Many companies neglect Cross-Browser Testing due to lack of knowledge about how their web applications are viewed by customers in different browsers. These companies will probably lose customers on a daily basis due to improper page rendering even in non-dominant browsers. Nothing is more disappointing to a customer visiting a web application than a broken page that does not render properly.
The success of a web application depends on software testing procedures that it goes through. This is due to the fact that appropriate software testing allows the detection of defects that are the possible causes of customer dissatisfaction. With an ever-improving technology offering many conveniences, customers are provided with a choice to select a preferred browser from a number of various browsers from which they can access any particular service of a web application. Cross-Browser testing is one possible way to identify how a web application behaves in various web browsers. Most commonly, after testing for a long time, companies might have stable functional web applications. However, most of the companies miss the key trick to perform Cross-Browser Testing and fail to reach targeted audience due to inadequate compatibility of their web applications on some browsers.
However, when a company is trying to reach customers worldwide, testing only on popular browsers might not be enough for testing as customers at different locations might be already using various other browsers or browser versions. So the key is to identify browser and browser versions that are most commonly used in a particular location. If Cross-Browser testing is not performed, a web application can look totally different in some particular browsers as each of the browsers will understand an application slight differently than the other one which can cause incompatibility. Testing on these identified browsers can help companies to identify errors and improve compatibility. More often, whenever any new version is available with new features, customers would like to use it for the experience. If the experience is good, customers start using it until the next version is available. It suggests that customers are never likely to be locked into one particular browser.
Additionally, customers are increasingly using Smartphones to browse the internet, therefore a web application also should be verified on multiple mobile browsers as well. Companies that want to reach out to more customers must consider testing web applications on all the available, location wise and more frequently used Cross-Browser and browser versions. A web application needs to compatible with a wide range of browsers to have more customers.
Performing Cross-Browser Testing manually can be a tiresome and time consuming process. Another option is setting up a number of virtual machines with various browsers and browser versions installed for testing. However, maintenance can be expensive. A better option would be to approach a cloud-based, cross browser automation testing solution provider who can help to perform tests on any browser, from anywhere and anytime. It would help in reducing in-house infrastructure, maintenance costs and saving a lot of time, which could be better utilized for other productive work.
