The web testing industry has evolved a lot over a couple of years. This is because the evolution of the end applications has also reached a limit where it has become almost impossible to release a high-quality application without stressing the testing process. For instance, modern apps can perform multiple different tasks at the same time. To perform this process, the applications have to access and use different elements at the same time. So, it is almost impossible to verify the functioning of all these complex elements without the involvement of modern testing practices. It has also been evident that modern apps cannot be declared stable with the help of just manual test cases. So, companies have to integrate different types of technologies like Cypress testing to ensure that they are providing the intended end-user experience.
In this article, we’re going to discuss everything you need to know about testing modern web applications with the help of Cypress. We will also shed some focus on the best practices platforms and tools that can help the developers to improve the Cypress testing experience.
The Base of Test Automation
It is almost impossible for developers to create a proper understanding of Cypress testing without having a basic knowledge of test automation. Test automation is a simple process of eliminating the need of involving human developers in repetitive test cases. In such a scenario the system will automatically execute the test cases with the help of predetermined parameters and different sets of random data present in multiple test files. The developers also have the option to change the data in these files according to the requirements of the project. This means it is very easy to customize the test cases so that you can ensure the best report. During the early years of automated testing, Selenium was only the possible alternative to initiate automation test cases on web applications. However, with the advancement of technology, many different alternatives like Cypress and playwright have arrived in the market.
Automation test cases are also very easy to store and reuse. Many experts claim that developers can reuse almost 60% of the test cases in future development projects. Since we are on the topic of automation testing, it is worth mentioning that the developers have to invest quite a lot of money to get started with test automation. This amount can be a bit high for individual creators and small companies. So, the developers need to understand their business outcomes and possible returns on investment before beginning the shift. It is also important to understand that with the current state of technology, it is almost impossible to replace the need for manual test cases.
So, the developers must maintain the proper synchronization between automated and manual test cases. Certain testing processes like visual test cases and exploratory test cases are almost impossible to execute without the involvement of human developers.
Understanding Cypress
We can define Cypress to be a modern test automation tool that is based on the node.JS framework. Using this tool, the developers can not only write the automation test cases but also execute them on modern web applications. The developers need to understand that in the current state, they can use only the typescript and JavaScript programming languages to write automation test cases with Cypress. The major reason behind the popularity of this automated tool is that it is very simple to set up and use. Moreover, the official website of Cypress provides all the documentation related to the installation and setup process. It also has various sample test cases so that the developers can get a basic understanding of all the features available with this tool.
However, it is worth mentioning that Cypress allows developers to test the performance of mobile web applications only on its beta version. Many market experts suggest that developers must use Cypress to test the proper functioning of modern web applications and not legacy ones. Now let us turn our focus towards two of the most important features available with this test automation tool:
- While using Cypress for conducting automation testing, the developers can use a modern feature known as automatic wait. It is a very useful feature as there are certain elements present in our web application that are dependent on each other. This means the developers have to first verify the proper functioning of the previous element to get a dependable result on the second one. Using the automatic wait feature, the developers can automatically queue their respective test cases for a certain time and initiate them automatically.
- Another important feature available with Cypress is real-time reloads. This is a feature that is dependent on the intelligent framework of this automation testing tool. The framework can understand the developers will naturally want to execute the test cases after successfully creating and saving them. So, after the saving process, the system will automatically display our execute and run options in the terminal window. Using this option for the developers will save a lot of time that they would invest to manually execute the test cases.
Getting Started with Cypress Testing
The process of automation testing with Cypress is fairly simple. The developers just have to follow a few simple steps to get started with this. These steps are as follows:
- To begin the setup process, the developers have to first download node.JS from the official website. During this process, automation testers need to ensure that they get the latest version of this software to avoid any unwanted circumstances.
- The next step is to download another important software known as Visual Studio. Similar to node.JS, the developer should also download the latest version of the software.
- The developers now have to create a new project folder to store all the required project data. The developers need to name their project folder according to the application that is currently undergoing the development process.
- Now it is finally time to begin the Cypress installation process. The developers indeed have the option to download Cypress as an installer file, but we would recommend downloading it as an NPM package. This process is not only fairly simple but also devoid of any errors.
- After the successful installation process, the developers have to open the Cypress folder and create the spec folder within it. This folder is very important as it will help the developers to store and organize the test cases according to the execution time and priority.
- Now it is time for the developers to write their first Test case with the Cypress automation testing tool. It is very important to name the test files according to the respective elements so that it’s easy to keep track. Cypress will also allow the developers to use specific commands for automatically initiating the test cases and displaying their respective results. This is a very important and useful process for multiple applications that have different elements.
- Cypress also helps the developers to keep track of all the test cases that are undergoing the development process. So, these are very important steps as they will help the developers to sort the test cases during the debugging process.
Influence of Platforms and Tools in Cypress Automation Testing
Since the Cypress automation testing tool is relatively new to the market compared to all the other alternatives, the developers still have limited knowledge about the capabilities of this tool. This statement is even more realistic for the new automation testers. However, there are several tools and platforms easily available in the market that can play a major role in simplifying this process. Moreover, the developers can use these platforms and tools to integrate third-party plugins for further improving the testing experience. For instance, several platforms use cloud testing to eliminate the headache of maintaining an onsite device test bench. On-site, device systems are useful as they help the developers to verify the performance of the web application on these devices.
While using cloud platforms, the developers can perform this similar process on multiple cloud servers. These cloud servers are effective because they have hundreds of real devices present on them. The major benefit of cloud servers is that it not only helps the developers execute multiple test cases but also eliminate the location barrier. So, the developers can execute the test cases from anywhere around the globe. We can understand and learn more about cloud testing by shifting our focus toward a platform called LambdaTest:
To begin the discussion, we can simply say that LambdaTest is a secure and safe platform for initiating and executing modern cross-browser test cases on web apps. Considering the current status of the app development market, It is almost impossible to release a high-quality web app without the execution of cross-browser testing. This is because, with these test cases, the developers can ensure the stable performance of the app irrespective of multiple shifts in the OS version or the browser edition. This platform also has various advanced options like the ability of parallel test execution to improve the efficiency of the test cases. Parallel test execution can initiate multiple test configurations to improve the test execution speed by almost 15 times. LambdaTest can initiate automation test cases from multiple popular frameworks like Cypress, Selenium, and Playwright.
It is worth mentioning that while using the Cypress test cases, the developers can verify and execute them on more than fifty different browsers simultaneously. Lastly, it is very important to understand that LambdaTest can create highly accurate test reports by combining multiple different results from hundreds of simulators, emulators, and multiple real cloud devices.
The Final Verdict
So, we can conclude that Cypress is one of the best alternatives for conducting automation testing in this modern generation. This is because, with this automation testing tool, the developers can not only efficiently execute the test cases but also implement various advanced features for improving the overall quality of the test case. It is also important for application development companies to understand the importance of automation testing in the modern test bench. This is because many experts believe that with the passage of a few years, automation testing will dominate the entire app development market. However, a recent study shows that only 60% of app development companies have made this transition. Lastly, the developers must understand the role of a perfect tool or platform in the success of the automation testing process.