Is Your App Reliable? How to Automate and Analyze With Appium

The industry for web applications has completely changed compared to its state a few years ago. For instance, during the initial years, the desktop was the only system that the users would use to access the web. One of the major disadvantages of a desktop is the lack of portability. This factor became a major drawback as people continue to become busier in life. The busy life schedule of an individual required him to stay connected to the web on the go. The mobile industry saw this demand and came up with smartphones that can solve all these portability issues. However, if we compare a smartphone with a desktop we are immediately greeted by a massive list of differences. These differences lie in the segments of physical appearance, screen size, device resolution and operating system. 

The web application Development Industry had to completely change its development environment to adapt to this new edition in the segment. For instance, they had to change the Core Framework of the web application so that it can adapt to a new device resolution. These processes are easier said than done. So, with the help of this article, we will Discover how developers can test the reliability of the mobile web application. We will also try to find the best tools and frameworks that can help in this process.

The Importance of Mobile App Reliability

In the current market, there is stiff competition between app developers and developing companies. The only differentiating factor is the unique features and services that an app can offer. So, companies can maintain their stand in this market by providing a high-quality end-user experience to their customers. It will be illogical for developers to expect that a user will stick to a company just because of brand loyalty. A recent survey shows that more than 452 billion mobile apps have been downloaded in 2021. Moreover, this number is already at 251 billion just in the initial two months of 2022. So, it is safe to assume that we will witness a massive rise by the end of the year. Therefore, companies cannot compromise the quality and performance of their application. 

The two main factors that companies use to analyze the performance of the application are user retention rates and bounce rates. User retention rate analyses the number of users who continue to access your web application daily. These users form an integral part of the loyal customer base who are the backbone of a company. On the other hand, bounce rates analyze the total number of users who refrain from a web application by accessing it only once. Various factors can contribute to high bounce rates for a web application. These factors include improper functioning, issues in application rendering and the presence of critical bugs. The primary goal of a good developing company is to maintain High user retention rates and low bounce rates.

The reliability of a web application also determines the possibility of an existing user recommending it to another new user. For this factor, a company must ensure to maintain optimal end-user satisfaction. The reliability of a web application can also be analyzed by various user reviews found on online forums. 

Factors That Affect the Reliability of an App

Now that we have analyzed the importance of app reliability, it is time to understand the factors that can influence this segment. From a developer point of view, the critical reliability factors are the most important to sort and solve. Let us consider some of the major ones: 

• Multi-Platform Support: In the Modern application industry, a developer should not keep an app restricted to a particular device or operating system. This is because it will restrict the liberty of a user to access the application from any device of choice. Moreover, a recent study also shows that Google gives higher priority to progressive applications. This means that if you create an application that runs on a mobile device and desktop device, there are high chances of it getting good search results.  

• Existing-User Reviews: It is human nature to check the background of anything before using it. This rule is also applicable when the users will be using a third-party application for the first time. The common practice to check the trustworthiness of web applications is to check for reviews and ratings on multiple user forums. On these websites, the users analyze the daily life experiences of all the users who are currently using the app. 

• Continues Feature Updates: We as humans, aren’t satisfied with a single thing forever. Our needs and requirements are always evolving. This rule is also applicable while analyzing the demands of an app user. So, the company must release frequent updates to add new features to the web app. The developers can also run market surveys to get a definite idea about the user needs. 

• Simple UI: Often the developers try to make the application more appealing and end up with a user interface that is not only complex but also confusing. A market study shows that 60% of the user base wants an application that can attain the basic goals on a single page without any redirects. So, the primary goal must revolve around a simplistic UI. 

Pre-Requirements for Mobile Web App Testing

Before beginning the mobile app testing process, there are certain factors that the developers must consider. For example, the developing team must be prepared for all the unforeseen circumstances that they will encounter during the process. They should also have a backup plan for all the errors and bugs that they will encounter in the application development life cycle. The best way to solve this problem is to create a web application development strategy before the execution phase. It is a good idea to involve all the teams in a company during the strategic planning phase. This means that the development, quality assessment, production and testing teams must have an equal say in this process. During this process, companies should also analyze the tools and services that they will use over time. 

