Overview
Cross-device compatibility is defined as the process of real device testing whether the web application or a website is compatible with various types of devices and browsers or not. In this testing process, all the features and functionality of a website or web application is tested to ensure the best user experience in future. And there should be no inconsistency and malfunctioning of the website across different types of devices. There are many ways to test the cross-device compatibility but using the cloud resources to perform testing processes have many advantages.
As the technology is growing rapidly all the services, like shopping, medicine, health consult, etc are going online. And websites and web applications are the most important part of online services. It is almost the front card of any organization. The website should provide a seamless and user-friendly experience to gain the user’s faith. If they will not get a good experience it is seen that 50% of the users switched to different products due to bad user experience. In this article, we will discuss what are cross-device compatibility issues with cloud testing, what is cross-device compatibility test, and various aspects of it.
What is cross-device Compatibility?
As we know, there are tons of programming languages and frameworks available that are used to design websites and web applications. Apart from these, there are numerous users that may use many types of operating systems, devices, and formats to surf the website. As a company, it is not possible to restrict the users to use a specific web browser. So, a website must be compatible with as many web browsers as it can. So, that all the features and functionalities of the website are fully functioning. If all the functionalities are not supported with all the web browsers, it is termed as cross-device compatibility.
Importance of Cross-Device Compatibility Test for Developers
An ideal website should be compatible with as many browsers as they can. Because as a company, it is impossible to restrict the website to a limited web browser. It depends on the user’s wants.
It is seen that if a user finds it difficult to surf the website of a company, they just switch to the other product or another company, which is a loss to any company. Also, to compete globally, it is a must to make your website compatible with different web browsers for different geological locations. For example, UC Browser is only used by approximately 1% population worldwide. But in China, there are 40% of people using the UC Browser only.
Performing cross-browser compatibility tests using cloud resources and infrastructure has many advantages over traditional methods of testing.
Some of the advantages are less maintenance, technical support, scalable resources, infrastructure, etc. Also, using the cloud resources helps the team members to access the testing process and updates from different places. So, collaborating on the cloud to test cross-browser compatibility becomes easy and reliable.
LambdaTest is a cutting-edge, cloud-based digital experience testing platform designed to provide seamless access to a vast array of over 3000+ browsers, versions, and operating systems. This innovative platform empowers users with a multitude of testing capabilities, including parallel testing, real-time testing, and real device cloud testing. Moreover, LambdaTest seamlessly integrates with renowned automation tools like Selenium, Cypress, and Playwright, enabling effortless testing of software applications across diverse environments.
What are Cross-Device Compatibility Issues?
Testing a website or web application to make sure it is accurate and consistent across all browsers and browser versions is known as cross-device compatibility. We can also make a technical definition, stating that “cross-device testing, also known as browser testing, is a quality assurance (QA) process that checks whether a web-based application, site, or page functions as intended for end users across multiple browsers and devices.”
You don’t want your website or application to appear differently or disorganized on various browsers as a developer, brand, or content producer. cross-device compatibility testing ensures uniformity in appearance regardless of which browser consumers are using because different browsers render online content differently. Opening your website or application in several browsers, including Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and more, and examining any functional or visual differences is part of the testing process. You can check for any layout problems, such as overlapping or misaligned pieces, by using a variety of testing tools. Additionally, you may make sure that all features and functions operate as intended.
Some Common Cross-Device Compatibility Issues
There are many cross-device compatibility issues a developer can face while addressing cross-device compatibility tests with the cloud. Given below are the most common and important of them:
- HTML/CSS Validation
While creating the website, it may be possible that the developer forgets to end a specific part of the code with the closing tag. All browsers have their own way of tackling this kind of minor mistake. For example, Chrome browser will auto-correct these issues and there will be not any effect on the website. But browsers like Internet Explorer will not rectify this and it will lead to misbehavior of the website. That specific part of the code will not be reflected on the website.
- Layout Compatibility
When a user visits a website, there are numerous possibilities of the specific device like mobiles, laptops, PCs, etc that they are using to visit a website. All these devices have their own resolution, screen size, and orientation, that are designed for the device itself. The website that is being created needs to be adaptive in nature. It should optimize its website according to the various web browsers, devices, operating systems, etc. If the website is not optimized to adapt itself, it will lead to layout compatibility issues.
