Automated Testing

Let’s face it—manual testing will always have a place in QA, but if you’re still doing everything manually, you’re moving at turtle speed in a Formula 1 world. That’s where automated testing comes in—and it’s a total game-changer.

Whether you’re squashing bugs before they hit production or validating performance across browsers, automation helps you do it faster, smarter, and with fewer late-night coffee runs.

Automated Testing Methodologies: Selenium, Playwright, Cypress and Postman

Supercharge Your QA with Selenium, Cypress, Playwright & API Automation

So let’s break down the top tools in the automation arena: Selenium, Cypress, Playwright, and API testing frameworks—plus when (and how) to use them effectively.

What Is Automated Testing?

Automated testing is the practice of using scripts and tools to execute test cases without human intervention. You write the test once—and then let it run on-demand or on a schedule.

It’s perfect for:

• Repetitive functional testing

• Regression testing

• Cross-browser compatibility

• Continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD) pipelines

💡 Bottom line: It saves you time, improves accuracy, and keeps your software shipshape 24/7.

UI Automation Tools Worth Knowing

1. Selenium WebDriver

The veteran of automation tools—Selenium is widely used for web app testing and supports multiple browsers and programming languages.

✅ Great for:

• Cross-browser testing

• Complex UI automation

• Integration with CI tools like Jenkins

🔍 Example:

• Use Selenium WebDriver to automate login testing across different browsers like Chrome, Firefox, and Safari.

from selenium import webdriver

driver = webdriver.Chrome()

driver.get("https://example.com/login")

driver.find_element("id", "username").send_keys("testuser")

driver.find_element("id", "password").send_keys("password123")

driver.find_element("id", "login-button").click()

2. Cypress

Fast, reliable, and great for modern web apps. Cypress runs in the browser, giving you real-time test feedback and a slick developer-friendly interface.

✅ Great for:

• Frontend testing

• Real-time debugging

• Testing SPAs (single-page applications)

⚡ Example:

• Use Cypress to test a search form and validate the results on the same page.

describe('Search Test', () => {

  it('Should display results for a valid query', () => {

    cy.visit('/search')

    cy.get('input[name="query"]').type('QA tools')

    cy.get('button[type="submit"]').click()

    cy.contains('Search results for "QA tools"')

  })

})

3. Playwright

The rising star of automation—Playwright supports multiple browsers out of the box and even handles video recording, screenshots, and network activity.

✅ Great for:

• Multi-browser testing

• Headless and headed modes

• Handling modern JavaScript-heavy UIs

🚀 Example:

• Use Playwright to verify a signup form and capture a screenshot on failure.

const { chromium } = require('playwright');

(async () => {

  const browser = await chromium.launch();

  const page = await browser.newPage();

  await page.goto('https://example.com/signup');

  await page.fill('#email', 'user@example.com');

  await page.fill('#password', 'Test123!');

  await page.click('#signup-button');

  await page.screenshot({ path: 'signup_result.png' });

  await browser.close();

})();

🔗 API Automation: Beyond the UI

Not all testing happens in the browser. APIs are the glue of modern apps, and testing them is crucial for backend validation.

API Testing Tools: Postman, RestAssured, Newman, NodeJS, and SuperTest

Tools for API Testing:

• Postman (for manual and scripted collections)

• REST Assured (Java-based automation)

• Newman (CI-friendly Postman runner)

• SuperTest or Axios (for Node.js users)

📡 Example:

• Use Postman or a test script to automate login API validation:

pm.test("Login successful", function () {

  pm.response.to.have.status(200);

  pm.expect(pm.response.json().token).to.not.be.undefined;

});

Or use Python and requests:

import requests

response = requests.post("https://api.example.com/login", data={"username": "admin", "password": "pass123"})

assert response.status_code == 200

assert "token" in response.json()

💡 So, Which Tool Should You Use?

Scenario	Tool Recommendation
Cross-browser web testing	Selenium or Playwright
Fast frontend testing with modern UI	Cypress
Deep network control or visual testing	Playwright
Backend/API testing	Postman, REST Assured, or Python requests

Pro Tip: Combine these tools! UI + API tests give you end-to-end coverage that catches more bugs, faster.

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🗣️ Let’s Chat!

Which tool are you using right now? Do you have a favorite? Have you ever run a test that caught a bug 10 minutes before deployment?

Drop a comment or share your automation win stories below! Let’s learn from each other and grow our QA superpowers. 💬💥