In this fast-paced technological world, organizations have to maximize the visibility of their business to succeed. Since every business’s target audience is on the web and mobile devices, organizations must provide great software platforms for their consumers to interact on the web and mobile. A well-planned mobile and web application testing process is required to create flawless software apps. Businesses are attempting to employ mobile application testing to gain and retain their user base as customers’ mindsets change. For accelerating the testing cycle, having 24/7 access to the testing lab is crucial. Hence QA teams are considering laptop or mobile device lab on cloud for 24/7 access, cost-efficiency, scalability and much more. Similarly, QA teams are considering laptop device lab on cloud for web application testing. Mobile and web application testing approaches, on the other hand, are different. Before we get into the differences between mobile and web application testing, let’s look at the difference between web and mobile apps.

1. Difference between Mobile and Web App
testing
Introduction
In this fast-paced technological world, organizations have to maximize the visibility of
their business to succeed. Since every business’s target audience is on the web and
mobile devices, organizations must provide great software platforms for their
consumers to interact on the web and mobile. A well-planned mobile and web
application testing process is required to create flawless software apps. Businesses
are attempting to employ mobile application testing to gain and retain their user base
as customers’ mindsets change. For accelerating the testing cycle, having 24/7
access to the testing lab is crucial. Hence QA teams are considering laptop or mobile
device lab on cloud for 24/7 access, cost-efficiency, scalability and much more.
Similarly, QA teams are considering laptop device lab on cloud for web application
testing. Mobile and web application testing approaches, on the other hand, are
different. Before we get into the differences between mobile and web application
testing, let’s look at the difference between web and mobile apps.
Web applications are software applications that can be accessed through a web
browser such as Google Chrome, Safari, Mozilla Firefox, UC Browser, MS Edge,
and others. Most times they are stored on a web server. The developers use HTML,
CSS, JavaScript, and other programming languages to create web apps. Optimized

2. Web applications can be used on various devices with active internet connections,
including PCs, laptops, mobile phones, and tablets.
Mobile applications are tailored and created specifically for mobile devices. The
most prevalent types of mobile applications are as follows:
 Mobile Web Applications: These are standard web applications that have been tailored to work on mobile
devices and can be accessed through mobile browsers. These apps may resemble mobile apps, but they
differ significantly from typical mobile applications.
 Native Mobile Apps: These are designed exclusively for operating systems. These mobile apps are available
for download from their respective app stores (Google Play store, App Store, Microsoft Store, etc). Developers
use platform-specific programming languages to create them. The iOS apps are developed in Objective-C and
Android apps in Java. These apps are costly and require additional effort from developers since they must
maintain two independent code bases for Android and iOS.
 Hybrid Applications: These are native applications that have features of both native and web apps and are
produced in a native environment utilizing JavaScript, HTML, and CSS. Hybrid apps are available for
download from OS-specific app stores and include mobile functionality such as GPS and camera. When
compared to native apps, these are easier to develop and have a unified code base for both Android and iOS,
unlike native apps which have distinct codebases for each platform.
Here is a helpful poster that highlights the Types of Applications
The above mentioned differences between mobile and web applications demonstrate
how they differ in terms of their creation and how users interact with them via
different gestures like scrolling, pinching to zoom in and out, voice input features,
and so on. As a result, the approaches for performing mobile and web application
testing become naturally different. Although the tools used to test mobile and web
applications differ, key testing methodologies such as functional, performance,
usability, compatibility, and localization testing, are common for both..

