Cross browser testing improves the user experience by ensuring web applications work properly across different browsers, devices, and operating systems. It identifies discrepancies that could impact usability, functionality, or design. Starting cross browser testing early in development prevents errors and redundancies later. Automating repetitive tasks improves efficiency. Testing on real devices best captures the user experience, though emulators are useful early on. Prioritizing common browsers and including mobile ensures applications meet the needs of most users.

1. How does Cross Browser testing improve
the User Experience?
Introduction
In the current digital scenario, technological evolution is inevitable, and businesses
need to be constantly updated with the new technological changes that are taking
place. The sustainability of any business is its ability to deliver products or services
that solve user problems and provide an amazing user experience. To maintain the
quality and ensure efficiency in the service, one must engage in standardized
software testing to check if the actual outcome meets the envisioned one. Cross
Browser testing is considered an indispensable part of the app development life
cycle to achieve these results. It makes sure that your business web application is
widely accepted on all kinds of web browsers. It guarantees a better user
experience no matter which browser your users use to view your website or web
apps.
Let’s talk more about how cross-browser testing can ensure better user experience
of your web applications, but before that, we should understand the basics of cross
browser testing and why cross browser testing is important?
What is Cross Browser testing?
In simple terms, it is a method of testing the quality of your web applications to check
whether they work perfectly on different web browsers or not. The testing verifies

2. various aspects of the website, like its design, functionality, usability, and readability.
Cross browser testing ensures developers and testers that the website or web app
developed is compatible with different devices and OS versions commonly used by
the user. The factors like screen size, screen resolution, Operation System Versions,
Browser Versions, etc., keep changing. So, cross-browser testing becomes
necessary to handle these changes and understand these diversities to provide a
promising user experience despite the dynamic device fragmentation. The ultimate
aim is to remove any discrepancies in the Website’s user interface and maintain its
browser compatibility.
Why is it needed?
In the past, it was all simple when there were only a few browsers to use the internet
on desktops; developers made quarterly changes to the code, and manual testing
seemed easy with the waterfall methodology. Now, times have changed and there
are numerous devices in the market. Devices such as desktops, smartphones,
tablets, laptops, and way too many browsers with different variations in the market.
In the current situation, using agile methodology, developers continuously integrate
the changes on an hourly or daily basis. Even the rise of browser compatibility
testing tools has eased the process and given a hand to the team to build a robust
product.
Many business customers who own cross browser applications demand cross
browser testing services. Inevitably, each browser responds differently to code
changes making it risky. There is a possibility that any of the browser-OS-Device
combinations might fail to respond to the changes. Since every browser renders
HTML, CSS, JS differently, it becomes a challenge. Also, it is unrealistic to test so
many browsers, but this cannot change the importance of efficient user experience.
Every website design might not necessarily look the same, but developers can

3. create and implement a responsive website design to accommodate the website
features. That is why Cross browser testing is crucial to the business to manage
these situations well.
When to start Cross browser testing?
Every organization has different testing needs and timelines. The sooner you
implement testing in the initial stages, there will be fewer errors from the beginning
resulting in lesser redundancies later. So, when the first page of the web application
is undergoing early-stage development, it is the best time to begin cross browser
testing. Is it too early to test in the very initial phase of software development? It
might be too early and require more effort, but it will ease things as it progresses to
later stages. So, starting earlier is always an advantage when it comes to testing.
It is entirely your decision whether you want to test manually or use automation. At
an early stage, you can implement manual exploratory testing. As it progresses, you
can automate the cross browser testing for regression and functional testing to
broaden the scope of testing, inspect elements, and identify bugs.
No matter how you test or which browser compatibility testing tool you use, nothing
should deviate from the aim of making the website and web apps look work perfectly.
You must ensure that it performs well across multiple browsers as well.
How to perform cross browser testing?

