previous point, the Essence of Agile and Continuous Delivery practices lies in close coordination between the teams in each phase which, in turn, ensures a quality product. Lack of communication leads to wrong assumptions and a product that diverges from the intended.

Therefore, we need a platform where all the stakeholders can collaborate to share the resources as and when required.

So, to summarize, the challenges faced by everyone who is getting started with and dealing with Test Automation using Selenium are given below:

1. Initial setup – time, cost, and resources
2. Slow Test Development due to programming efforts
3. Lack of time to automate within the sprint
4. Limited participation from everyone on the team
5. Maintenance problems with the ever-changing user interface
6. Less or no coordination between the team members (which is a must for Agile approaches)
7. The requirement of a Test Automation Ecosystem

With all the above challenges, In-sprint test automation becomes a tedious task. As we know, In-sprint test automation aims to develop faster and more reliable test automation in parallel to development. It ensures maximum coverage within short release cycles. However, there are a few challenges in implementing In-sprint test automation using Selenium.

Learn more – In-Sprint Test Automation Challenges for Regression Testing.

Limitations of Selenium

1. Cross Browser Compatibility

Selenium’s ability to deliver consistent results across multiple browsers is restricted since web browsers understand and render HTML and CSS differently. This is especially difficult when testing online apps with complicated user interfaces.

2. Slow Test Execution

Because of its interaction with the browser via its driver, Selenium may be sluggish when running tests on big web applications. Long wait times and irritation for developers might result from this communication overhead.

3. Difficulty in Handling Dynamic Web Elements

Selenium has difficulties interacting with dynamic web components that often change on a web page, resulting in test script failure. This is especially difficult when working with online apps that dynamically refresh their information with AJAX or similar technologies.

4. Limited Support for Mobile Applications

Because Selenium does not provide automated mobile app testing, developers must utilize other tools or frameworks.

5. Limited Support for Windows-based Applications

Developers must rely on third-party tools or libraries to automate testing for desktop apps using Selenium.

6. No Built-in Reporting System

Selenium lacks an integrated reporting system, making assessing test results and discovering problems harder. External tools are required for developers.

7. Lack of Robust Error Handling

Developers must design unique error-handling programs to collect and manage problems in Selenium, making detecting and resolving them difficult during test execution.

8. Maintenance Overhead

Selenium test scripts are challenging to maintain owing to changes in the Interface of the web application, necessitating continuous updates and maintenance by developers.

Developers should be aware of the limitations of Selenium and constraints when using it, but alternative tools can help overcome them and provide a more efficient testing procedure.

Solution For All These Limitations?- An Unified Testing Platform

Testsigma is an Automation Ecosystem with all the essential components required to automate Web, Android, and iOS apps and API testing on a single platform.It addresses different Testing needs, such as Cross Browser, Data-Driven, Manual Exploratory, etc, which allows you to test beyond the limitations of selenium.It is Built for Today’s Agile and Continuous Delivery practices.

1 – Zero Initial Setup – Time, Cost, and Resources. Get Started Immediately

Get started with zero initial Setup and near-zero Test Development time in Testsigma as everything is pre-configured for you on Cloud – from Test Creation to Test Environments.You can write and execute Test Cases from day one.

2 – Easy Test Creation Using Simple English

Test Development – We can use Simple English statements to create Test Steps in Testsigma. Therefore, the Test Scripts can be used as documentation as well.Testsigma uses AI to create stable and reliable tests faster than ever and to speed up your automated tests’ maintenance.

3 – In-sprint Test Automation

Testsigma allows you to shift left and start creating the Test Cases early in the SDLC, even before prototyping. In-sprint test automation for regression testing at DevOps speed

4 – Lets Everyone Participates in Test Automation

It uses natural language processing to write stable and reliable automated tests faster than ever. Anyone can start writing automated tests using simple English.This allows even the non-technical SMEs and Stakeholders to take part in creating and reviewing the Test Automation Efforts.

5 – Near Zero AI-driven Maintenance

Whenever there is a test failure, Testsigma uses AI to identify other tests which may have been affected. Testsigma also tries to auto-correct the tests to some extent.By definition, in Techopedia, Automated Regression Testing is whenever there is a test failure, Testsigma uses AI to identify other tests which may have been affected. Testsigma also tries to auto-correct the tests to some extent.Identify potential failures upfront and save execution time and cost.

6 – Team Collaboration

Integrate necessary tools with Testsigma to bring all your testing resources together for continuous testing. We integrate some of your favorite tools like Slack, JIRA, GitHub, Jenkins, BrowserStack, and Sauce Labs.

7 – It’s a Complete Test Automation Ecosystem

Some of the essential elements which come out of the box are:Dashboard – Personalized to focus on the critical business indicators driving your project.

1. Test Plan – All you need for better test planning like multiple Projects, Applications, Versions, and Requirements. Testsigma also allows you to create artifacts like Requirement Categories, Test Case Types, and Test Case Priorities.
2. Team Management – Manage users by giving them a proper role and assigning users to the projects.
3. Test Reports – Dynamic and context-driven reports to help you understand the test results better. Reports with drill-down options to help users at different levels(Test Manager, Test Lead, Developer, Testers etc..)
4. Analytics – Look at productivity trends, test development progress, and user activity. Take proactive actions to increase resource utilization and productivity, if required.
5. Integrations – Integrations/Plugins will enable you to integrate Testsigma with multiple other tools to achieve continuous Regression Testing.
6. Built-in Test Lab – Run tests on hundreds of combinations of browsers and operating systems and over 2,000 iOS and Android devices on our public cloud.
7. CI/CD integration – Integrate your Test Execution with your existing Jenkins CI/CD Pipelines to enable Continuous Testing on par with Agile and Scrum in your organization.

And many more…

 Testsigma – All Features

Conclusion:

Selenium is a popular web application testing framework. Still, the limitations of Selenium such as cross-browser compatibility, delayed test execution, trouble managing dynamic web components, and restricted support for mobile and Windows-based apps. Alternatives, such as Testsigma, can help overcome these constraints and enable a more efficient testing procedure. Developers must understand the advantages and disadvantages of various testing frameworks to select the one that best meets their needs and expectations.

Frequently Asked Questions:

What are the limitations of Selenium Javatpoint?

Selenium Javatpoint is a website that provides Selenium lessons and tools, although it is similar to the limitations of Selenium regardless of platform.

Where Can Selenium not be used?

Selenium cannot test stand-alone desktop or mobile programs that do not run in a browser.

What are the 5 exceptions in Selenium?

To solve issues such as element locators, browser compatibility, network connection, and inappropriate testing framework usage, developers must be skilled with managing exceptions and designing efficient error-handling code. Selenium does not have a set list of five exceptions.

Suggested Readings

Selenium Alternatives: The 6 Best Options You Can Find