Best QA Web automation tools for your online casino

One of the most important things for an online casino platform to focus on is its site’s functionality. This includes bug fixes, checking user interface performance, and inspecting visual elements, which can be complex and time-consuming. Fortunately, this is where a website automation testing tool comes in handy. With automation tools, you can conduct various tests on your platform to check for errors and areas of improvement. 

What’s even better about these web automation tools is it helps in conducting tedious coding tasks, allowing you to focus on providing a great user experience for your site visitors. Discover all you need to know about tools for automation testing and their key benefits here at QWERTYLABS.

Definition of QA Web Automation tools 

Web automation is a system that allows websites like online casinos to automate common web actions. This is done using software bots that do basic functions such as filling out forms, downloading files, and even testing website functionality. 

Different automation tools are available for various tasks, and not all are used by every website. As a casino platform, you should identify the different uses of website automation tools and see which ones are helpful to your platform. One of the most useful automation tools you should opt for is those used for web testing. This is crucial to ensure that your platform functions properly and consistently, helping you maintain the quality of your site.

Importance of using web automation tools for online casinos

Using automated tools for testing holds various benefits, including a streamlined process, efficiency, and improve site quality. Here are other key benefits of using automated tools below: 

1. Improves web speed and efficiency

Web automation testing often requires devs to conduct repetitive tests when improving their site. With the help of automated testing, you can check your site’s performance easily without repeating tedious tasks each time. Instead, you can use the necessary testing tools to run the recorded test functions on your behalf. This allows you to focus on fixing other problems your site has without losing too much time on repetitive processes. 

2. Tasks are done with accuracy 

Using automation tools reduces the risk of human error, which is especially beneficial for testers in a time crunch or those running repetitive tests. Web testing is complex and requires extensive knowledge of scripting codes. While this can be done manually, writing scripts for comprehensive testing is prone to errors, making an already complex task more difficult. Automated web application testing helps streamline the process while ensuring minimal error.

3. Helps with increased scalability

As your platform grows, you’ll be required to accomplish more tasks. With QA tools, you can conduct most menial and repetitive tasks without hassle.

4. Improved customer experience quality

Software bots used for website testing can record logs and data that allow testers to cut down on repetitive processes. This allows you to focus less on implementing the right scripts and instead on enhancing the quality of user experience on your casino site. 

How can you measure improvements in online casinos?

Using a QA automation tool to test your site’s performance has many benefits. Using these tools for your online casino will improve the following:

1. Testing metrics

You can do various testing metrics depending on the particular tool you’re using and what you’re testing for. What’s great about this is you’ll have quantitative assessments to help you get accurate insight into what aspects of your site are underperforming and need improvement.

2. Cost savings

Most of the QA testing tools you’ll find online are open-source and have free access to those who need them. By simply learning the process of how you can use these tools, there won’t be added costs to your site maintenance.

3. Reduced downtime

Site maintenance becomes easier with automated QA testing tools since the automated analysis of your site’s performance can be conducted quickly. Additionally, testing tools for a web application can accurately detect all the areas that need improvement on your site. As such, you can address them all quickly and all at once to avoid suffering from long downtime. 

Why online casino websites should use QA web automation tools

Today’s technology resulted in countless automation tools to help run a website. If you’re considering using them for your casino platform, be sure to look into those that prioritise the following:

1. Helps with data transfer

You deal with large volumes of data daily as an online casino platform. Like most big platforms, manually transferring these files can be a hassle. As such, automation tools that focus on basic data transfer are useful for completing this tedious task.

2. Great data extraction

Some software bots extract data from the world wide web depending on your parameters. These are useful for casino brands to gather data from numerous sources speedily.

3. Industry reports gathering

When running an online casino, staying current with the latest industry reports is important. However, if you’re running a global platform, keeping up with all the latest information worldwide is nearly impossible. By using report automation tools, this process is simplified and within reach. This software bot can gather the necessary reports without requiring a dedicated data team to gather reports each time.

4. Provide data insight

Equally important to industry reports are internal data that help you understand your platform’s overall performance in the digital space. Find QA automation testing tools that deliver these results so you can use them to determine the best improvements to apply to your online casino.

5. Web testing

Web testing automated tools are possibly the most useful software bot for an online casino platform. Through these tools, bots will look into your site to analyse functionality and detect issues you must resolve for better performance.

The top 5 best QA web automation tools for online casinos

Various automation tools provide test functions for automated Quality Assurance (QA) testing. However, most developers consider a select few as the best. Read on to learn the best automation tools for your casino below:

1. Selenium Framework

The Selenium Framework is an open-source toolbox to run various tests on a target browser. The framework’s functions consist of several tools, including the WebDriver, Integrated Development Environment (IDE), and more. Each one of these performs different automated tasks on the target platform. For further insight, here are how these tools are used:

• Selenium WebDriver

This tool is used for cross-browser testing to check if a website performs as expected regardless of whether it’s run on Chrome, Safari, Edge or other browsers.

