UI Automation Testing Across Platforms: Web, Mobile, and Desktop Guide for QA Engineers

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗨𝗜 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗧𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴?

UI (User Interface) automation testing simulates user interactions with an application to validate its functionality, usability, and reliability.

Instead of manually clicking buttons, filling forms, or navigating menus, automated tests perform these actions programmatically.

The goal is simple: ensure an application works as expected from the user's perspective, regardless of which platform (WEB, Mobile, Desktop) they use.

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𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝟯 𝗠𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗧𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝘀

Most applications in 2025 run across multiple platforms, and each requires different testing approaches and tools:

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🌐 𝗪𝗲𝗯 𝗧𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: 𝗕𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘀𝗲𝗿 𝗕𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

Web testing focuses on applications that run in browsers like Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge.

This includes both desktop browsers and mobile browser testing.

𝗣𝗼𝗽𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝗪𝗲𝗯 𝗧𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀:

✅ Selenium

• One of the oldest web automation framework

• Supports multiple programming languages (Java, Python, C#, JavaScript)

• Works across all major browsers

• Mostly used in legacy codebases

✅ Cypress

• Modern JavaScript based framework built for web developers

• Runs directly in the browser for faster execution

• Excellent debugging capabilities

✅ Playwright

• Rising start of the testing framework

• Developed by Microsoft

• Supports all major browsers

• Excellent for testing modern web apps with complex interactions

• Built in support for mobile browser emulation

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📱 𝗠𝗼𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗧𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗔𝗽𝗽 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

Mobile testing focuses on native applications built specifically for iOS and Android devices.

These apps are downloaded from app stores and run directly on mobile operating systems.

𝗣𝗼𝗽𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝗠𝗼𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗧𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀:

✅ Appium

• Cross platform framework for iOS and Android

• Supports multiple programming languages

• Can test native apps, hybrid apps, and mobile web

• Best for: Teams testing both iOS and Android with one framework

✅ XCTest (iOS)

• Apple's native testing framework for iOS applications

• Integrates seamlessly with Xcode

• Requires Swift or Objective-C knowledge

• Best for: iOS only projects with native development teams

✅ Espresso (Android)

• Google's native testing framework for Android

• Fast execution and reliable synchronization

• Requires Java or Kotlin knowledge

• Best for: Android only projects with native development teams

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🖥️ 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗸𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝗧𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: 𝗪𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗼𝘄𝘀/𝗺𝗮𝗰𝗢𝗦 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀

Desktop testing focuses on applications installed directly on Windows or macOS operating systems. These are traditional software programs that run outside of browsers.

𝗣𝗼𝗽𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗸𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝗧𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀:

✅ Ranorex

• Commercial tool for Windows and macOS desktop applications

• Codeless test creation with record and playback

• Supports C# and VB.NET for advanced scripting

• Best for: Enterprise desktop applications and teams preferring GUI based tools

• ⚠️ Paid license required (not open source)

✅ Other desktop testing options include WinAppDriver for Windows applications and PyAutoGUI for cross platform desktop automation, though these are less commonly used in enterprise environments.

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𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝗹 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗳𝗹𝗼𝘀𝘄

Despite the different platforms and tools, the fundamental steps for creating automated tests remain the same:

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟭: 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸

Set up your chosen testing tool and install any required dependencies (browser drivers, SDK components, etc.)

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟮: 𝗜𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘆 𝗨𝗜 𝗘𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀

Locate the elements your test needs to interact with. This includes buttons, text fields, dropdowns, links, and any other UI components.

Each platform has its own method for element identification:

• Web: CSS selectors, XPath, IDs

• Mobile: Accessibility IDs, XPath, resource IDs

• Desktop: AutomationIDs, names, control types

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟯: 𝗪𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗧𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝗱𝗲

Create test scripts that perform user actions on those elements.

Common actions include:

• Clicking buttons

• Entering text into fields

• Selecting dropdown options

• Verifying expected results

• Navigating between screens

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟰: 𝗥𝘂𝗻 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗲𝘀𝘁𝘀

Execute your tests to simulate real user interactions and verify the application behaves correctly. Review results, fix failures, and iterate.

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📌 Tip for Beginners: Start with web automation (Playwright) as it's the most common entry point. Once comfortable, expand to mobile or desktop based on your product needs.

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𝐏.𝐒. 🚩 𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧’𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐲𝐞𝐭, 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐩 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐑𝐄𝐄 𝟑-𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 “𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐐𝐀 → 𝐒𝐃𝐄𝐓” 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐩, 𝐚 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢-𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐝𝐦𝐚𝐩 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐦𝐢𝐝-𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝐒𝐃𝐄𝐓 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰𝐬.

Click Here to Start: https://www.skool.com/qa-automation-career-hub/classroom/078530b1

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