Any .NET based business application that is being developed has to make sure it is being tested for browser compatibility. You have to take into account multiple versions of the same browser and multiple browsers, and with so many to consider, making sure your .NET application looks and works right across all target browsers goes a long way towards a great experience for users.
When testing for browser compatibility focus on the most used browsers and versions by your target audience. Comprehensive coverage on both computer and mobile platforms. With automated testing methods you can easily test multiple browsers and versions at once. Add some manual real world user testing to the end to get the most thorough results.
Why Test Browser Compatibility
Ensuring user experience while browsing is very important, and for that, we have to test browser compatibility. This means that when there is a compatibility issue, a user can quickly get frustrated with a website or an application. Usage and adoption could be significantly impacted by just one browser-specific bug. Testing each browser and each version manually is an entirely unreasonable and painful proposition. This is a very efficient way to make sure it’s compatible with the most popular configurations.
We test layouts to ensure they are correct in every browser and device. The elements should not be positioned in any other way than the browser. With no unexpected behavior or functionality errors, we should not be getting the results we’ve found. Colors, fonts and images should be shown as visual stylings. Acceptable performance metrics include page load times, and response lag should be achieved. The mobile experience should not be a loss of usability compared to the desktop experience. Refer to this webpage for insights into how modern solutions can address legacy system challenges.
Based on analytics, customers should be tested, covering the majority of customer usage. Browsers have their own issues, and they need to be identified and resolved early before disappointment and disengagement occur. Testing covers a complete experience that is seamless and unified which meets user expectations.
Outlining Browser Test Coverage
There are just too many browser and device combinations to test. The trick is to look at customer usage statistics to determine which testing priorities to follow. Browsers can be divided into target or tiered based on popularity and usage. As well, the top tier of widely used browsers should undergo extensive manual testing and test automation. As it can handle less common configuration with occasional support of manual testing, automation is suitable.
There are a number of factors that go into what constitutes well rounded test coverage. Usage statistics tell us what browsers customers actually use, rather than guessing. Using usage based tiers helps to focus on the browsers that are most important to most customers. We start with the latest browser versions with better standards support, and work backward.
Differences between desktop and mobile browsers are considered within the scope. Researching market trends reveals browsers that may not be popular yet but should be tested later. Compatibility decisions are made by keeping analytics at the core to ensure that they match how customers access applications.
Analytics Review
Including a dash of historical analytics to compatibility testing helps to keep efforts aligned to real customers data. Google Analytics, Matomo, and Adobe Analytics are tools which measure browser usage and trends over time. When you prioritize testing, long-term trends matter more than month to month fluctuations. Estimating customers’ browser preferences is not based on guesswork, as it relies directly on usage analytics.
Browser Tiers
Practical testing coverage is achieved by dividing browsers into tiers based on usage. An example of tiers would be greater than 10% usage for Tier 1, between 1-10% usage for Tier 2 and less than 1% usage for Tier 3. For the most comprehensive coverage, we see extensive manual testing on targeted operating systems and test automation for the widest coverage in Tier 1 browsers. Tier 2 automates testing for common configurations and combines it with manual testing for all other configurations. There is no other automation besides Tier 3 browsers provided compatibility issues. In this tiered methodology, customer usage is taken into account and testing is focused on browsers that match most customer usage.
Latest Versions
Browsers are updated frequently, and leading browsers update often multiple times a year. Testing the latest versions of your software gives the biggest return with limited testing time. Newer browsers tend to pass muster with modern web standards and solve remaining compatibility issues. Testing on the newest versions allows us to keep testing with browsers customers incrementally upgrade over time. Rather, analytics indicate whether older versions are used in a meaningful way before testing focuses on the most recent updates. The latest is supported, and it supports the customer experience and future compatibility gaps.
Desktop vs. Mobile
Mobile usage is now higher than desktop usage across industries, and testing needs to take that into consideration. Coverage is guided by the most popular mobile browsers and devices identified by analytics. Responsive layouts adjust to compact screens, mobile network variability in feature support, touch target sizes, and page load performance are key differences in mobile versus desktop compatibility. Successful testing must take into account how customers access applications, whether desktop or mobile.
Market Trends
Don’t get fixated on current usage statistics; watch browser market trends instead. Before their numbers are in analytics, emerging browsers may already need to be compatibility tested.
For an example, Microsoft Edge changed from the Microsoft Edge engine for Chromium. Testing early helps to correct problems found.
Knowing the research browser market share reports so that you stay on top of trends that will impact future usage. Test according to priorities so that you can find issues proactively.
Best Practices for Browser Compatibility Testing
The systematic testing approach simplifies testing and ensures comprehensive coverage, as well as efficiently schedules testing time against target browsers.
These best practices establish an effective methodology:
- Automate Common Testing Scenarios
- Manual Test on Real Devices
- Test Mobile and Desktop
- Include Old and New Browser Versions
- Use Virtual Machines for Maximum Configurations
- Check Layout, Functionality, Visual Details
- Define Specific Browser Support Policy
- Set Testing Environment Variables
- Validate on Low/High Spec Devices
Following these guidelines when testing allows for efficiently maximizing coverage.
Automate Common Testing Scenarios
Automated testing is key for easily covering multiple browsers at once. Automated testing solutions execute tests reliably without human effort.
Common scenarios to automate:
- Validating page layouts and design elements
- Testing forms and other functionality
- Confirming error handling operates correctly
- Checking links and images work properly
- Monitoring performance metrics like page load times
Automated tests augment manual testing rather than replacing it completely.