• Selenium IDE 

This specific tool is a recorder that documents the interaction between the web developer and the browser when making test cases. This is a good way to cut down the manual labour of executing code by recording reusable scripts.

Pros of Selenium

• The tool uses common scripting languages like Java, Ruby, JavaScript, PHP, Python, and C#.
• You can integrate your preferred reporting tools, build your own systems, and adjust any of the development/testing stacks.
• Selenium supports the top browsers and different operating systems, which makes it easy to use.

Cons of Selenium

• While Selenium is free, the initial cost is high due to the setup and configuration of your testing framework. To do this, you first need to hire manual QA testers to write the script for the automated tests.
• The tool doesn’t provide an all-in-one solution, and you’ll need to integrate third-party libraries and language bindings to use it effectively.  

2. TestCafe

TestCafe is one of the best QA automation testing tools for regular web testing that runs on the top operating systems. The tool simplifies conducting QA tests regularly, making it easy for beginners and experts to use. Some of the key tools the platform offers include:

• Visual web test recorder

Through the framework’s Visual web test recorder, the tool will watch you navigate and click through a webpage to generate the best test steps. This is done automatically and can be conducted using different desktop, mobile, and cloud browsers. 

Pros of TestCafe

• The tool is easy to set up even without knowledge of scripting. 
• You don’t need to implement third-party libraries to use the tool.
• TestCafe supports testing for top browsers such as Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, and even Internet Explorer.

Cons of TestCafe

• The tool only supports JavaScript or TypeScript programming language.
• Although you don’t have to depend on third-party libraries, you’ll have trouble implementing them if you wanted to since you can only use built-in assertion libraries on TestCafe. 

3. Cypress 

One of the top QA automation tools is Cypress, which is free, open-source, and used for recording your test. It operates as an all-in-one testing framework with several great features, including mocking, real-time reloads, network traffic control, automatic waiting, and more.

Pros of Cypress

• The tool implements its browser control strategy, which makes it more consistent and faster for testing.
• It features cross-browser testing, which enables it to run on Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and others.

Cons of Cypress

• Cypress is limited in scripting languages since it only supports JavaScript or TypeScript.
• The tool doesn’t allow testers to switch between windows.

4. Appium

Appium is an open-source automation tool dedicated to Android and Apple devices. This testing framework allows testers to write test scripts for iOS, Android, and Windows using the same API. That makes it efficient and lessens the time and effort required in writing code.

Pros of Appium

• You can use your preferred scripting language to write code for testing.
• Tests can be conducted on a physical device or using simulators and emulators.

Cons of Appium

• There is little support for hybrid app testing.
• Difficult to use for beginners since it requires knowledge of scripting language.

5. Puppeteer

Puppeteer is a tool for testing, automation, and scraping on Chrome. It generates screenshots for QA tests, crawls a single-page application, and automates several basic functions. 

Pros of Puppeteer

• UI testing includes screenshots and PDF files of pages.
• Provides automation functions for form submissions, keyboard mouse inputs, and UI testing.

Cons of Puppeteer

• Cross-browser support is not available. 
• Puppeteer’s recording abilities are limited and focused solely on browser performance management.

How to choose the right automation tool for you

Automation testing tools are the key to running your online casino efficiently. Using these tools to your advantage allows you to streamline the process of finding bugs and fixing errors on your platform. 

However, choosing the right tool for your casino platform is crucial, so you need to analyse the best tools out there to determine which will be most helpful. Check the table below to see the comparison of the best QA automation tools out there:

Additionally, automation tools can be used for more than just automated QA testing, which helps you take on tedious tasks such as file transfers, filling up forms, and data extraction. However, while automation tools are great for technical processes, they lack the human supervision your online casino requires to appeal to your audience.

That’s why QWERTYLABS offers services that strongly focus on manual QA testing to ensure your platform functions properly, and your content matches your brand’s guidelines. With QWERTYLABS, you can elevate your casino platform’s performance and appeal for higher traffic and better lead conversion.

Best practices in implementing QA automation tools for online casinos

To ensure your QA processes are implemented correctly, follow the best practices when using test tools for web applications below:

1. Define objectives and requirements

There are many ways to conduct QA testing for your online casino website. However, to ensure you’re using the right tools, it’s important to set your objectives and list your requirements. By doing so, you can provide as many of the tools required to accomplish your set goals.

2. Select the right tool for your needs

Many well-performing tools are out there, but not all offer equal services. It’s important to find the tool that will help you best, and you can do this by referring to your list of objectives. Select the tool that will provide solutions to all these objectives. Additionally, it should be able to support your preferred scripting language and allow testing for your preferred platform.

