The mabl blog: Testing in DevOps

Scale Cross Browser Testing with the Unified Runner for Safari (WebKit) and Firefox | mabl

Written by Juliette MacPhail | Mar 9, 2023 1:00:00 PM

Maintaining a consistent, high-quality experience across major web browsers is essential for any business, especially in the post-2020 era. Consumer behavior shows that the shift to digital-first experiences is the norm, with 42% of consumers relying on company websites when researching potential purchases, and 28% of consumers making purchases via websites. Another 27% use hybrid buying experiences, which include paying online and picking up in-store. Building customer loyalty among these consumers demands effective cross browser testing. 

That’s why the mabl team is focused on simplifying cross browser testing so your team can build better customer experiences. Today, I’m excited to share our latest advancements in scalable cross browser testing: Unified Runner support for Firefox and Safari (WebKit). These new capabilities join mabl’s robust support for Chrome and Microsoft Edge. 

Build Quality Customer Experiences for Safari, Firefox, Chrome, and Microsoft Edge 

Cross browser testing is one of the most critical, and most challenging, aspects of a thorough test automation strategy that accurately reflects the needs of your users. Though applications and websites can look very different across Firefox, Chrome, Safari, and Microsoft Edge, scaling testing across every browser can be time consuming for quality teams. Unified Runner support for Firefox and Safari (WebKit) strengthens mabl’s powerful cross browser testing capabilities by delivering faster and more reliable execution across browsers locally and in the cloud.   

Unified Runner for  Safari (WebKit) and Firefox Ensures Test Reliability and Speed

The Unified Runner was introduced last year as part of mabl’s ongoing commitment as the easiest test automation solution for quality engineering. By unifying the test logic across the cloud, command-line interface, and desktop app, the Unified Runner offers 25% faster test execution (on average), consistent test results across environments, and greater reliability. It gives software testing teams more freedom to select the test execution method that meets their needs by ensuring that cloud-based and locally run tests produce the same results every time. 

Your team has the ability to quickly scale cross browser testing by creating a single test that works across Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Internet Explorer, or Microsoft Edge, and even greater confidence that those tests will be consistent and reliable. Mabl offers even greater efficiency gains for development organizations by allowing cross browser tests to be run in sequence or in parallel. Cross browser testing for Firefox now defaults to the Unified Runner for mabl customers and trial users, with the option to migrate existing test plans to the Unified Runner for accounts created before February 15, 2023. 

Similarly, mabl now supports cross browser testing for Safari via WebKit, the open-source browser engine that powers Safari and many other OS X applications. By supporting WebKit, mabl offers greater flexibility and control than only testing Safari. Cross browser testing for Safari (WebKit) on the Unified Runner offers the scalability, speed, and reliability for Safari web experiences as every other browser test executed in mabl. Software testing teams can be confident that their company is delivering the best user experience possible for Safari users without slowing down delivery cycles. Unified Runner support for Safari (WebKit) is now entering early access; mabl customers will see it appear under Settings > Labs. As with all Early Access features, we welcome your feedback. 

Expand Cross Browser Testing with Confidence and Speed 

Unified Runner support for Safari (WebKit) and Firefox allows quality engineering teams to maximize the value of cross browser testing with mabl’s scalability and reliability. In addition to enabling testers to run cross browser tests in parallel and in sequence, tests are more reliable and less likely to break thanks to auto-healing. Tests results are also easier to share across the organization with mabl’s native integrations with Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Jira. 

Build better user experiences for every customer, no matter how they choose to find your company. Start creating a high-impact cross browser testing strategy across Safari (WebKit), Firefox, Chrome, and Microsoft Edge with mabl.