These days we are working in a fast-paced environment where we have to make sure our applications are perfect not just in terms of how they work but also how they look. When people use our applications they mostly interact with the user interface so even small problems like buttons that are not aligned text that overlaps or fonts that are not correct can make a difference in how they feel about our application.
The tools we have been using for test automation like Selenium, Cypress and Playwright are great at checking if everything works as it should. They can check if a button is there if a login form works or if we can move from one page to another. These tools are not so good at finding problems with how the application looks.
For example a test might check if a login button is on the page. It will not check if the button is hidden, not aligned or looks different in different browsers.
This is where Applitools comes in. Applitools uses intelligence to check the applications interface, which helps teams find problems that other tools might miss.
What is Applitools?
Applitools is a tool that checks how our applications look whether they are web, mobile or desktop applications. It takes screenshots of the application. Compares them to the original pictures.
The main reason we use Applitools is to find problems that happen when we make changes to the code. It affects how the application looks.
Unlike tools that just compare pictures pixel by pixel Applitools uses advanced artificial intelligence to find real differences and ignores small changes that do not matter. This helps us focus on problems with the user interface.
Today many organizations and a growing number of manual testing company teams include Applitools in their testing strategy to improve visual validation.
Test Passed
Visual Difference Detected
How Applitools Works
Applitools works with our existing test scripts. Takes pictures of the application pages when we run tests. These pictures are then analyzed by the Applitools engine.
- We start running our tests using tools like Selenium or Playwright.
- We add a command to take a picture of the page.
- Applitools takes the picture. Uploads it.
- The first picture becomes the picture that we compare to.
- When we run tests again Applitools compares the pictures to the original one.
- We can see the differences in the Applitools dashboard.
Step 1 :
We start running our test tool Selenium.
Browser Opened
Step 2 :
We add a command to take a picture of the page.
Step 3 :
Applitools capturing application screenshot during test execution.
Step 4 :
Baseline image created for the first test execution in Applitools dashboard.
Step 5 :
Applitools detecting UI differences between baseline and current run.
Old Image
Current Image
Baseline vs Checkpoint Concept
When we use Applitools, the picture we take becomes the original picture. When we run tests again we create pictures that compare’s to the original one.
Integrating Applitools with Automation Frameworks
Applitools works with popular test frameworks like Selenium, Cypress, Playwright, Appium and WebdriverIO.
Steps to integrate Appiltols
- Add Applitools dependency in project
- Configure API key
- Start test session
- Capture screenshots
- Review results in dashboard
Applitools dependency added to automation project.
Applitools API key configuration.
Benefits of Using Applitools
- It finds problems automatically.
- It reduces the time we spend checking the user interface
- It works with browsers and devices.
- It makes our tests faster.
- It uses intelligence to compare pictures so we have fewer false positives.
Suggested Reading
Protractor vs. Selenium: A Comparative Analysis of Testing Frameworks
Real-World Example
Imagine a developer changes the style of a page and accidentally moves a button. Our functional tests would still pass because the button is there and works.
The interface would look broken.
Applitools would find this problem away and show us the difference in its report. This helps us catch problems before they go to production.
Best Practices
- We should add checks on important pages like login, dashboard and checkout.
- We should be careful when we change the user interface on purpose.
- We should use checks with our functional tests.
- We should use region checks when we only need to check a part of the interface.
Conclusion
Making sure our application looks good is a part of testing. While our traditional tools are good at checking if everything works they often miss problems, with the user interface.
Applitools solves this problem by using intelligence to check the interface. By taking and comparing pictures automatically it helps us find problems quickly and efficiently.
For companies that want to make sure their applications look good and work well Applitools is a tool that works with our existing frameworks and makes our testing better.
For organizations providing Software Testing Services, manual testing services, or operating as a visual testing tools like Applitools help ensure both functional reliability and excellent user interface quality.