The Secret to Scale Cross-browser Testing

Testing your website on different browsers is key to providing a smooth experience for every user. As people visit sites from many devices and browsers, it's important for your site to work correctly no matter how visitors access it. This is where multi-browser testing tools become essential, letting you check your site across countless devices and browser combinations.

The right tools can help you speed up your testing, find issues earlier, and improve overall quality. These solutions give you features for real device testing, clear test reporting, easy integration, and detailed performance checks. With smarter test automation, you can keep up with changes in technology and meet higher user expectations.

The Importance of Cross-Browser Website Testing

Ensuring your website works smoothly in different browsers is key to user satisfaction. If your site works poorly or launches with problems, it can annoy users, hurt your brand, and even affect your earnings.

Device fragmentation is a big challenge. Users access websites from many devices, browsers, and operating systems. Your tests should cover as many real-world situations as possible.

Here's a quick look at why cross-browser testing matters:

Automated testing helps speed things up, but you need a stable, high-performing setup to test across all needed combinations. Some solutions offer large-scale parallel testing and support for many frameworks, making it easier to test more in less time.

You also get access to advanced features like network logs, real device testing, and dashboards that monitor your test health. This lets you find and fix issues before users see them.

Modern tools let you:

• Run tests on thousands of device, browser, and OS combinations

• Spot flaky tests and unique errors quickly

• Debug using real-time logs and video recordings

• Get detailed analytics on test performance and failures

Cross-browser testing lets you deliver a consistent, reliable experience for every user, regardless of their device or browser.

Difficulties in Reaching Complete Quality Checks

Variety of Devices and Platforms

You must test on many different devices, browsers, and operating systems. Each combination can act differently, so it is hard to ensure everything works everywhere. The long list of possible versions and configurations means some scenarios might be missed.

Here is a simple list of what you need to think about:

• Different phone brands and models

• Many browser types and versions

• Multiple operating systems and updates

This fragmentation makes it challenging to give each user the same experience.

Shortcomings of Virtual Testing Tools

Emulators and simulators are fast to set up and often used for convenience. However, they don't work exactly like real devices. This can lead to differences in how your website behaves.

Problems With In-House Device Labs

Managing your own lab with real devices sounds like a good idea, but it has many hurdles.

Key difficulties:

• High initial setup costs

• Ongoing time spent on updates and repairs

• It is hard to keep up as new devices come out

Since device maintenance takes effort, your testing may not stay up to date. This can limit your ability to scale up testing as your needs grow.

Speeding Up Automated Tests for Growth

Running Multiple Tests Together and Shortening Test Times

You can test your website on many browsers, devices, and operating systems at the same time. This is called running tests in parallel. With tools, parallel testing is simple to set up. You can adjust how many tests run at once based on what you need.

It's easy to monitor your tests in real time. The automation dashboard shows which tests are running, which have passed, and which have failed. You can go back to look at the results from the past. Test failures are sorted for you, making finding and fixing problems easier. This helps lower your test cycle time so you can release updates more often.

Ensuring Stable and Always-On Test Systems

Reliable infrastructure is essential for automated testing. This means your tests can run at any time without interruptions, and you do not need to manage or update device labs yourself.

You have access to an extensive range of real devices and browsers right away. When tests run on real hardware, you catch issues that emulators might miss. If you test using your secure preview or staging servers, local testing features help you find errors before users do.

Tests can be triggered directly from your terminal or integrated into your automated workflows. Alerts, reporting, and dashboards help you track your test health and results. You can create custom dashboards, set monitoring rules, and connect other tools like Slack, Jira, or Teams to get notified when tests fail.

With these systems in place, you can keep your test coverage high and your releases dependable.

Broad Coverage for Devices and Browsers

Wide Range of Devices, Browsers, and Operating Systems

You need to test across many devices, browsers, and operating systems to catch issues that could affect your users. You can use local testing to check your site before release, and take advantage of many native features like media injection and network simulation. This helps you find bugs and performance issues that only show up on real devices.

Compatibility With Major Frameworks and Languages

Setting up your automated tests is simple, with support for many popular programming languages and test frameworks. You can use plug-and-play SDKs in Java, Node.js, Python, or C# to connect your tests directly to the device cloud, without changing your code.

