Something that makes a website great is when it is compatible in multiple browsers regardless of version. Technically this is referred to as cross-browser compatibility.
When you’re testing applications for the web, it’s easy to feel like you’re doing the same thing over and over again. What works in Chrome doesn’t always work in Firefox, and what works in Firefox doesn’t always work in other browsers. As a result, you end up testing every single feature on all the major browsers—an effort that easily quadruples or quintuples the time required for your QA efforts. Testing multiple browsers on multiple platforms isn’t just difficult — it can be virtually impossible without the correct resources.
It is at this time when you should opt for a cross-browser testing tool that lets you comprehensively test your website and check if it successfully displays across various browsers, platforms, and resolutions. This, as a result, will lead to a satisfactory and positive response from the customers.
Below mentioned are a few useful tools that you can use for your cross-browser compatibility check.
BrowserStack: BrowserStack provides real browsers. It tests your internal server or local html designs in their remote browsers through their secure local testing setup. The cloud-based access means no installation is required, and the pre-installed developer tools (including Firebug Lite, Microsoft Script Debugger and many more) are useful for quick cross-browser testing and debugging. The official iOS, Android and Opera mobile and tablet emulators help you test across a huge range of devices. Using the BrowserStack infrastructure, you can quickly setup a comprehensive testing environment with support for firewalls, proxies, and Active Directory.
Sauce Labs: Sauce Labs lets users run Selenium, Appium and JavaScript unit tests across 300+ browser and OS platforms at scale without setting up or maintaining dedicated testing infrastructure. Runs your Selenium tests faster across dozens of pristine VMs in parallel. Sauce Labs lists your recently run tests chronologically, with info about the testing platform, runtime, build and whether they passed or failed. Once a test is complete, you’ll receive a full report with the metadata and log files, and you can flip through screenshots to diagnose errors and verify layouts, or even watch a screen cast of the whole test. It provides a Virtual Machine for testing various browsers and OS platforms. The service provides a great diagnosis for a website and mobile applications. Pricing plans are based on minutes of testing time and the number of users.
CrossBrowserTesting: It is a tool that tests your website with a browser and remote VNC. With these tools, you can test your AJAX, JavaScript, and Flash with any browser. You just have to provide the URL, select a browser then run the software.
The impressive layout comparison feature lets you choose a ‘base’ browser for comparisons and get a summary of rendering differences, along with a screenshot of side-by-side images to catch and debug layout issues effectively. You can test local development of websites even behind firewalls and logins, with the ability to change browser, cache and cookie settings, and turn JavaScript on or off.
Browsershots: is one of the most effective and free tools available. There is a comprehensive list of browsers and platforms available for testing. Browser Shots includes both recent browser versions along with legacy versions. Browsershots possess a unique feature of distributing the work of making screenshots among community members, who set up ‘factories’ on their own machines, to get jobs from the server using a fully automatic unattended script.
Browsera: includes a free version with limited browsers and low-resolution screenshots. However, this tool does provide a detailed list of script errors and other potential problems. Its features include – Discover Cross-Browser Layout Problems Automatically, Locate JavaScript Errors, Easily Test Entire Sites, Test Pages Requiring a Login, No Installation Required, Test Dynamic Pages. Browsera is a tool that tests the cross-browser layout of your website. You will see the differences and errors on your site.
Testing Bot: Its features include – Test cross-browser compatibility, Easy testing with plugins and code samples, Lets you write your Selenium tests. Every test runs on a new, pristine virtual machine. Once your test is completed, the virtual machine is destroyed. Cloud is optimized for the fastest speed and requires no additional installation or plugins. Switch between tabs to simultaneously test on multiple browsers. You can run automated tests in the cloud by specifying which browsers you want to test when the test should run and for how long. You can also run tests on several browsers at the same time by using tabbed interface.
Each browser test features advanced reporting, multiple screenshots and even a video of your test, to verify the test has run correctly and, if a test fails, to check why. A secure testing environment allows you to run tests on your local computer, on a LAN or on a server via VPN. When testing your website on one of our browsers, you can quickly share the current session with a co-worker or friend.
There is a large amount of value in all of these cross-browser testing tools, software, and resources. By thoroughly testing a website in as many browsers as possible, you are eliminating the possibility of a lost visitor or shopper due to an easily corrected bug. If testing time is limited, review analytics and evaluate the amount of traffic your website is getting from various browsers.
