Those involved in web development and testing must understand what is Selenium WebDriver, the Page Object Model (POM) in Selenium WebDriver, and how it enables streamlining the test script. Selenium WebDriver is a base for browser automation and testing. It is a robust framework to automate web browsers that privilege users to interact with web pages, making automation faster and more dependable. It ensures that web applications function perfectly across different environments.
In test automation, the Page Object Model (POM) is a design pattern. It is widely used with Selenium WebDriver to improve the readability, maintainability, and scalability of test scripts. By organizing the code into page-specific classes that abstract the details of the web page interactions, POM helps handle complicated test automation projects. Additionally using POM can help in effortless maintenance of the tests as the UI evolves.
This article explores Page Object Model Design in Selenium WebDriver. It will provide detailed insight into what Selenium WebDriver is, its benefits, as well as Page Object Model design pattern, its benefits, and how to implement it. This will also include some best practices for proper usage of POM in Selenium WebDriver. We will also see how AI testing can further enhance web automation with Selenium using cloud based testing platforms.
Understanding Selenium WebDriver
Selenium is an open-source and automated testing framework. It is a decent testing framework and extremely beneficial for web application developers. It has different components, each altering to various Selenium automation testing requirements. Selenium WebDriver is one of them.
Selenium WebDriver is a robust automation framework that supports multiple programming languages including Python, Java, JavaScript, etc. It is widely operated for web application testing. Selenium WebDriver fosters cross-browser and cross-platform testing, making it crucial for software and quality assurance experts. It also equips a programming interface and interacts with web browsers, allowing users to navigate, automate web pages and browser actions, navigate web pages, and perform functional testing.
Benefits of Selenium WebDriver
Some benefits of Selenium WebDriver are mentioned below:
Platform independence- Developers can use SeleniumWebDriver on many operating systems as it is platform-independent.
Support for mobile testing- Through extensions like Appium, Selenium WebDriver can automate mobile applications on iOS and Android, making it suitable for web and mobile testing.
Active element handling- Mechanisms to handle dynamic web fundamentals help testers deal with asynchronous web applications and guarantee stable test implementation.
Integration with testing framework- Integration with various testing frameworks like TestNG, JUnit, NUnit, and many more allows for structured test association, resemblant test implementation, and reporting capabilities.
Parallel test execution- Support for parallel test implementation allows testers to run multiple tests simultaneously. Various AI-powered test execution platforms support this feature, and the LambdaTest platform is one of them.
LambdaTest supports various automation testing tools and frameworks like Selenium, Cypress, Appium, Playwright, etc., enabling seamless automation of browser tests. It allows users to run parallel tests across multiple browsers and operating systems, reducing testing time.
Lambdatest, an AI-powered test orchestration and execution platform is used for testing web and mobile applications manually and in an automated way at scale. This platform allows testers to perform mobile website testing in real-time by providing access to a cloud Selenium Grid of more than 3000 environments, real mobile devices, and browsers online. Thus offering the scalability and flexibility required for modern testing, enabling test teams to deliver high-quality applications faster.
LambdaTest leverages AI testing capabilities, automated visual regression testing to detect identical visual changes in web applications, and testing the web application’s performance under different network conditions. Using its geolocation testing feature, testers can automate tests to simulate browsing from other geographic locations, which is important for testing how localized content, like language, is displayed to foreign users.
It also offers AI testing tools like KaneAI that can further enhance your Selenium WebDriver testing using Python.
Understanding Page Object Model (POM)
The Page Object Model is a design pattern in Selenium WebDriver that facilitates constructing a separate class (page object) for an individual page or screen in users application. This class encapsulates all dealings with the page’s UI elements and discloses methods for executing actions like clicking buttons, entering text, and rescuing page content. It also helps to make automation testing more efficient, as tests can be created very easily and maintained without any concern about the changes made to the web page.
Usage of Page Object Model
POM reduces code duplication and simplifies updates when the application’s UI changes. Given below are some of its usages which make POM very apt for the users.
- Maintainability: One of the most beneficial advantages of POM is its maintainability. When the UI changes, users are only required to edit the comparable page object class, rather than every single test. This minimizes the effort required to update tests when the application changes.
- Reusability: Page objects contain reusable methods for interacting with UI elements, which can be used again across various test cases.
- Separation of Concerns: By separating the UI interactions from the test logic, POM leads the way to a more pristine structure where test verification and UI manipulation are distinguished. This results in better partnerships between testers and developers.
- Readability and Clean Code: POM improves the readability of tests by drawing the low-level details of the UI interaction. Test scripts become precise and focus on testing material, rather than how the elements are manipulated.
Key Concepts in Page Object Model
The key concepts of POM are Page Objects, Separation of Concerns, Test Classes, Page Factory, etc. These make structure tests easier to scale, understand, and do modifications, making them ideal for larger test automation projects. Below are the key concepts of the Page Object Model in Selenium WebDriver:
- Page Object Class-A page object is a class that symbolizes a web page or part of a page. It encapsulates the elements of the page and uncovers the methods to interact with those elements. The primary responsibilities of a page object are, locating elements, interacting with elements, and validating page conditions.
