What are testing frameworks used for?
In general, testing frameworks are used to set up and run automated tests for web applications. It allows for elements like password reset systems, automated emails, forms for user input, and other key parts that work together to be tested, creating a reliable online application. Web apps can include a lot of categories like online stores, websites, email providers, and other tools;, and in order to make sure they work how they’re expected, they have to undergo some form of testing.
Testing frameworks come in many shapes and sizes. Some, like Selenium and Cypress, are open-source and free to use. Others require paid subscriptions and offer perks like low and no-code testing. The right option will depend a lot on what testing plans you have, and what requirements you anticipate having in the near future.
There is usually a trade-off between framework flexibility and the amount of coding required. For simple, common, straightforward testing, low and no-code options might be enough to get the job done. For more complex scenarios, creating automated tests and going with an open-source solution is the obvious choice, even if it requires some coding skill, because these options have more advanced capabilities.
Is Cypress the best testing framework?
Cypress is a popular open-source testing framework. It’s free to use, although Cypress also offers paid subscriptions for additional support and some extra features like test analytics. It runs directly in your browser so it will simulate how a real user would interact with your application. It can be used to set up end-to-end, component, and unit tests depending on your needs.
One of the advantages of working with Cypress is the documentation. They have guides on their website for getting started, installing Cypress, and tips for setting up tests. Cypress has also built a full stack example application to help people practice running tests, called the Real World App.
To help you figure out if Cypress is the right option for you, we’ll go over some information about what it’s like to use it for testing, particularly focusing on how easy it is to use, how fast tests can run, and how reliable the results are.
How easy is Cypress to use for web app testing?
Cypress is one of the most popular web app testing tools for a reason – it’s easy to setup and run tests if you have a little bit of a coding background. Installation is as simple as downloading their application or using npm. Once installed, setting up your first test can be done in minutes by following their guide for getting started. More elaborate tests can be built off the first few you create using their documentation and examples as guides.
Cypress also has a robust set of tools to help with interpreting test results, debugging, and improving test efficiency. Debugging is user-friendly, with extensive error messages and responsive code to make it easy to figure out what went wrong. They also offer the ability to take screenshots throughout the test, which can help take some of the guesswork out of debugging. If you opt for a paid subscription, you can also record the entire test using Cypress Cloud and replay it whenever you like, to pinpoint exactly when something went awry.
If you run into problems, Cypress has extensive documentation, a strong user base that helps each other out, and a support team that can answer your specific questions.
How fast and reliable is testing with Cypress?
One of the major advantages Cypress has over Selenium is speed. Cypress generally runs tests faster than Selenium, thanks to efforts put in by its developers to prioritize fast test execution.
Cypress also has tools to identify and flag flaky tests – tests where it’s possible to get a successful result or a failure without changing anything in the code. Tests like these can give false alarms for bugs that aren’t actually there and can send you on a wild goose chase trying to test and identify the error. Cypress can be set up to automatically retry failed tests, which can help identify flaky tests early on.
If you need to run the same tests regularly, you may want to focus some effort on optimizing your tests to run as quickly and efficiently as possible. With Cypress Cloud, you can run tests in parallel, automatically choose which tests are prioritized to run, and automatically cancel failed tests immediately after they fail, instead of letting them continue to use resources.
Is Selenium a better tool than Cypress?
Like Cypress, Selenium is an open-source browser-based application that can be used for testing web applications. Setup is a little more involved than Cypress, as you’ll have to choose which version of Selenium you’ll want to work with depending on your browser, your testing requirements, and the programming language you want to use.
Selenium supports a wide range of languages, including the following:
How easy is Selenium to use for web app testing?
Selenium actually refers to a collection of tools, libraries, and other things that enable users to automate interactions in web browsers. This means that it has more versatility than Cypress, but with that versatility comes a more complicated setup. To help you with installation and setting up your first test, Selenium has great documentation and support sections on their website.
One difference on writing tests with Selenium is the need for wait strategies – Selenium needs to keep the code matched with the current state of the browser, so your test won’t try to interact with an element before it’s fully loaded.
How reliable and fast is testing with Selenium?
Selenium is a more hands-on approach to web-based app testing, while Cypress is specifically optimized for it, so it lacks some of Cypress’s speed and tools. That being said, for some tasks, Selenium can shine when Cypress might have a few limitations. If you needed to precisely control some aspects of the tests that Cypress normally handles automatically, Selenium has you covered.
Selenium is generally a bit slower to run tests with and requires more intensive coding skills. Flaky tests can be handled by setting up the failed tests to run multiple times to confirm they’re failures. Testing automation is only limited by the amount of time and skill you want to put into it.
For most problems you run into, Selenium’s robust user group, chat rooms, and bug tracker can help you work out a solution. If that fails, there are some companies that specialize in helping solve problems with Selenium that might be able to get you moving forward with your testing again.
How to expand Cypress and Selenium’s functionality
Whether Cypress or Selenium is a better fit will depend on your project needs and what you expect to need your testing software to do in the future. No matter what, if you find yourself limited by the software’s capabilities, both options offer support for integrations that can expand what they can do. One example of an integration would be generating and using checkable email addresses to conduct email testing in the browser, If only we could think of someone who offered that…
Learn more about web app testing frameworks
Mailosaur offers a range of software tools and integrations that can take your email and SMS testing to the next level, including integrations that work with both Cypress and Selenium to generate unlimited email addresses and come up with real, working phone numbers that you can incorporate directly into your tests. If you have questions about Cypress, Selenium, or any of our software tools, please reach out to us!