Manual Test on Real Devices
While automation provides broad test coverage, it also manually tests target browsers on real devices periodically.
Manual testing allows noticing subtle issues automation misses like:
- Usability problems on mobile devices
- Typos and text-wrapping problems
- Quality loss on scaled images
Perform manual spot checks on real devices to confirm automated test results.
Test Mobile and Desktop
With responsive web design, differences in mobile vs. desktop compatibility still occur. Manually testing each allows for the identification of issues.
On mobile, validate:
- Tap targets register accurately
- Layouts adapt cleanly to compact screens
- Performance remains adequate on cellular networks
For desktop, check:
- Application utilizes available screen area
- Right-click and other context menus work properly
- Keyboard shortcuts perform expected actions
Evaluate both platforms for the best experience.
Include Old and New Browser Versions
While focusing on newer browsers is best, also test a selection of older versions still in use.
Attempt operating systems and browsers representing both:
- Very old configurations
- Reasonably current setups
Compare compatibility on outdated and updated environments side-by-side.
Balance testing progressive modern platforms with past legacy setups still utilized today.
Use Virtual Machines for Maximum Configurations
Testing diverse browsers and operating system combinations efficiently utilizes virtual machines.
With virtualization software like VirtualBox, create VMs for:
- Older Windows, macOS, and Linux versions
- Specific IE, Firefox, and Chrome editions
- Mobile operating systems like iOS and Android
Boot into different VMs to test various configurations quickly.
Check Layout, Functionality, Visual Details
When evaluating browser compatibility, assess aspects like:
- Page layout – Elements align uniformly on all browsers
- Responsiveness – Adjusts correctly to mobile sizes
- Links/Images – Displays properly on each configuration
- Performance – Page load times are consistent
- Functionality – Features work as intended across browsers
- Visual Details – Colors, fonts, and other styling appear accurately
Testing all these facets provides comprehensive compatibility verification.
Define Specific Browser Support Policy
Document what level of support your application guarantees for target browsers and versions.
Example policy structure:
- Full Support: Chrome latest, Firefox latest
- Best Effort Support: Safari latest, Edge latest
- Limited Support: Chrome recent versions, iOS/Android native browsers
Customize policy ranges based on analytics. Update as usage evolves over time.
Set Testing Environment Variables
Configure testing infrastructure to simulate real-world use environments:
- Test with cellular and WiFi networks
- Set memory, bandwidth, and latency constraints
- Override user agent strings to mimic specific browsers
- Mock geolocation and other sensor data
Mimicking actual usage conditions during testing allows for the detection of issues that could impact customers.
Validate on Low/High Spec Devices
While testing on modern mid-range devices is typical, it also validates compatibility on equipment at extremes of the performance spectrum.
Trying budget low-powered machines and high-end cutting-edge systems may reveal issues less common configurations experience.
Testing high-end systems validates the application scales to take advantage of greater capabilities. Testing low-powered machines checks performance remains acceptable even on very basic hardware.
Automated Testing Tools and Services
Easily covering several browsers at once requires automatically compatible testing of browsers. Leading products include custom scripting, test recording, reporting, and more.
Popular Automated Testing Tools
Top open source tools like Selenium and WebDriver allow automating browser testing for free. Commercial tools offer additional features and support.
Selenium
- Open-source automated testing framework
- Supports many browsers and languages
- Requires programming skills
WebDriver
- W3C browser testing standard
- Provides browser control API
- The base for many test tools
Katalon Studio
- Automated testing platform
- Recorder and custom scripting
- Broad device/browser support
- Free and paid versions
Hosted Testing Services
Cloud testing services run tests on vast browsers and device grids accessible online with no infrastructure to manage.
Examples include:
BrowserStack
- Manual + automated testing
- 1000+ browser/OS combinations
- Integrates with Selenium and more
- Free trial, usage-based paid plans
LambdaTest
- Live + automated testing
- 2000+ browsers and emulators
- Screencast view for each test
- Free and premium tiers
Services scale testing to more configurations than are typically feasible locally.
Top Browsers to Test
Although there are countless combinations of browsers and operating systems available, reducing testing to popular choices consumers actually use enables effective compatibility checking.
Most Critical Desktop Browsers
These desktop browsers see meaningful usage globally across segments:
Testing the latest few versions of Chrome, Safari, and Firefox covers 95% of desktop users. Include Edge for testing upcoming growth.
Key Mobile Browsers
On mobile devices, the native Android and iOS browsers dominate usage:
- Android WebView (Chrome) – over 65% mobile market share
- Apple Safari (iOS) – over 23% market share
The Android WebView and Apple Safari mobile browsers should be priority test targets for mobile app development.
Legacy Browser Testing
While usage has declined, some customers still utilize older browsers like:
- Internet Explorer 11 – 1% market share
- Older Firefox and Chrome versions
Based on analytics data, suppoConfirm application functionality may be based on legacy browser clients.
Browser Use by Geography
Browser popularity varies to some extent based on geography:
- North America favors Chrome and Safari
- Europe skews Chrome and Firefox
- Asia shows more usage of legacy browsers
If your site is international, consider how to cover tests based on/browser share.
Conclusion
Testing browser compatibility rigorously lets .NET developers test for rendering, layout, CSS, functionality and integration issues for each desktop and mobile browser. Assume development teams use best practices like virtual machines, automation, and numerous tests and give cross-browser testing top priority early on. In that case, they will be better able to validate the user’s real-world experience and ensure reliable performance no matter what browser they choose. Ongoing browser compatibility ensures that the user isn’t frustrated, encourages engagement from a range of browsers, and increases brand reputation.
