The Top 9 Web Application Testing Tools in 2021

The modern commercial enterprise’s demands make it obligatory for every single organization to have an optimized and high-performing web application and website. The application or website quality plays a significant role in how users perceive the organization, and, in turn, how much faith they have its products. In this circumstance, rigorous testing of the application and the website becomes crucial. Website test is a testing method that is implemented for testing the web apps hosted on the website. It includes examining the application’s interface, as well as other functionalities.

Various things are checked during the website or web app tests like web app security, website functionality, accessibility to disabled and regular users, and its capacity to handle the traffic. In simple words, we can state that verifying the web app for potential bugs before it gets launched, or the code is shifted to a production environment, is called website or web app testing. Yet, the majority of companies or individuals often believe that it is not required to test a site once it goes live, as they formed it beautifully and tested it before went live. 

Now, the question is, how is it done? As we have understood it is testing various aspects of web apps, so what are these distinct aspects? The procedure of web app testing comprises several crucial test phases to ensure the end-user of the web app or website is pleased using the app. For this, it is not merely the website functionalities that have to be perfectly tested, but several various interfaces of the website, the web apps browser performance, as well as compatibility, and several other aspects, are required to be checked.

The Six-Phases to Web Application Testing

When you are testing a web app or website, there are numerous things you have to scrutinize. This checklist can be divided into 6 core steps as follows:

1. Usability testing
2. Functionality testing
3. Compatibility testing
4. Interface testing
5. Performance testing
6. Security testing

In a nutshell, using web application testing tools helps to reduce the turnaround time, improve reliability, and increase ROI. They are several kinds of tools that assist in distinct web app testing activities from requirements collecting to test management.

The 9 Most Demanded Web App Testing Tools of 2021

1. Qase

It is an advanced cloud-based test management software testing tool well-designed for development and QA teams with intuitive UI. Qase is free, and that is why several companies from across the globe are switching to Qase. This incredible web app testing tool is an all-inclusive test management solution. It comprises of defect management, test case management, test runs with informative reports, test plans, rich application programming Interfaces, and webhooks. It provides integrations with the famous issue trackers such as Jira, Trello, Redmine, and several others. Qase is designed both for automated and manual testing. Through REST API, one could easily integrate your automated testing and post reports straight to the application. Webhooks will assist in triggering builds in your Continuous Integration. 

Core Features:

• Manage your test cases and suites into a hierarchical tree.
• Shared stages minimize the time for testing case composition. 
• A robust wizard for a test run will enhance your testing procedure.
• Compose a testing plan and allocate test cases to your teams.
• Rest Application Programming Interface to integrate and Webhooks to get notified.
• Redmine, Jira, Youtrack, Slack, and GitHub integrations.
• Tailor fields for test cases.
• User Interface theming (counting Night theme).

2. TestComplete

It is an easy-to-use and robust functional automated testing tool from SmartBear. TestComplete can automate tests across mobile, desktop, and web apps, comprising apps that have dynamic pages and custom controls. It supports several scripting languages such as JavaScript, Python, and VBScript, as well as several test methods like regression tests, data-driven tests, keyword-driven tests, and distributed tests. With the record-and-replay trait of the tool and the powerful object identification engine, you can also generate complex web application automated test scripts with zero code. It makes certain your web UI testing does not break with the robust object identification engine of TestComplete. One can select from over 50 thousand object properties across 500 or more control types.

Core Features:

• Execute one UI testing across all main web browsers. Access over a thousand browser, resolution, and Operating System configurations in the on-demand cloud lab. 
• Object Recognition Engine now with AI.
• Run automated web, mobile, or desktop UI tests with distinct sets of input data to enhance coverage.
• Automated Testing Results (Reporting) and Analysis.
• Reuse automated UI tests amid environments and projects to increase test coverage, cut costs, and save time.

3. RedLine13

It is an incredible tool that was launched for JMeter Cloud Load Testing. The tool gives you several benefits and allows you to scale your JMeter tests to various sizes. It functions with JMeter and various other open-source platforms and plugins. Additionally, one can readily make the testing part of your Continuous Integration/CD environs with Jenkins as well as distinct platforms. RedLine13 is a well-accepted and most-demanded web app load testing platform that executes testing with 5 lakhs users and 5,000,000 or more interactions with indefinite scaling in the cloud platform. Tests of every single app are easy, from mobile and web apps to microservices and APIs with ease.

Core Features:

• Generate and execute JMeter WebDriver tests, Apache JMeter tests, Gatling tests, Log File Replay tests, Simple URL tests, and also create tailor PHP as well as Node.js testing, amongst others. 
• One could easily run an unlimited amount of load tests.
• Simply imitate an indefinite user.
• The capacity of Data retention.
• Offers its users' team management abilities, which lets one share various tests and test data between a group of users.
• Gives a set of numerous reporting traits that aid anyone in breakdown outcomes.

4. Acunetix

It is an automated variant web app security test tool that is embedded with a security scanner to detect the minor risks or vulnerabilities of more than 4500 web apps. Acunetix is compatible with every single form of web application variants including HTML5, SQL Injection, XSS, JavaScript, and others. Furthermore, Acunetix also has exclusive traits to prioritize the vulnerabilities and create reports accordingly. Not only that, but it can also integrate the test outcomes with several platforms or tools. It allows users in exporting discovered risks to issue trackers like GitHub, Atlassian JIRA, and Microsoft TFS (Team Foundation Server). It is obtainable on Linux, Windows, and Online.

Core Features:

• Thorough crawl and examination – automatically scans all sites.
• The higher detection rate of threats with low false positives.
• Integrated vulnerability management – systematize and manage threats.
• Integration with famous issue trackers and WAFs like TFS, GitHub, and JIRA. 
• Free network security scan and manual test tools.
• Run-on Linux, Windows, and online.

