In this era of intense competition, almost every business has an online presence, and thousands of new websites are coming up every year. As per Forbes, more than 43% of small businesses are thinking of investing in their website performance in 2023. In such a scenario, it becomes crucial for website developers to create websites that are visually engaging and function seamlessly. If your website does not meet user standards, they will prefer visiting other websites with superior functionality and user experience. In the long run, it will translate into lost customers and, ultimately, lesser sales and revenues.

During the development process, there’s always a risk of visual inconsistencies that can hinder users’ ability to effectively carry out their intended actions, even if other functional aspects are performing smoothly. Websites with mismatched colors, images, or even missing components can be visually unappealing and negatively impact user experience. To prevent these issues, it’s crucial to thoroughly test your application using a visual testing tool before release.
This article will explain in depth the role of visual testing in software development and how to select the best tool to test your website and applications.

The Significance of Visual Testing

By performing visual testing, you ensure that your web applications and graphical user interfaces provide a flawlеss pеrformancе across a widе range of dеvicеs and browsеrs. Visual testing tools hеlp idеntify discrepancies and subtlе dеsign flaws by automating thе procеss of comparing visual еlеmеnts across different devices, browsеrs, and scrееn sizеs. The visual testing process guarantees a consistent and visually plеasing usеr еxpеriеncе for every user, whatever platform they use.

Some consequences of not performing visual testing:

• Images may not render properly on the screen
• Text may not be readable to the user
• The graphical user interface (GUI) does not look aesthetically appealing
• The GUI does not function as intended

Key Advantages of Visual Testing Tools

Let us now look at the key benefits provided by visual testing tools for verifying your applications:

Quicker feedback and bug identification: These tools facilitate the quick execution of visual tests and help provide developers with faster feedback. They identify visual issues early and allow teams to address them early, reducing bug-fixing time and accelerating the release process.

Improves user experience: When you identify visual issues early, you create a visually appealing user interface that positively impacts user experience and satisfaction.

Better team collaboration: These tools generate detailed test reports with visual proof of issues, enabling smooth communication between testers, developers, and other stakeholders.

Selecting An Appropriate Visual Testing Tool

To get the advantages mentioned above, selecting the right tool is vital. Here are the pointers you need to keep in mind while making a decision:

Device and Browser Support

Ensure that you choose a visual testing tool that supports cross-browser and cross-device visual validation. If you choose a tool without these features, your code deployment might not cause functional variations on different devices and browsers but may have a negative visual impact. Verify that it works with popular browsers like Firefox, Safari, Edge, Chrome, and other specialized platforms.

Snapshot Stabilization

Your tool should be able to eliminate all the false positives. It should be able to identify anti-aliasing or pixel offsets and be capable of testing dynamic and moving content that can influence the user experience.

Accessibility

Ensure that you select a tool based on your testing team’s requirements and skills. Among the tools, there will be ones that do not require coding and those with a record-playback plugin or a drag-and-drop interface that anyone without technical knowledge can use. There will also be testing frameworks that enable app developers to write code for testing.

Screenshot comparison capability

When choosing a visual testing tool, ensure that it has a screenshot comparison testing feature. The tool you select should ideally perform a pixel-by-pixel comparison to determine any modifications
to your UI.

Open-source or commercial

Keep your budget in mind while selecting the best visual tool for your testing requirements. It is advisable to try out different open-source and commercial tools available in the market before making your final decision. Even if you select a commercial tool, ensure that it meets the constraints of your budget. Avail of the trial periods or proof-of-concept to get an idea of the functionality, usability, and compatibility of your visual testing tool before committing.

Easy integration

Another factor to remember is to ensure that the testing tool you choose supports and integrates with all your essential testing frameworks and development tools and is compatible with your CI/CD pipelines. Watch out for plugins, extensions, or APIs that simplify integration.

Ease of use

Pick a tool that has an easy-to-use interface and simple features. Look for resources like documentation, and check that the tool offers email or phone support to testers when they need help with the features.

Conclusion

As you can see, visual testing is a vital part of the software development process that ensures the visual elements of a website or application, including images, layout, and buttons, function correctly and as expected. With the growing importance of user experience, visual testing cannot be overlooked in today’s competitive times. With the right automated visual testing tool, you can significantly improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the testing process.

The cloud-based platform lets you test your applications across thousands of real devices in a secure environment, ensuring you verify your apps across real-world test conditions and offer the best possible user experience.
This blog is originally Published at Testgrid.io