Before we begin to explain anything about UI Testing, let’s know why they are important to learn. Testing fundamentals are our favorite because everything begins with them, and they lay a solid foundation indeed. And any beginners here, make sure you pay the best attention. One of the popular basic concepts in testing is UI (User Interface) testing, and today we are going to discuss all about the UI.

Many aspects can quickly annoy a user, and it became very imperative for companies to acknowledge them and rectify them in the best way possible. The user interface is super essential to impress a user and helps you keep them with you. Therefore, without any delay, let’s get into the topic right away.

Types of User Interface

Let’s the User Interface UI fundamentals right…

The common assumption about User Interface testing is that it’s testing the user interface of an application or software, and it doesn’t just end there. It’s way too complex than that but let’s just stick to the basics first. Knowing the different types of User Interfaces can be the best place to begin with for novices.

The primary ones are the Command-Line Interface (CLI) and the Graphical User Interface (GUI). What are they, you may wonder, and here’s what they actually mean. When you type something in the terminal to initiate any interaction with the software, we call the Command-Line Interface.

When a user uses graphical components of software or application to accomplish any particular task, you can call the Graphical. For instance, the windows, different text fields, task buttons, and more. In the modern-day applications of the 21st century, the most used UI is the GUI, and we’ll discuss more about it in the article.

What is a (UI) User Interface Testing?

As discussed in the previous section, UI Testing is a complex one. Its definition is not just confined to the usual assumption outside; there is a lot more to it beyond the standard definition that you know. You’ll get to learn about it here. First, let’s understand that UI testing is all about reviewing two things:

• Are all the visual elements or components in the application like the links, text fields, images, buttons, and more are presented correctly to the user.
• Can the application or software handle the actions executed by the user? Activities via mouse, keyboard, and the other input devices.

Another major aspect of good UI Testing is thinking of the best ways to incorporate usability. If you know answers to questions like how does your creation help the user achieve their goals or targets will help you test the application right. That’s the first step but just not enough. Is your application easy to use? Any user won’t certainly like the design chaos in any application.

Does your application make them wonder what an excellent tool! Is the UI accessible by all? Does it act empathetically to all? Precisely User Interface Testing checks if your UI works as it is supposed to while empowering the users to add value to their time on the application. Well, here are some lessons of empathy from an industry expert that’ll help you achieve the best accessibility on your site.

What are the benefits of performing the User Interface or UI Testing?

The first thing that you notice when you open an application or install software, it’s the interface; practically the user interface is the first thing a user sees. And kind of gives the user a very subtle first impression which is vital for you. The user needs to understand the design components to interact with the application or software, and that’s only possible with a user-friendly, simple user interface.

A faulty, malfunctioning UI can cause a huge loss to your organization. And there is a great possibility that these annoyed users may never return as there is good competition and alternatives of everything today. You certainly don’t want that to happen, which is why we stress the importance of proper User Interface UI Testing more in this article.

Automated Vs. Manual User Interface Testing UI

As beginners, going forward, you might hear this a lot but let us clear the air. First, automation is not the holy grail for everything in testing because you can’t automate everything. Second, manual testing will never probably go away. A machine or tool can’t understand the look and feel of your application; you need it by yourself. But you use automation to secure the shorter release cycles. Third, you need both of them, meaning that you need a good balance of both to attain maximum quality taking full advantage of their benefits.

The UI (User Interface) Testing Cheat Sheet

The term User Interface Testing (UI) is extensive in the world of testing, and as beginners, it’s always good to have a grip on basics first as well as having a checklist in hand with you. So, we made one for you reference here in this article, that follows:

1. Consistency

While UI Testing your application, it’s potent to check for consistency, especially with the visual elements of the software like the colors, font types, and so on. And you may have to depend on the Manual Testing rigorously for this.

2. Check for spellings:

Another thing that can change the context of something is the typo. But, again, you want your users to understand things in the way they are intended to. So, accuracy is the key. And sometimes, a small spelling mistake can either confuse or mislead the user. All this is to say that be meticulous at spelling in headers, menus, error prompt messages, informational text, or simply any text on the site. It can be done manually either in exploratory testing or via a spell-checking tool.

3. Typography

Is your text readable? Does it look good with the background? Can a user differentiate types of texts like the header, non-header text, link, or simple texts? That’s why user-friendly typography is critical. This is primarily done via manual visual testing.

4. Testing the behavior of interactive components

Check for the proper functionality of the buttons, clicks, hovers, drag-and-drops, and many other similar elements. Now, why is it important? Again, to give the user uninterrupted interaction with the software and application. You automate most of this task.

5. Functional validation

Next, are all the inputs yielding the expected outputs? Finally, check if there is any validation to avoid the users from entering the wrong inputs like the negative numbers. These checkings can be automated to save your time.

6. Adaptability

There are overwhelmingly several devices, browsers, screen resolutions, formats, and operating systems. So do check that all the UI elements are correctly displayed accurately in all these environments. For which Cross-Browser Testing tools can be handy.

Challenges in UI Testing

You’ll learn as you go that User Interface (UI) Testing is very, very complex, and by complexity comes several difficulties. In this section, we are particularly going to address the challenges in UI Testing.

1. Volatile UI

There happen so many changes in the components of an application very frequently. And with changing components, it becomes difficult to ensure everything is working properly. And on top of that, these design changes have to meet brand guidelines and web accessibility laws. In short, it’s a huge deal! While testing, these changes may lead to fragile test breaks.

2. Slow-moving UI Tests

By any chance, if you know what a test pyramid is, then you’ll know that UI tests are displayed on top. Now, this is because the UI testing can get very slow. This test pyramid means that, while executing your QA strategy, it becomes crucial to have more tests that perform fast and with no much setup. And the problem with these UI tests running slow is that they discourage the team from running tests as often as possible. That’s one drawback.

3. The cost of writing and maintaining Test Scripts

If the slowing moving tests are a problem, then the time, effort, and money spent on such prolonged testing are also massive and problematic. Think this way, a tester’s time is money, and some of them were busy writing and maintaining these tests, and that too for a long time is just unwillingly welcoming the opportunity cost.

Conclusion…

How to fight back the User interface (UI) Testing Challenges?

Well, you have to do different things to cope with all these challenges separately. However, you can approach the codeless tools to lower the cost of creating a number of test cases. And for volatility, all you need is the right tool that smartly deals with the locating elements. And when it comes to the slow-moving tests, you can follow some steps like learning and distinguish between the UI test and End-To-End tests.

And then focus on testing the application from a user point of view and as closely as possible. Finally, it all comes down to your strategy, team communication, coordination. So, stay in touch with the team and just make sure everything works as expected. And you are good to go!

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