Why do you need to use Visual UI regression testing?

It is a testing method that checks whether a website or application behaves and looks as expected and that there are no specific changes that have been made to the functionality or the visual appearance.

A website version or a baseline application is compared with a current version and verified for visual differences. There are specialized tools that are used to conduct visual UI regression testing.

In this article, you will learn the importance of visual UI regression testing.

What is visual UI regression testing?

It is a specific testing method that makes sure the changes, modifications or updates done to the application do not negatively affect the visual user experience and user interface of an application.

This is done by checking that the visual elements and layout are in line with expectations and thus making sure that the user experience is enhanced from a visual perspective.

The usability and appearance of the User Interface (UI) are thoroughly verified by this testing method, especially when changes, modifications or updates have been made to the code.

These visual validations include text, components, menus, color and contrast of buttons, brightness, location etc.

The strategic importance of visual UI regression testing:

Costly visual bugs should be avoided from getting into production and hence the platform of visual regression tests is considered to be important. The user experience can be severely affected, if visual validation is not carried out accordingly.

In many scenarios, this may eventually lead to lost sales. Data input and output are validated so that the traditional functional testing can work out effectively.

There can be scenarios where the visual bugs are skipped through traditional testing and hence it becomes obvious to conduct a visual regression test. Functional testing practices can also be improved by visual testing and thus make it more effective.

The elements on a page can be seen by visual tests and hence there is no need to depend on individual coded assertions using unique selectors for assessing each element.

In a functional testing scenario, these assertions that need to be maintained and created as the application changes are considered to be time-consuming. This process can be simplified by the visual testing process.

The working context of visual regression tests:

Screenshots of the UI are captured by visual regression testing before any changes have been made and then the screenshot that has been taken after is being compared. The test engineer can then

review the differences that have been highlighted. There are a few visual regression testing techniques that can be leveraged by the team.

The significance of manual and automated visual regression testing:

There will be certain testing scenarios wherein only manual visual regression testing can do justice by capturing each scenario’s correctness. The appearance of various visual elements in terms of layout is thoroughly checked by the manual tester. The test status is defined by the component explorer and a state and component is selected to check on screen.

However, identifying and fixing visual bugs is considered to be a time-consuming process. There are many test environments involved in the manual testing process.

When the application or website thrives on a responsible design then manual testing is considered to be even more difficult. Third-party upgrades are also not considered by manual testing. This is when automated visual regression testing can be taken into perspective.

Cost efficiency for the testing process, eliminating human errors resulting in higher accuracy and better speed-to-run tests are offered by automated visual testing.

Conclusion: If you are looking forward to professional advice on visual UI regression testing from an implementation perspective and also want to know what are the tools that can best suit your project needs, then just get connected with a top-notch software testing services company and expect feasible solutions that work.

About the author: I am a technical content writer focused on writing technology specific articles. I strive to provide well-researched information on the leading market savvy technologies.