Role of Tools in the Testing Process

Mobile application testing might be complicated especially for the new testers and developers. This is because various practices are specific to this segment. Moreover, a wrong step or improper evaluation can completely disrupt the testing process. In the worst-case scenario, the company will be forced to delay the production phase by a huge margin. The best way to resolve this problem is to use different tools or frameworks. These frameworks go a long way in simplifying the mobile app testing process. However, the developers cannot simply choose any random tool from the market. This is because every tool is unique and will assist in different phases of the testing process. Developers must consider various factors to choose the perfect tools that can suit their needs. These factors must also include the budget, requirements and time limit. 

An Introduction to Appium

Appium is an open-source web app testing automation tool. The primary objective of this tool is to increase the efficiency of the mobile application testing process. It aims to achieve this goal by improving the scalability and flexibility of the test cases. This tool is relatively new to the market compared to the thousands of other options available. However, it has managed to gain a massive market share due to its innovative features. It has been ranked as one of the top tools to automatically test the compatibility of mobile applications. Currently, it holds 35% of the Android testing market and 40% of the iOS testing industry. Moreover, its open-source nature allows tech enthusiasts to add new features regularly. It currently allows the developers to test mobile applications that are native, hybrid and web-based. 

App Testing with Appium 

Appium can directly interact with a mobile application. It can complete this goal by leveraging the behaviour of various components present in the application. These components include the links, buttons and tests from the User interface. Since the test cases are customized according to the various elements of the web apps, the developers can reuse the test scripts. This will save a lot of time as they release future updates for the web app. The usage of Appium will vary depending on the target platform. This means that you will have to test the app differently for Android compared to that of iOS. For instance, Appium uses the Apple UI Automation Framework to implement all the necessary codes on the iOS operating system. On Android, the bootstrap.jar file will conduct all the commanding processes. 

How LambdaTest can help perform Appium testing of apps?

LambdaTest is a cloud-based platform to perform Appium testing of both web, native, and hybrid apps on an online Appium Grid. It also facilitates the encryption of website data. Thus, the developers can safely test the sensitive data on any business-oriented app. It enables the parallel testing of apps to significantly reduce the development time. Parallel testing helps the developers to initiate multiple test instances simultaneously. LambdaTest provides a reliable, robust, secure, and high-performing Appium test execution cloud, allowing development and testing teams to shorten release cycles. You can also test on real iOS and Android devices.

Currently, LambdaTest supports the testing of websites and web applications across 3000+ different browsers, device and operating systems. The developers can also customize the test cases according to the device and OS combinations that their users use. Currently, this platform has a massive audience base of developers all over the world. 

The Final Views

The primary focus of this article was to analyze the importance of app reliability. Market experts believe that the demand of the current app market is the quick delivery of high-quality apps. This is the only way in which the companies can maintain their market dominance in such competitive times. The COVID-19 pandemic also had a huge impact on the web developing industry. The travel restrictions and lockdowns have forced people to shift their daily work in the online world. This is yet another factor that has placed extra pressure on web developing companies. Experts also believe that the dominance of mobile applications will continue to rise in the coming years. So, companies must cope with this modern development trend as soon as possible.

Developers must also consider mobile app testing as an integral part of building their portfolio. This process will ensure a successful career for a modern app tester. 

Author Bio: Vixit Raj is a digital marketer with 5+ years of experience and now part of the Product Growth and Marketing division in LambdaTest : The Cross Browser Web App Testing Platform. Vixit’s interest in latest technology advancements, coding and testing fascinates him to learn more about these things. An E&C educational background and his engineering life experiences has made a great influence to his jack of all trades and master of none trait.