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Web Testing on the Cloud-The Benefits

The influence of Advanced technology helps us to realize all the wrong practices that we have been doing so far. The introduction of cloud testing is one such feature that helped us analyze all the flaws in the old testing processes. The developers wrongly thought it had no role in improving the quality of the app. However, cloud-based web testing proved that the testing process goes much beyond just ensuring the stability of the application. In the modern generation, the developers have to try every possible way to ensure optimal end-user satisfaction. Various practices can help developers to use the full potential of the testing environment.

With this article, we will venture deep into the world of cloud-based web testing. Our primary goal will be to analyze its use cases and major benefits. We will also try to determine how a developer can improve the stability of the application through the entire testing infrastructure.

What is Cloud-Based Testing

Before understanding cloud web testing, we need to have a clear idea of the working mechanism of normal test cases. The primary goal of application testing is to ensure a stable and optimal performance of an app. The developers also have to ensure that the application maintains this performance irrespective of the device or other physical specifications. The traditional approach to this testing mechanism was to physically test the application on every device one by one. This worked for quite some time as there weren’t many choices available in the market. However, with the advancement of technology, the demands of consumers began to rise. Multiple devices are released in the market with a specific target audience. A recent survey shows that currently thousands of mobile devices are released every year. 

Considering the recent market condition, it is almost impractical to maintain a physical device testing lab. This is because the developers will have to spend an absolute Fortune for this purpose. So, the modern solution to this problem is performing cloud-based testing of web applications. Using this process, the developers can run various test cases using different Cloud Servers. This means that the developers can initiate test cases on any new or old devices according to their preferences. Moreover, they can also perform cloud-based web testing from anywhere in the world. The most important benefit of cloud testing is that there is almost no limit to its capabilities. 

Integration of Cloud Testing and Automation Testing

Automation Testing is a process that involves conducting the test cases automatically using a predefined test script. The primary goal of this process is to eliminate manual test cases from repetitive areas. For instance, regression testing, data-driven testing and unit testing are the primary areas that require test automation. A major advantage of automation testing is that it helps the developers to concentrate on other important areas. For instance, they can work on creating innovative features for the future update of the application. The integration of automation testing and cloud testing is one of the most effective features of the present web development industry. Using this feature, the developers can verify the functioning of the web application on thousands of different devices at the same time.  

Cloud-based Automation Testing also helps the developers to verify proper user interaction on progressive web applications. This process analyses how the application reacts to various types of data entered by the user.  Various tools and frameworks help the developers to perform cloud-based automation testing. We will discuss the role of tools in a later part of this article. However, web developing companies must consider the initial charges of introducing automated test cases in the test environment.

Cloud-based testing leverages the flexibility and scalability of cloud infrastructure to conduct comprehensive testing activities. By integrating Terraform consulting, teams can automate the provisioning of test environments, ensuring consistency and efficiency in deployment, management, and teardown, ultimately enhancing the agility and reliability of the testing process.

The Benefits of Cloud-Based Testing

It is illogical to recommend a process without properly analyzing its major benefits. Moreover, the benefits of cloud-based testing are the primary feature that has influenced the entire web Development Industry. So, let us take a detailed look at the major benefits of cloud-based testing:

  1. Decreases the Cost of Automation

Automation testing is one of the most expensive testing processes. Its initial investment charges are very high compared to other testing processes. This figure seems very rough for startup companies and individual creators. The test bench is one such factor that contributes to the massive expenses of test automation. Cloud testing eliminates this phase and almost saves a fortune for the company. Cloud testing also has a major role in the reusability of test scripts. This means that it allows the developers to reuse a massive portion of their automation test scripts. Maintenance of cloud automation test scripts is also very cost-effective.  Another advantage of this process is that it allows the developers to reallocate a portion of the budget in other areas. For instance, they can invest this amount to add new features to the app.  

  1. Unlimited Availability of Resources

With physical testing, your offline resources limit your testing capabilities. This means that you can test your web application on those devices that you have in hand. On the other hand, cloud testing has no such limitations. This is because cloud servers can access any device from anywhere in the world. It even allows you to access certain browsers and devices that are no longer available in the market. In this modern generation, the choices of people are divided by different requirements. So, web developing companies cannot afford to generalize the audience base. According to the current standards, the generalization of the industry will lead to massive customer losses. The cloud environment allows the developers to create the environment according to their requirements. Thus, they can customize the test bench according to real-world traffic. 