• Easily integrate with frameworks like TestNG, JUnit, and others

• Use configuration files (YAML) to manage your test settings

• Run tests in parallel to speed up your test cycles

• Access advanced features such as network logs and web performance reporting

With built-in support for leading test tools and fast setup, you can focus on improving your site, not worrying about infrastructure.

Effortless Setup and Customization

Leveraging SDKs and Quick-Start Solutions

You can quickly connect your test suites to real device clouds using SDKs built for major languages like Java, Node.js, Python, and C#. These SDKs are designed to work as direct add-ons, allowing you to start running tests with almost no extra setup. With this approach, integration shifts from taking hours to just a few minutes. There's no need to make code changes to move your testing to the cloud.

Here is a summary of supported languages and platforms:

Easy Test Suite Connection

You can use SDK tools to connect your existing automated test suites directly to the real device cloud. This makes it simple to run your complete set of tests across many devices and browsers simultaneously. Running tests in parallel helps you cut your overall test time.

• Add the SDK to your project.

• Use the CLI to start tests from your terminal.

• See live updates and test statuses in the dashboard.

Benefits:

• Fast test execution

• Live monitoring

• No manual environment setup

Custom Settings with YAML Configuration

You can manage all your project settings using a single YAML file. This file stores everything from the number of parallel test threads to capturing network or web performance logs. Editing the YAML file lets you set specific choices for browsers, devices, and advanced testing features.

Key options you can control in YAML:

• Parallel runs

• Network logs

• Custom capabilities

• Triggering tests from the command line

Example YAML settings:

parallel: 5

browser: Chrome

os: Windows 10

networkLogs: true

Using YAML makes updates simple—just change a few lines to try a new setting. You can keep your configuration clear, version-controlled, and easy to share with your team.

Real Device Testing Features You Can Use

Testing Real-World Device Functions and Use Cases

You can test how your apps and websites work with actual device features. For example, you can check media playback, audio streaming, file transfers, and payment security. It's also possible to evaluate settings like device location and network types.

Here's a quick list of things you can try with real device testing:

• Media injection

• File and audio sharing

• Payment process validation

• Location accuracy checks

• Switching device settings

• Simulating different network conditions

This helps you cover a wide range of situations users may face.

Enhanced Debugging and Monitoring

Live Test Status and Insights

When running your tests, you get up-to-the-moment updates about which tests are active or waiting. All your builds are grouped together, so it's simple to see what's happening. The dashboard tracks each build's performance, highlights problem tests, and points out ongoing issues so you know where to look first.

Quality controls help you set standards for your deployments. You can create profiles to track things like test stability or the number of errors. AI-based tools also explain why tests fail, such as bugs in your scripts, product problems, or issues in your testing environment.

Detailed Analytics at Build and Test Level

The dashboard breaks down the data not just by session but by each individual test. Tests are tagged as passed, failed, or skipped. You can filter and examine any failed tests to review logs, videos, and network details.

You can also see metrics such as:

• Test stability

• Execution counts

• Flaky tests

• Unique errors

A quick overview and deeper analysis are available through different dashboard tabs. Custom widgets let you build your own monitoring layout, choosing how you want to visualize trends and health across your projects.

Full Logging and Browsable Test History

Every test run includes detailed logs. These can include video recordings, network logs, and other valuable records for each session. You can "time travel" to review how tests behaved on previous days to spot patterns or repeated problems.

If you find an issue, you can mute tests, generate tickets, rerun only those tests, or tag collaborators for feedback. These tools make tracking errors, comparing different runs, and sharing findings with your team much quicker.

There are options to set up alerts and connect with tools like Jira or Microsoft Teams to get notified when certain events occur. This helps you catch issues early and makes debugging more efficient.

Key Features of the Automated Testing Dashboard

Build Summaries and Past Test Results

You can view a complete list of your builds, check summaries, and see how your tests performed over time. The dashboard stacks all builds in one place. There are quick filters that help you find information about stable runs, flaky tests, new features, or always-failing tests.

A table view gives you details like:

You can also dive into your build history, get alerts, and compare historical trends.

Deployment Quality Checks

You can set your own quality standards for deployment, letting you decide when builds are stable enough for release. You get a ready-made quality profile, but you can also create and configure your own based on what matters most to you, like flakiness or new errors.

