Top Software Testing tools for Web Applications in 2021

Curious to learn what will be the top software testing tools of 2021?

Our goal is to help you choose, compare and decide what is the testing tool for you, based on the current state of the market.

We will cover the most promising automated testing tools for web applications, including cloud-based tooling, AI-assisted testing, ERP testing, as well as the most popular JavaScript testing frameworks.

Best Software Testing Tools

Selenium

Selenium is considered the automation tool of choice for over a decade. It is an open-source framework that is used to automate web browsers. Apart from standing the test of time — one of the key areas it excels in is supporting a wide variety of programming languages (JavaScript, C#, Java, Python, Ruby, PHP, Perl, and R).

Selenium has one of the largest active community and support networks for automation testing. Furthermore, Selenium acts as a framework for other frameworks to draw design elements from it.

Nevertheless, the tester requires sound programming skills to create efficient test cases with Selenium. It also takes time to develop libraries and frameworks needed for automation. This makes selenium less user-friendly.

But still, it is anticipated that Selenium WebDriver will continue to have more users in the upcoming years since it is appealing to a larger target audience than any other tool.

If you are looking for a rock-solid test automation tool with a vibrant community, you can learn how to get started with Selenium .

Katalon Studio

Katalon Studio is a commercial cross-browser automation tool for Web, API, mobile and desktop application testing. This is a selenium-based engine that can be used on Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Katalon is optimised to automate test scripts for UI elements like pop-ups, iFrames, with support for asynchronous operations and wait-time. These automated tests are equipped with test recording and analysis reports. This all comes with fantastic continuous integration support that your DevOps team will love.

The learning curve is mild, and it is easy to deploy. The whole installation is included in a single package with everything you need for automated testing. Compared to Selenium, Katalon supports a wider set of integrations. It has dual scripting interfaces with built-in keywords for users with various programming skills. Thus, testers with limited technical knowledge can use a simpler UI without having to code.

Although Katalon Studio is a free tool, there are technical support plans offered for different prices.

If your QA team prefers to build tests on an interface rather than with a programming language, you should give Katalon Studio a go .

Ranorex Studio

Ranorex Studio is considered an all-in-one tool for Functional UI test automation. It is a commercial automation tool to test complex interfaces in systems like ERP applications on desktop, web, and mobile platforms. One of the key differences is that Ranorex can automatically identify UI elements using a “best-guess” algorithm that is close to XPath. It then allows you to edit, manage and categorise these UI elements.

The tool is flexible enough to be handled both by novice and expert testers. For novices, Ranorex has a click-and-go interface to create test cases without coding. On the other hand, it also facilitates automation with full IDE, various integrations, and CI/CD tools for expert testers. It also comes with script generation and record/playback options.

Parallel tests are also possible by integrating Ranorex with Selenium Grid. Moreover, Testing toolchains like Azure DevOps, Jenkins, and Jira can also be integrated to create a complete test plan.

As a result of the features mentioned above, Ranorex is currently trusted by over 4000 firms worldwide, making it a worthwhile mention.

If you are testing software that you don’t have control over, like an off-the-shelf ERP, you can learn more about what Ranorex can offer you and how to set it up .

TestProject

TestProject is the first cloud-based test automation tool, and it can be used to test your web applications and APIs with open-source technology. Setting up a TestProject is pretty simple. It’s also a cross-platform tool that supports Windows, Linux, Mac, and eliminates the need for any dependency.

TestProject includes a script-less test recorder for beginners and comes with Selenium and Appium in a single package to support several languages like Java and Python. It also provides advanced user management options where you can assign users to projects and grant permission only to actions they are allowed to perform.

TestProject is more of a community-powered automation platform that is offered free of charge. They create and share functions known as Addons that can be used within any tests you write. These addons not only save your time but also provide the required expert knowledge to create test cases.

If you’re looking for a cloud-based, open-source test automation tool, you can learn more about TestProject and how to set it up .

TestComplete

TestComplete is a commercial and a comprehensive testing tool for web, desktop, and mobile applications with dynamic user interfaces. It comes with an AI-assisted object recognition engine to detect dynamic UI elements and update them automatically. The tool also supports many scripting languages.

TestComplete lets you build Reusable tests for web applications built with modern javascript frameworks. A visual record and playback feature is also available for creating complex automated test scripts. This will save you from writing long lines of code.

TestComplete lets you integrate various tools like Jenkins, Jira, Selenium, and more. You can run parallel tests in more than 1500 remote test environments like browser and operating systems. This will increase the test coverage and delivery speed of the application.

If you need to enhance the quality in faster release cycles, TestComplete is a good option for you.

Learn how to install TestComplete from here .

JavaScript Testing Frameworks

Jest

With the high recommendation from Facebook, Jest is an open-source testing framework to test JavaScript libraries, frequently used to write unit tests for React components.

The installation is simple, and the framework is blazing fast. The test runtime can be significantly reduced through parallelization, and by running the slowest tests first, you can leverage all cores for speedier performance.

When used with Mocks, Jest enables you to manage the test dependencies, totally saving a lot of time. Jest also possesses a UI snapshot facility to show rendered components that can be compared later to ensure that the UI isn’t changed.

With over 16 million downloads, Jest remains one of the most popular testing frameworks for React.

Learn how to get started with Jest from here .

Mocha

Mocha is a JavaScript test framework with a multitude of features dedicated to testing Node.js applications, including browser support and simple asynchronous testing. It also provides test coverage reports and employs an assertion library.

The developer is free to choose which way they need to test the code, what tools to be used, and what libraries to be plugged in. Mocha can also be integrated with Enzyme, Chai, and other libraries when used to test React applications.

However, the framework requires many dependencies for working with mock data and requests. For example, you need assertion libraries like Chai to work with React applications. Still, thanks to the comprehensive tutorials and documentation, Mocha is easy to learn and can be quickly put to action.

Learn how to install Mocha from here .

Jasmine

Jasmine is an open-source JS testing framework that supports Behavioral Driven Development (BDD). It can test any JavaScript application. With Jasmine, you can create test cases similar to user behaviour on a web application.

The framework is more useful in frontend testing. It has visibility testing and responsiveness testing of UI on various devices with different resolutions. Jasmine has a very clear and straightforward syntax close to our natural language. This makes writing test cases much easier. In addition, The tool does not need any Document Object Model (DOM) since it can run on the JS environment instead of running on a browser, although it’s arguably better to run it using a headless browser.

The biggest advantage of Jasmine is its compatibility with any framework or library you choose. This feature makes Jasmine the most flexible framework of JavaScript. Furthermore, Jasmine has large community support that makes the learning curve smooth.

If you are to do a large project that needs several integrations with external libraries, Jasmine would be the most feasible solution.

Learn how to install Jasmine from here .

Cypress

Cypress is regarded as the next-generation front end testing tool to conduct end-to-end tests, integration tests, and unit tests.

The framework delivers more consistent results with its test cases. It takes a snapshot at each step so that the developer can check them whenever needed. You can also modify the DOM elements directly with Cypress.

Cypress.io is popular for its features like automatic scrolling, time travel, plus real-time reloads. If you are a JavaScript expert searching for a tool to do automation testing on the local machine, Cypress would be the best option.

Learn how to install Cypress from here .

Bottom Line

We have discussed the highly-rated tools and frameworks to test your project’s front end in the above passage. Which one you should opt totally depends on your requirements — there is no one size fits all. The compatibility, development methodology, the time spent on testing are some criteria you can ponder on.