  1. Has Proper Support for the Agile Workflow

Agile Work Flow helps to improve the coordination between different teams of the development project. The primary goal of this process is to speed up the application development process and also increase its efficiency. The traditional belief was that the testing process must be performed after the development phase. However, it had many adverse effects on the development cycle. For instance, many crucial bugs were detected in the late phases. Thus, it massively slowed down the production phase. The modern structure ensures that various teams of the company work together. It allows them to conduct the development, production, testing and quality assessment processes simultaneously. Cloud Testing allows the developers to integrate Agile and DevOps methodologies. It also helps the companies to improve the understanding of the developers about the development project. 

  1. Can be Customized According to the Testing Needs

Every application has a different purpose and a different target audience. So, it is an easy guess that the testing process won’t be the same as well. The testers have to add several customized parameters to ensure proper performance evaluation. With in-house testing, customization of test cases is not only time consuming but also limited to a certain extent. This is due to the restricted access to devices and other physical resources. Mobile testing is very difficult to achieve with normal test cases. This is because every device is different in terms of screen size, resolution and other specs. Cloud testing helps to solve this issue with its unlimited resources and customization options. 

Certain cloud testing platforms support the fusion of manual testing and automation testing. This process massively improves the accuracy of the final test results. A great example of one such platform is LambdaTest. 

Role of Tools in Cloud-Based Test Automation

Experts believe that the advantage of cloud-based Automation Testing is the lack of accuracy in test results. This is because most of the cloud servers use virtual machines and Emulators to conduct the test cases. As a developer, you must remember that virtual machines can never replicate the physical features of a real device. Therefore, you must be very careful while choosing cloud-based automation tools for your development environment. The primary deciding factor for this segment is that the tool must be able to conduct the test cases on real devices as well. Other factors will also influence your decision-making process. For instance, you must have an understanding of the requirements of the development project and your preferences. The tool must support the programming language that you are currently using in the application.

We can use the example of LambdaTest to shed more light on this segment. 

LambdaTest is a platform to verify the cross-browser compatibility of web applications. It uses cloud servers to conduct all the test cases on a safe and Secure Selenium grid. Currently, LambdaTest supports testing on an online browser farm of 3000+ different browsers and operating system. 

Using LambdaTest, the developers can run the test cases on virtual machines, emulators and real devices as well. Thus, the final test results are very accurate and dependable for future references. LambdaTest also helps the developers to initiate parallel test cases. Using this feature the developers can execute multiple test instances simultaneously. Using this platform, the developers can also verify the cross-browser compatibility of all local web applications and private pages. LambdaTest also enables the integration of DevOps and Agile Methodologies. 

The reliability of a tool is another important factor that the developer must consider during the tool selection process. This is because it is illogical to integrate any random tool into the primary test bench of a company. The most effective way to verify the compatibility of a tool is to understand how other people are feeling about it. You can complete this process by checking the user Reviews on Multiple Forums. Here, you will come across thousands of real-life experiences of multiple online testers. 

The Conclusion

Testing is one of the most essential processes in the web application development lifecycle. With the help of stable performance and proper functioning, you can maintain peak user satisfaction. This factor is crucial to reduce bounce rates and improve user retention numbers. As a company, one of your primary goals must be the expansion of the audience base. This is very crucial to maintain your company’s stand in this competitive market.

Proper testing skills are also important to improve your portfolio. Knowledge of all the skills will ensure a bright future in the test automation industry. The decision-making around cloud testing needs and execution typically involves collaboration between the QA (Quality Assurance) team lead and the cloud operations team. For a deeper dive into the specific roles of cloud architects and software engineers within the cloud environment, refer to this informative article on cloud architect vs software engineer.

Companies should invest a significant amount of time in testing team training. During this process, the teams must learn all the key factors to determine test efficiency. The automation testers must also be aware of all the modern test automation trends. Lastly, you must have a definite idea about all the cloud automation testing tools.

Surbhi Gupta
Surbhi Gupta

Surbhi is an avid writer, marketer, and a SaaS and technology observer. She is found of music and art while the workaholic mood takes off from her table.

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