3. Invest in training and support

Although QA tools work automatically, you still need Manual QAs to help you manage them and write the testing codes. That’s why you shouldn’t overlook the importance of investing in training Manual QAs to help in the often complex task of website testing.

4. Incorporate automated testing into your workflow

There are plenty of automated tools that perform beyond QA testing. Be sure to use them to streamline many of the processes conducted on your platform, which includes data transfers, form submissions, and more.

5. Monitor and evaluate results

Analyse the data you’ll gather from the automated QA tests you conduct. Additionally, keep all the data so you can check it every few months or help you check which areas are performing inconsistently. This is essential so you’ll have the necessary information to improve your site’s performance.

6. Keep the tool up-to-date

QA tool providers are always looking to improve their services, so it’s important to be informed when your tools are updated. Doing so ensures that you’re using the best version of the tools and applying its improved functionality to your tests.

What are the drawbacks of using automated testing tools?

While there are many benefits to using automated testing tools for web applications, it’s important to note some drawbacks. This includes the following:

1. Complex tasks are difficult to accomplish

Automation tools are great to use with tasks that tend to be repetitive and straightforward. However, it doesn’t run as well when testing specific functional or visual components. In this case, you must manually input the code to run the test. Most automation tools have recording capabilities, meaning conducting the same test can be automated the next time. 

2. Difficult to use for GUI elements

Automation tools don’t look at Graphical User Interface as humans do. Since they speak in codes, their primary focus is on the technical aspect of GUI elements. This means your site’s graphics may pass when using automated tools, but human testers are better at catching visual errors that can compromise your brand identity.

How to fill the gap in using automation tools

Since Automation tools cannot perform varied and unique tasks, incorporating manual web testing processes is a good way to complement their capabilities. Some of the points of focus of a manual QA tester include:

1. Meta tags

Meta tags are short-form descriptors summarising a page’s content for search engines. These typically don’t appear on any of your pages but are instead seen by search engine algorithms to help your site get indexed and ranked. Manual QA testers must ensure their meta tags are in the source code. This is crucial to developing successful global SEO strategies for online casinos to improve your visibility on search engines.

2. Interlinking

Another element a QA tester pays attention to is the interlinking of pages within your site. This is vital since interlinking your casino content can help you have better engagement, enhanced user experience, and improved crawl efficiency.

3. Content graphics

Determining whether a site’s graphics require a good eye for detail and a keen understanding of design trends are aspects that automation tools cannot accomplish. That’s why it’s important to use manual QA testers with knowledge of graphics to look into the graphical aspects of your site to ensure that it will be pleasing to your site visitors.

4. Call-to-Action

A call to action or CTA is a way to encourage your visitors to engage with your platform’s services. Manual QA testers focus on this to determine better implementation that leads to a high conversion rate on your platform.

What are the benefits of manual testing?

Manual testing is beneficial, especially since you can rely on them to check what automated tools cannot test for. However, there are two main advantages to conducting manual QA tests, and these are: 

1. Features and functions are checked for accuracy

Even if web application test automation tools show results that assure a site’s functionality, the only way to know is by allowing humans to test it and see whether the analysis was accurate. 

2. Errors outside of coding are detected

Automated tools are great for technical aspects of QA testing. However, it lacks when it comes to a genuine analysis of the quality of user experience. This is where QA testers are most needed. By understanding industry trends and marketing strategies, they know how to check for visual errors and determine the best way to resolve them.

Future considerations for improving testing processes in online casinos

QA testing focuses largely on site functionality in cross-browser platforms. However, there are many ways to improve performance testing, especially with innovations that continue to change the digital landscape. Read on to discover some areas of consideration for future QA testing processes in online casinos:

1. Increased use of artificial intelligence and machine learning

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning tools are integral to any QA tool. However, there are additional improvements to expect in the future, including predictive analytics, defeat analytics, and log analytics. These provide additional data to predict your site’s performance and necessary improvements.

2. Incorporating blockchain technology

Blockchain technology is one of the most sought innovations in recent years. With more websites running on blockchains, automation tools should be considered for QA testing centred on testing these types of websites. This is especially important since most either operate on a blockchain or accept crypto payments. Some of the popular tools already released for this include Ethereum Tester, Populus, Embark, and Truffle.

3. Integration with DevOps practices

Continuous testing is a DevOps integration trend that aims to test each stage of the development process of your website to allow quick feedback to address issues early. Additionally, it’s also expected to include UI and security testing.

4. Use of cloud-based testing tools

Many businesses are now seeing the benefits of cloud-based browsers including security from data loss, SSL protocol inspection, and protection from malicious code. That’s why it’s safe to expect more QA tools focused on testing for cloud-based browsers in the future.

5. Increased focus on security testing

A lot of QA tools focus strongly on the functionality of a platform. However, one aspect not to be overlooked is the importance of a site’s security against suspicious entities. Due to this, more QA tools centred on security testing are expected to be one of the future developments you could expect.