How to Set Up Automated Testing for Web Apps
Test automation sounds great in theory: write tests once, run them forever. In practice, many teams struggle with flaky tests, maintenance burden, and frameworks that slow development instead of accelerating it. The difference between success and failure is choosing the right tools and establishing sustainable patterns.
Choose Your Framework
Three frameworks dominate modern web testing:
Cypress: Excellent developer experience, reliable tests, real-time reloading. Limited to Chrome-based browsers and single-domain testing. Best for testing your own application.
Playwright: Best cross-browser support (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge), handles multiple domains and tabs elegantly. Becoming the default choice for new projects.
Selenium: Still relevant for legacy projects and edge cases, but newer frameworks have solved its complexity more elegantly.
Start With Critical Paths
Begin with a smoke test suite covering essential user journeys:
- Account creation and login
- Core product functionality
- Checkout/payment (if applicable)
- Key integrations
Keep initial suite runtime under 5 minutes so it can run on every commit. Expand coverage gradually as patterns stabilize.
Use Page Object Pattern
The biggest maintenance problem is selectors scattered throughout test files. When UI changes, you update dozens of places.
Page Objects encapsulate page interactions in reusable classes. When UI changes, you update one class instead of every test. This pattern scales from dozens to thousands of tests.
Use Data Test IDs
CSS classes and DOM structure change constantly. Tests relying on class names break with every design update.
Add data-testid attributes for test automation. Your tests select elements using stable IDs that survive CSS changes and restructuring.
Integrate With CI/CD
Automated tests that only run locally provide limited value. Configure tests to run on every pull request and before deployment. GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, and CircleCI all work well.
Upload screenshots and videos when tests fail to speed debugging.
Handle Flaky Tests
Flaky tests -sometimes passing, sometimes failing -destroy confidence and waste time. Common causes:
- Race conditions (test runs faster than application loads)
- Time-based assertions
- Shared test data
Solutions:
- Use framework waiting mechanisms instead of sleep()
- Isolate test data -each test creates and cleans its own data
- Mock dates for time-dependent features
- Quarantine flaky tests while debugging
Scale Gradually
Don't automate everything immediately. Get 10-15 critical tests running reliably. Establish patterns for page objects and data management. Then expand.
Focus automation on stable features. Features under active development change too rapidly for efficient test maintenance.
Need help setting up sustainable test automation? Discover how BetterQA builds automation frameworks for long-term success.