In today’s fast-paced software development life cycle(SDLC), test automation plays a crucial role in delivering high-quality applications.
Selenium with Python is one of the most popular combinations used by QA engineers to automate web applications due to its simplicity, flexibility, and strong community support.
This blog will walk you through:
- What is automation testing
- Why Python is used with Selenium and importance of python selenium
- Usage of Pytest with Selenium
- Best practices for real-world projects
- What is automation testing?
Testing an application using computer system is called automation testing. It ensures better code quality, coverage etc
- Why Python is used with Selenium and importance of python selenium
Importance of Selenium
Selenium is an open-source automation framework used to test web applications across different browsers and platforms. It supports multiple programming languages, including:
- Python
- Java
- C#
- JavaScript
Selenium allows testers to simulate real user interactions such as clicking buttons, entering text, and navigating between pages.
Why Use Python with Selenium?
Python is widely preferred for Selenium automation because:
- Easy to learn and read
- Less boilerplate code
- Large testing ecosystem (pytest, unittest, allure)
- Faster script development
This makes Python Selenium ideal for both beginners and experienced automation engineers.
Prerequisites
Before starting, make sure you have:
- Python installed (3.x recommended)
- A code editor (PyCharm / VS Code)
- Basic knowledge of Python
- Basic understanding of HTML & XPath
Installations are done using plugins in python selenium as below :
- Installing Selenium
| Install Selenium using pip: pip install selenium |
- Using Pytest with Selenium
Pytest is a testing framework used with python. It can be combined with selenium as well as playwright( Another tool for performing automation testing)
Pytest helps in:
- Test execution
- Fixtures
- Parallel execution
- Report generation
Below given is a basic script written with pytest naming conventions and execution
| def test_google_title(): driver = webdriver.Chrome() driver.get(“https://www.google.com”) assert “Google” in driver.title driver.quit() |
- Best Practices for Selenium Automation
- Use Page Object Model (POM)
- Avoid time.sleep()
- Use reusable fixtures
- Store locators separately
- Capture screenshots on failure
- Integrate with CI tools like Jenkins
Common Challenges faced while writing selenium scripts are:
- Dynamic elements
- Synchronization issues
- Browser compatibility
- Flaky tests
These can be handled using proper waits, robust locators, and framework design.
Conclusion
Python Selenium is a powerful combination for automating web applications efficiently. By following best practices and using frameworks like Pytest and Allure, you can build scalable, maintainable automation solutions.
Whether you are a beginner or an experienced QA engineer, mastering Python Selenium will significantly boost your automation skills.