3. Mobile application vs Web application testing
Source: https://bit.ly/3vdU2BX
1. Distinguishing between web and mobile apps:
 The most important distinction between mobile and web app testing is that the former tests software
applications for mobile devices, while the latter tests web-hosted software applications for functionality,
compatibility, and usability.
 Mobile apps can run on a wider range of devices than web apps, such as smartphones, smartwatches, tablets,
lock systems, fitness trackers, and tablets. As a result, testing mobile apps becomes more arduous than
testing web apps on mobile devices due to their numerous functionalities.
 Web apps are meant for stationary laptops and desktops with the classical features of the WiFi router and
mouse cursor that are absent in the case of mobile apps that continuously perform on-the-go computing
operations.
 How people utilize applications has changed dramatically in recent years. People who worked on online apps
used to log in and out before shutting down their laptops/desktops, but now they can stay logged into their
mobile apps without shutting down their devices.
 Mobile apps have a wider user base than web apps, thus testing both is done at a different level, taking into
account factors such as continual network availability, notification management, app sync across platforms,
and so on.
 Web apps are more business-to-business, whereas mobile apps are more customer-centric. As a result,
mobile app testing focuses on customer interaction and app experience.
 For cloud based test automation for mobile and web apps you require mobile device lab on cloud and for
desktop-web applications you require laptop device lab on cloud.
2. Technical Challenges: Web and mobile app development is different in terms of
usage and dealing with different device types. Here are a few areas based on which
web and mobile testing are differentiated:

4.  RAM and Storage Capacity Testing: Mobile apps typically have RAM of up to 2GB and storage of up to
16GB SSDs. These limitations restrict the testing activities when testing a mobile app. When a smart phone
app takes up a lot of storage space, most users uninstall it. According to AppsFlyer, the number of uninstalled
mobile apps increased by 70% in 2021 over 2020. Frequent app upgrades consume the storage space on the
smartphone and cause it to slow down. Even the mobile app’s advertisement services slow down the mobile
browser. A web app is also tested for memory consumption. However, most stationary devices such as
laptops and desktop computers, have more memory space than mobile devices.
 Internet Connectivity Testing: Internet connectivity is a critical aspect for a smooth functioning of any web or
mobile app. Few apps have offline functionalities, but a tester must learn to test how effectively they work
without internet or at slow internet speeds. The QA teams test the web and mobile apps’ overall functionality
and behavior at various data speeds and while moving between stable and unreliable networks.
 Testing User Interaction Mediums:
Most of the web apps are stable with standard keyboard and mouse inputs for playing any game or browsing
social media. With rising demand mobile apps, on the other hand, present testing challenges due to the
availability of many input features such as touch, tap, swipes, voice, etc. Touch inputs like swiping, pulling,
pinching, and voice assistants like Siri, and Google Now, are a few examples of input methods. With
developments in technology, some mobile phones now include features, such as hand-wave motions which
add to the complexity of testing a mobile app. If these features are not tested, the mobile app would lose
credibility and users.
 Screen Size Testing:
Mobile apps come with different screen sizes and resolutions. Testers ensure that the app is optimized
enough to work on different devices without any glitches. For example, optimizing app functioning while
switching between the portrait and landscape mode. These features do not work on laptops and computers, so
there is no need to test web apps as they do not rotate. They instead resize themselves depending upon
browser window size, so they test web apps only for the size of the window screen.

5.  Compatibility Testing:Testers test the Web apps for their compatibility on different browser-OS-device
combinations. Testing mobile applications is complex because testers need to consider various mobile app
specifications and check if they all are compatible with a wide range of mobile devices.
 Application Types: The web applications for stationary devices are developed using HTML, CSS, JavaScript.
On the other hand, mobile applications are created using Objective-C, native Java, or hybrid languages, and
they are not that simple. It becomes crucial to develop a roadmap for conducting all kinds of complex testing.
Most times, web and mobile apps are related so the testers use some common
testing techniques for testing both of them. This requires a robust test management
platform for framing a common testing strategy for both web and mobile applications
involving common workflows, resources and scenarios related to web and mobile
app testing in common.
Conclusion
As previously stated, to keep a competitive edge in the market, it is critical to work on
both web and mobile applications in this continuously expanding technological
environment. For creating a well-functioning app with a great user experience,
businesses must guarantee that both mobile and web application testing are given
equal weightage. Also instead of physical device labs, laptop or mobile device lab on
cloud must be considered as cloud based testing platforms offer multiple benefits.
The choice between a Web application and a mobile application is entirely
dependent on the business needs, but having both offers you the added assurance
of reaching a larger audience.