Visual Testing - Type, Tools and Benefits

What is Visual Testing?

Visual testing is also referred to as visual UI testing in software development. It confirms that a user interface (UI) for a web or mobile app appears correctly to all users.

#Visual testing assesses an application's visible output and compares it to the outcomes anticipated by design. Visual tests make sure that each element on an app page is displayed in the proper position, size, color, and font. Additionally, it verifies that these elements display and work flawlessly across a range of platforms and browsers. In other words, visual testing takes into account how different operating systems, screen sizes, and environments will affect software.

Types of Visual Testing

The two types of visual testing are listed below:

1.??Manual Visual Testing:?

Manual visual testing entails contrasting two screenshots, one from your app's most recent version and the other from a known-good baseline image. You need to take your time with each pair of images to make sure you've caught every problem. particularly if the page is lengthy or contains numerous visual components.

Manual Testing Steps:

• Browse the app and take known-good-baseline screenshots as you go.
• Take additional screenshots of the app's most recent iteration at a later time.
• To identify the visual bugs, manually compare these screenshots (baseline vs. current).

2. Automated Visual Testing:?

Automated visual testing can automatically test a user interface for visual consistency. The advantages of automating visual tests include their long-term cost effectiveness, speed and accuracy advantages over manual tests (as they can eliminate human error and produce pixel-perfect visual tests), and their reusability and transparency advantages (as they provide automatic reports that are simple to use and accessible by any team member).

• Unless screenshot testing is used, the scope of automation testing is smaller. As organizations learn about automation testing tools, there is also a steep learning curve.
• If you need to perform regression visual testing to deal with frequent changes occurring to a stable UI, going automated would be a wise choice. Another benefit of automated testing is a great visual screenshot comparison.
• Automated screenshot comparison improves #ROI and provides a high level of precision in visual testing.
• Bugs that are impossible to find with human eyes and manual comparison can be found using the automated screenshot comparison. It is also beneficial for complex user story end-to-end testing.

Tools for Automated Visual Testing

1. Applitools

For automated visual testing and visual regression testing, it is one of the most well-liked commercial tools. This tool conducts visual testing using AI-powered computer vision.

Algorithms, rather than pixels, are used by AI-powered automated visual test tools to identify when errors have occurred. When comparing layouts, an AI-powered tool considers the layout framework rather than the content. Layout comparison validates the existence of the content and its relative placement rather than focusing on content differences.

Additionally, it supports #DevOps, allowing you to quickly incorporate your visual test cases into the CI/CD pipeline. You can also design unique visual reports using this tool.

2. Percy by BrowserStack

One of the powerful tools for automating visual testing is Percy by BrowserStack. It takes screenshots, analyzes the differences between them and the baseline images pixel-by-pixel, and then highlights visual changes.

This tool provides responsive and pixel-by-pixel diffs, which provide excellent visual coverage. Additionally, the feature for snapshot stabilization reduces false positives.

You can integrate, run, and evaluate the visual tests using it. Integration can be done directly through your application, #CI/CD services, or?test automation frameworks.

3. Kobiton

The most powerful mobile Visual Validation and Visual UX Testing solution is provided by Kobiton's #scriptless automated visual testing solution.

It is designed to find visual bugs in order to improve mobile UI and UX. It detects flaws in both appearance and functionality that might not have been seen otherwise.

It offers real-world, cloud-based, or even on-premises manual and automated testing for mobile apps.

Advantages of Visual Testing

• Better UI and code quality
• Quick bug finding
• View control across various browsers and devices
• Simple to use
• Quick execution
• Automation
• Code reduction
• Effective results feedback during testing

Disadvantages of Visual Testing

• Unable to identify smaller defects
• Only needs the most basic abilities to implement
• Possibilities of containing the detect despite the use of testing
• Only examines the surface that is visible or lit