- Test Data Management- Although handling test data is not a fundamental concept of the Page Object Model, it is often closely connected with POM in practice. Test data for actions like login (e.g., password, username,) can be passed as parameters to methods in the Page Object thereby promoting data-driven testing.
- Page Factory- The Page Factory is provided by Selenium to initialize web elements in a Page Object making things more convenient for the users. It helps to reduce unoriginal code by automating the initialization of WebElements. This converts the work from tedious and error-prone to foolproof.
- DRY Principle (Don’t Repeat Yourself)-The DRY Principle is one of the advantages of using the Page Object Model. It allows the users to reuse code by centralizing common actions and elements in a single class (the Page Object). This eliminates the need to repeat element locators or interaction logic across multiple test cases.
- Separation of Concerns- The fundamental principle of the Page Object Model is the separation of concerns. In this case, Test logic is kept separate from UI interaction logic. By separating these aspects, the code becomes good, uncomplicated, and more reusable.
- Encapsulation of UI Logic- In the Page Object Model, all the UI interactions are encapsulated within methods of the Page Object. This means the test class does not directly interact with the UI, but rather calls methods from the Page Object to perform the necessary actions. This provides the users with the benefit of flexibility and cleaner code.
- One Page Object per Web Page- In the Page Object Model, each web page or component in the application should ideally have a corresponding Page Object class. This class represents the elements and actions specific to that page or component, ensuring that the code is modular and easy to maintain.
Advantages of using Page Object Model in Selenium WebDriver
Mentioned below are a few advantages of using the Page Object Model in Selenium WebDriver
Easy maintenance- With POM, users can create separate Page Object classes for different pages or components, making it easier to scale the test suite as the application evolves. Updating processes also doesn’t create any complexity and makes maintenance of the test code more efficient and less time-consuming.
Increases test coverage- POM allows testers to make more tests with less effort. This improves test coverage and helps Enhance collaboration: POM can enhance collaboration between the development and testing teams. This promotes more advanced communication and collaboration between the teams. More defects, resulting in higher-quality software.
Enhance collaboration- POM can enhance collaboration between the testing team and development. Developers can develop the Page Object class while testers can make use of it to create test cases. This promotes amazing communication and collaboration between the teams.
There are countless advantages to using POM. In short, POM is a dominant design pattern that can make automation testing more efficient, organized, and maintainable.
Best Practices for Page Object Model (POM) in Selenium WebDriver
To get the maximum out of POM, it is highly favorable for the users to follow the given best practices to ensure the framework’s longevity and maintainability. Mentioned below are the best practices for implementing the Page Object Model in Selenium WebDriver:
Use Meaningful Names for Page Objects and Methods- The name of the class should represent the page or component it is modeling. Methods within the page object should clearly describe the action of the user. This helps testers understand the intent of the code without needing to inspect the details.
Keep Page Objects Focused- Each page object should represent a single page or a component of a page. This helps maintain a clean and modular structure.
Use Explicit Waits- A common problem in Selenium is dealing with timing issues, such as elements not being available immediately after page load. To avoid these errors users must use explicit waits to ensure elements are present and interactable.
Reusability of Page Objects Across Tests- Page objects should be designed with reusability in mind. The same page object should be usable across multiple test cases.
Use Abstract Classes for Common Functionality- If multiple page objects share similar functionality (like navigation or login), users must consider creating an abstract base class that contains shared code. This reduces duplication and makes the framework easier to maintain.
Keep Test Logic Separate from Page Object Methods- In tests, users must focus on high-level scenarios, and delegate the interaction details to the page objects. This keeps the tests clean and readable while allowing changes to the UI without affecting the test scripts. Test methods should call the page object methods to perform actions, but avoid having any test logic in the page object classes.
Use Assertions in Test Classes, Not Page Objects- Page objects should provide the functionality to interact with the elements but not assertions. Assertions are part of the test case, not the page objects. This keeps the page objects reusable in different contexts and test scenarios.
Handle Different User Roles with Separate Page Objects- If the application has different user roles (Admin, User, etc.), then separate page objects for each role can be created. This avoids mixing UI elements for different types of users into one class, thus making your framework more modular.
Keep Page Objects Simple- Page objects should focus on simple interactions with page elements. If a particular page has complex behavior, users must consider breaking it down into smaller, more manageable components. For example, a product page with many form fields, buttons, and complex logic should be split into smaller page objects rather than having one large page object.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the Selenium WebDriver Page Object Model (POM) is a vital design pattern for constructing scalable and maintainable Selenium WebDriver automation frameworks. It fosters the separation of concerns by outlining UI interactions into page objects, making it easier to organize tests and uphold code in the face of UI changes.
Furthermore, following the principles of POM can lead to more uncluttered, more maintainable test code, especially as the application grows in complexity. Hope this article helps you understand POM in Selenium WebDriver.