5. Netsparker

This is a powerful and effective web app testing tool, and it is renowned for its accuracy. Netsparker has a robust security scanner embedded within to detect the major and minor loopholes in almost every single web API. It determines the faults and examines whether they are false or real. Netsparker helps you save precious time by manually examining and reviewing every detected fault after the scanning. You can make use of the tool either as an online service provider or as Windows software. The efficacies and the features remain similar in either version. 

Core Features:

• Sophisticated web scanning.
• Robust Vulnerability assessment.
• REST API support.
• Full HTML5 support.
• Proof-centric scanning technology for dead-accurate vulnerability identification and scan results.
• Software Development Life Cycle integration.
• Anti-CSRF token support.
• Web services scanning.
• HTTP request builder.
• Exploitation.
• Reporting.
• Manual testing.
• Automatic detection of custom 404 error pages.

6. Test IO

Ensure that your websites and web applications work everywhere by crowd testing them under real-world conditions, in actual browsers, and on actual devices. Crowd-tests with testIO enable you to call upon the expertise and insight of 1000s of QA professionals to enhance the quality of your websites and web apps. Over two 100 customer-obsessed enterprises rely on the flexibility and power of test IO for shipping superior-quality software quickly. Test IO offers a crowd-powered software test solution to assist your self-service testing procedures to obtain highly improved efficiency and wider reach on real users. You can easily access the powerful and mass-level assistance of 20,000 or more specialist testers. They are all readily accessible anchored in your app test requirements. 

Core Features:

• Test on actual devices – Expand your test coverage to 100s of platforms, devices, and actual people in actual-world conditions. 
• Ensure your software works on all Operating Systems, devices, and browsers.
• Get feedback from actual humans – the expert testers have unbiased and fresh eyes on every product. Testers detect bugs that any internal team might not find out.
• Release faster – Human-powered does not mean slow. It removes the Quality Assurance bottleneck with flexible, on-demand testing that scales up with your requirements.

7. Selenium

It is an open-source automated web app tool, and at present, the most widely used and popular testing tool in the market. Selenium can automate across several Operating Systems such as Mac, Windows, and Linux and browsers such as Chrome, IE, Firefox, and Headless Browsers. The test script of Selenium can be written in programming languages such as C#, Ruby, Python, Java, Perl, JavaScript, and PHP. It provides record and playback attributes with its browser add-on Se (Selenium) IDE. The robust Selenium WebDriver assists you form more advanced and complicated automation scripts.

It has 4 essential components including: 

• Selenium Remote Control (RC)
• Selenium Grid
• Selenium Integrated Development Environment (IDE)
• Selenium WebDriver

Core Features:

• Speed Control – Aids control the test cases’ speed.
• Step – Helps step into every particular command in the testing script.
• Run – Runs the presently selected test.
• Run All – Permits execution of the complete Test Suite.
• Resume/ Pause– Enables users to pause and resume a specific test case.
• Rollup – Assists group all the Selenese Commands all-together and craft them execute as a solo operation.

8. Tricentis

It is a model-based automated testing tool that offers quite a wide feature set for continuous tests counting analytics, dashboards, and integrations for supporting DevOps and agile methodologies. Tricentis Tosca enables users to optimize the reusability of test assets. Similar to several other automated test tools, it also assists with an extensive range of apps and technologies like mobile, web, and API. It also has traits for risk analysis, integration management, and distributed execution. This tool has 400+ users comprise international names from the top 500 brands like HBO, ExxonMobil, Toyota, Whole Foods, Allianz, Starbucks, BMW, Lexmark, Deutsche Bank, Orange, Vodafone, Vantiv, A&E, UBS, and Telstr. 

Core Features:

• Uses a model-based automated test that makes script maintenance simple.
• Supports a wide range of protocols comprising AMQP, TIBCO EMS, SOAP, NET TCP, IBM MQ, Rabbit MQ, REST, HTTP(s) JMS.
• Easily integrates into the DevOps and Agile Cycle.
• Allows E2E tests as Application Programming Interface tests can be used amid packaged apps, mobile cross-browser, etc.

9. TestCraft

It is a powerful automated test platform for continuous and regression testing, as well as monitoring of web apps. TestCraft’s revolutionary Artificial Intelligence technology and exceptional visual modeling enable speedier test creation and implementation, while also enabling eradication test maintenance overhead. QA engineers create completely automated test scenarios with no coding. Customers find glitches and bugs rapidly, integrate with the CI/CD approach, release more frequently, and total the complete quality of their digital products.

Core Features:

• Zero programming skills required. You can leverage manual testers’ knowledge and enable them to generate automated test scenarios.
• Considerably decrease in maintenance costs. Scripts are adjusted to change automatically due to our Artificial Intelligence algorithm. Major modifications are adapted with some clicks.
• Selenium-based. Rapidly integrate and leverage modules designed by the community.
• Gives instant time to value. Not anything required to install (SaaS). Simple to master.

Which Essential Factors Should You Consider When Picking Out a Web App Testing Tool?

You must consider the following factors prior to choosing a tool:

• Desired Platform Support: SAP, Desktop, Web, Citrix, etc.
• In the case of an outsourcing project, one requires to factor client/customer's first choice of the automation tool.
• License Cost if relevant.
• The price involved in training staff on the tool.
• Update policy and Support of the automation tool vendor.
• Software/ Hardware needs of the automation tool.

Conclusion 

Apart from the above-mentioned list, there are myriads of other tools that aim at distinct types of tests. Some of them are free automated tools, whilst others are licensed. The preference of testing tools depends completely upon the business necessities, but with the sole purpose of quality software at a fast speed.