4. Things to keep in mind before beginning to test are-
Firstly, decide how many and which browsers you want to test depending on the
concentration of your user base. Google Analytics can help with the user data, but it
does not cover the whole user traffic.
Secondly, choose whether you want to build an in-house device lab or test on the
cloud? Whether to test on real devices or emulators? Owning a device lab can be
expensive, and the cost depends on how many devices you want to invest in; it
excludes the cost of replacement and buying new devices to keep up with the
current market trends. Testing on real devices is always recommended, as it
captures the real user actions and device response.
Thirdly, investing in cross-browser testing tools can be a great move, as you can
save costs and explore speed, features, and the range of devices in a single
platform.
Fourth, parallel testing on automated cross-browser compatibility testing tools
enables multiple test executions parallelly, covering a maximum number of tests in
very little time.
Finally, exploring features like live testing, browser screenshot comparative
analysis, etc, also saves time and effort for the DevOps team. It gives them enough
room to focus on building a quality product.
Role of Cross browser testing in Improving the user experience
 Convenient and Accessible:
A convenient and accessible website is the measure of customer satisfaction. It can lead
to a better rank on the Google Search Engine as well. If a customer is facing difficulty

5. navigating through the website smoothly, he will soon leave the website. CSS Gradient
and CSS Opacity are inseparable aspects of UI/UX design which form the foundation of
how design impacts the attention and focus of the user, consequently affecting the
website usability. There is no point in offering a top-notch website but horrible CSS
Gradients and Opacity that behaviorally vary from browser to browser. Although CSS
Opacity is maintained across browsers, it might be incompatible with legacy browsers like
IE or older. Also, by channelizing the power of simple native functions of CSS Gradients,
the designers guarantee faster site loading without compromising on the resolution and
clarity of the website.
 Smartphone Compatible:
Different smartphones have different Operating Systems. Even third-party browsers like
Mozilla, Chrome, Opera, etc, behave differently on Android and iOS. No matter which
browser you access the browser with, the goal should be that it should be compatible with
all of them. So that it can be accessible to a wide range of customers and also keep a
check on the bounce rate. Cross browser testing helps in maintaining the operational
capacity and accessibility of your website on devices like desktop, mobile, or tablets.
 Better Call to Action:
A website is like a door to a shop from where the journey of purchasing starts. So, the
face of a website should be one that attracts the customers to finally click on the Call-to-
Action button for further interactions. The focus here is how uniquely the Call-to-action
button is designed and placed on the website so that a customer knows where to click to
transact. Also, to make sure that the functionality of your website’s CTA button has been
tested across browsers and OS environments, end-to-end testing is needed.
 Easy Navigation:
No user wants to get lost in the process of using the website. Navigation of the website
should be easy and presentable. Even Google considers this aspect while showing the

6. search results based on how well the content is placed on the website. Your website is the
only spot where the user will purchase or fill up a form or perform any action on the
website. And while performing these tasks it should not look like the user has an
impossible task at hand rather it should be the easiest thing to do. Any technical glitch in
the navigation of the website would be a loss for the business. Inconsistent navigation is a
mobile browser compatibility issue that can be solved by resolving issues that arise from
browser compatibility testing.
 Browser Compatible Login forms:
Every business aims to convert its visitors into customers. The login forms are used to
register the customers on their website. Any discrepancy in the login form, like overlapping
of notifications on the CTA button or hovering over the field title, is not a good design
practice. It is indicated in the image below in the case of two browsers, Chrome and
Safari. So cross browser testing in this case, is necessary.
 Date/Time Fields:

7. These are used in many cases like profile creation, registration, calendar-based
forms, etc. For any discrepancies in this case, a cross browser testing tool would
serve the purpose and apply fixes.
 User-Centered Design and Browser Sync up:
Cross-browser compatibility testing helps provide a better user experience while
following the best UX design methods. Many user-centered designs can be ingrained
in the website for a better user experience; if they do not support the user’s default
browser, every effort will go in vain.
 Website Template compatibility:
Many websites are built on website builders like WordPress that do not require any
coding and provide endless templates to use. However, some website templates are
not browser compatible and require the developer’s intervention. The incompatible
templates can create issues in some functions like sliders, toggles, etc. So, these
templates have to go through extensive cross browser testing before being
presented to the end-user.
 Image compatibility:
Every browser rendering engine has a unique way of working. Sometimes the
images on the website break because the data processing rate of every engine
has a different pace. It can happen even due to an incompatible plug-in and can
disturb the UX of the website resulting in a poor experience.
 Variable Fonts compatibility:
In modern web development, developers use various fonts, unlike in earlier times
when there were many design limitations. Typography is a vital aspect of a web
design that is not supported by legacy browsers like Internet Explorer. Heavy or
modern fonts can lead to a slower load time that can further cause severe damage
to the Google Search Engine Ranking of the website. Cross browser testing tools

8. like pCloudy supports cross browser testing on the cloud. It checks website
responsiveness testing, allows you to take screenshots, and provides various
analytical charts to keep track of the performance of the web apps of websites. It
also offers a selenium grid to perform automated, real-time live interactive testing.
Best Practices for Cross-Browser Testing
Cross-browser testing can be quite challenging due to the diverse range of browsers,
devices, and operating systems that exist today. However, by adhering to certain
best practices, developers and testers can ensure their cross-browser testing is as
effective and efficient as possible. Here are some of the best practices that should
be followed:
Prioritize Browsers: Since it’s impossible to test on every single browser, it is
essential to prioritize. Understand your user base and identify which browsers they
use the most. Tools like Google Analytics can provide insights into the most
commonly used browsers among your audience. Make sure to focus your testing
efforts on these browsers first.
Consider Mobile Browsers: With the increasing use of mobile devices for browsing
the web, it’s crucial to include mobile browsers in your testing strategy. A website or
web application might behave differently on a mobile browser due to factors like
screen size, touch interfaces, and mobile-specific features.
Automate Repetitive Tasks: Automated testing can save a lot of time and effort,
especially for repetitive tasks. Consider using automation tools to conduct tests that
need to be performed multiple times, such as regression tests. However, remember

9. that automation is not a substitute for manual testing. Complex tasks and tests that
require a user’s perspective should still be performed manually.
Use Emulators and Real Devices: While emulators and simulators can be helpful
for early-stage testing, they may not accurately reflect a real user’s experience.
Make sure to perform tests on real devices as well, especially for critical
functionalities.
Stay Updated with Latest Browser Versions: Browsers are regularly updated to
improve performance, fix bugs, and add new features. Hence, it is crucial to stay
updated with the latest versions of the browsers you are testing on.
Follow Progressive Enhancement: This is a strategy in web design that
emphasizes core webpage content first. This helps to make your website broadly
accessible across a wide range of browsers, including older versions and browsers
with certain features disabled.
Use Cross-Browser Testing Tools: There are various tools available, like
Selenium and pCloudy, that can help streamline the cross-browser testing process.
These tools offer features like testing on multiple browsers simultaneously, cloud-
based testing, automated testing, and more.
By incorporating these best practices into your cross-browser testing strategy, you
can ensure that your website or web application offers a consistent and high-quality
user experience across various browsers and devices. Remember, cross-browser
testing is not just about making sure your website works on all browsers; it’s about
providing the best possible user experience to all users, regardless of their browser
choice.
Conclusion

10. Every organization is striving hard to be the best in the market by providing products
of supreme quality. Cross-browser testing supports them by ensuring that the
desired standard is maintained and the user gets the most efficient and user-friendly
platform. More importantly, testing should be performed by both testers and
developers to keep the UX quality intact. Various cross browser testing tools and
platforms like pCloudy have made it easy to achieve a better user experience with
cross browser testing, cost-effectively. Happy Testing!