Example quality rules:

• No new errors in the last five builds

• Flaky test rate below 2%

• All tests pass on the main browsers

Quality checks help automate your deployment process, ensuring only high-quality builds go live.

Intelligent Test Failure Recognition

The dashboard uses AI to group and explain why tests failed. It automatically sorts failures, such as product bugs, environment issues, or problems in automation logic, so you can focus on fixing the root cause quickly.

Failures are sorted into folders for easy navigation. You can select a folder to see more details about a specific type of issue. This helps save time and keeps your team focused on real problems.

Teamwork and Tracking Issues

You can track and manage issues right from the dashboard. Each test provides logs, such as video, network, and framework logs, so that everyone can investigate quickly. There is also a time travel feature that lets you see how the same test worked on previous days.

You can assign issues, mute noisy tests, or create Jira tickets directly from problem reports. Collaboration tools let your team rerun failed cases, leave comments, and follow updates. There are settings to set up notifications through webhooks for tools like MS Teams, Jira, or OpsGenie. Here's a quick list of collaboration options:

• Assign or mute tests

• Create and track Jira tickets

• Share logs and feedback

• Set up alerts and notifications through webhook integrations

Test Progress and Project Metrics

Summary and Stability Monitoring

The overview tab allows you to check your project's overall test health. This area shows important details like average test duration and failure rate, and gives you a quick look at test results over the set time frame. You can view these metrics more closely in the test health tab or investigate individual test cases if needed.

A typical stability table might include:

Use these numbers to track stability and see if any issues are appearing repeatedly.

Test Activity and Statistic Tracking

You get a complete set of testing statistics at the project level. The testing trends tab covers important metrics, such as:

• Latest unique build runs

• Overall test stability

• Flakiness rates

• Recent performance data

• Failure distributions

• Test execution counts

You can select your own time range to see how these metrics change over days or weeks. These statistics can be shown with bar graphs, pie charts, or tables for easier viewing.

You can also build a custom dashboard by adding widgets, selecting different metric filters, and selecting your favorite visual style. This lets you monitor the exact metrics that matter most to your team.

Personalized Dashboards and Automated Workflows

Customizing Your Dashboard and Using Widgets

You can set up your dashboard to fit your team's needs. Over 15 widgets are available for tracking important metrics and monitoring the health of your automation. You can also choose how you want your data shown—different visual styles and filters make it easy to see what matters most to you.

Quick steps to get started:

• Choose from a variety of widgets to display the data you care about.

• Set filters to focus on specific builds, test statuses, or time frames.

• Pick the visualization style that helps you understand your test results best.

Here's a simple look at some widget options:

These tools help you monitor everything in one place, making it easier to spot problems and track progress.

Connecting With Alerts and Monitoring Services

You can link your testing with popular notification and monitoring tools to ensure your team never misses an important update. Using webhooks, you can connect directly to services like PagerDuty, Opsgenie, Jira, or Microsoft Teams.

Main uses for integrating alerts:

• Get messages right away when tests fail or pass.

• Automate logging issues to your ticketing system.

• Set up custom rules to trigger alerts based on your quality standards.

How to set up integrations:

1. Go to the settings area.

2. Create a webhook connection.

3. Pick the template or make your own.

4. Add your connection details, and you're ready.

With these integrations, you stay updated and can fix issues faster, keeping your workflow smooth.

Adding Web Performance Tests

Lighthouse Score Checking and Reports

You can include Google Lighthouse checks in your automated tests to see how your website performs on different devices and browsers. Lighthouse can measure factors like load time, accessibility, and best practices.

After running your tests, you will get a report with different scores, such as:

Benefits:

• View the results as part of your test reports

• Spot issues before your site goes live

• Make changes to improve your website's performance

Final Thoughts

Testing websites across different browsers and devices is key for maintaining a consistent user experience. Delays or poor quality can frustrate users and harm your business. You face two significant challenges: speeding up testing cycles and covering all browsers, devices, and operating system versions. Emulators and simulators may seem like a quick fix, but they often miss issues only found on real devices. Setting up your own device lab can be expensive and hard to manage.

You can analyze metrics like test duration, failure rates, flakiness, and stability at both test and project levels. Custom dashboards and webhooks allow you to create personalized workflows and notifications. With instant access, strong uptime, and advanced debugging, you can improve both test speed and coverage for your websites.