- CSS Reset
Every browser we encounter handles CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) in a different way, which results in a different layout style. Therefore, each browser will have a default layout, which must be overridden for a website to run its unique layout. If this is not done, each browser will end up with its own layout for the same website, resulting in a gap in the website’s or application’s cross-device compatibility. This issue can be tackled by using some CSS reset style sheets. Some of the popular CSS reset style sheets are HTML5 Reset, Eric Meyer CSS, etc. The website designers can use these tools to handle any kind of CSS layout issue.
- Issue of Style Sheets
From the above-discussed issues of cross-device compatibility, we can conclude that CSS is a very important aspect that needs to be handled carefully to avoid any kind of cross-device compatibility. When the addition of more and more design elements takes place, the style sheet becomes more heavy and intact. This makes it difficult to handle a large number of elements in the style sheet. Also, it affects the overall outcome of the website like in appearance of the website. Also, when that website is opened in various web browsers, malfunctioning of the website can be seen.
- Outdated Browser Detection
Using outdated web browsers also leads to cross-compatibility issues. In the current era of fast-growing technologies, updates are always released by the company for web browsers. Updating the web browsers adds functionalities and new features to the software. The issue comes to light when the user uses an older version of a web browser. There are many JavaScript elements that are not supported in older web browsers. And if the website is developed using these new JavaScript elements, the user will get compatibility issues. This can be fixed using Modernizer. Modernizer is defined as a JavaScript library that is used to detect the features of the current web browser. This helps the web developer to manage their website accordingly.
- DOCType Error
Missing the DOCTYPE command in the code of a website can lead to malfunctioning of the website when tested on cross-device. A doctype command is necessary to work the website smoothly. If it is not included the website will be displayed incorrectly. As a user, nobody will tolerate this inconsistency of the website. This can cause loss of customers of that particular organization. When the DOCTyope is not present in the code, the browser works in Quirks mode. In this mode, the browser can tolerate these kinds of minor errors and will work almost normally. This Quirks mode is for older versions of browsers. But if the website is in strict mode, these errors easily come to light. All the minor errors are checked strictly and the website will work accordingly. A very basic step to prevent this cross-device compatibility issue is to include this command in the code:
!DOCTYPE html
Benefits of cross-device Testing on the Cloud
There are various advantages to performing cross-device tests over the cloud that are discussed below:
- Infrastructure
Using physical infrastructure to perform cross-device compatibility tests requires physical devices and equipment. This setup costs a good amount of money. But if these tests are performed by using cloud resources and infrastructure, it will cost much less as compared to them. Using cloud testing for cross browser compatibility also offers you to customize your resources. You have to pay for only resources that you use.
- Maintenance
Every physical equipment requires some compulsory maintenance after some time. The maintenance can be in software or may be hardware. After a fixed time, we need to update them according to the need. But if you use the cloud testing for cross device compatibility, you get rid of these activities. Any kind of update is managed by the end side of the cloud provider and the changes automatically get reflected in your resources.
- Stable environment
The environment that we are in during the cross-device testing has a good effect on the result of testing. Suppose, if the physical device for testing gets damaged, then you need to wait for the recovery of them and it will degrade the efficiency of the testing process. But if you use the cloud testing for cross device testing, then you don’t have to worry about any environmental factors such as power cut-off, device damage, network or server issues, etc. Because in cloud testing all these factors are managed by the cloud provider.
- Scalable
Using the physical devices and equipment we need to buy them all it will be with you even if you don’t need it anymore. But using cloud testing for cross-device testing, you can scale them according to your need and requirements. If you want to use a specific resource then you just need to optimize your resource and this also affects the pricing. It save money as well as it saves the resources for future use.
- Team Collaboration and Support
It is not always possible for all team members to be from the same location when working on a project. The team members can access the testing process from anywhere by leveraging cloud resources. Members of the testing team can access all the information, including test results, test cases, and test updates, from their individual locations. Therefore, working together in the cloud to evaluate cross-device compatibility becomes simple and trustworthy.
Conclusion
Cross-browser compatibility makes sure that the website’s functionality and features will support different web browsers. While making a website ready to work seamlessly across different browsers, there comes many issues. And you can perform these cross-browser compatibility tests using physical devices and resources as well as cloud resources.
