What are some tips for handling cross-platform and cross-browser compatibility issues in mobile testing?

1 Know your target audience

Before you start testing, you need to identify your target audience and their preferences. What devices, operating systems, and browsers do they use? What are their expectations and behaviors? How do they interact with your app or website? You can use analytics tools, surveys, or market research to gather this information. This will help you prioritize the most important platforms and browsers to test on and optimize for.

2 Choose the right testing tools

You can't test your mobile app or website on every possible device, operating system, and browser combination. That's why you need to use testing tools that can simulate different scenarios and environments. There are various tools available, such as emulators, simulators, cloud-based testing platforms, and real device testing services. You need to choose the right tools based on your budget, time, and testing objectives. You also need to ensure that the tools are reliable, updated, and compatible with your app or website.

3 Follow web standards and best practices

One of the best ways to avoid cross-platform and cross-browser compatibility issues is to follow web standards and best practices. Web standards are guidelines and specifications that ensure the consistency and interoperability of web technologies. Best practices are recommendations and techniques that improve the performance and usability of web applications. For example, you should use valid HTML, CSS, and JavaScript code, avoid deprecated or proprietary features, use responsive design, optimize images and fonts, and test for accessibility and security.

4 Perform cross-platform and cross-browser testing

After you have developed your mobile app or website, you need to perform cross-platform and cross-browser testing to verify its functionality, appearance, and behavior on different devices, operating systems, and browsers. You need to define your testing scope, strategy, and criteria based on your target audience and business goals. You also need to use a combination of manual and automated testing methods to cover different aspects of your app or website. You should test for functionality, layout, navigation, user interface, compatibility, performance, and usability.

5 Fix the compatibility issues

Once you have identified the cross-platform and cross-browser compatibility issues, you need to fix them as soon as possible. You need to analyze the root causes of the issues, prioritize the most critical ones, and implement the appropriate solutions. You may need to use different techniques, such as conditional comments, polyfills, fallbacks, or feature detection, to handle the differences and limitations of different platforms and browsers. You should also document the issues and solutions for future reference and improvement.

6 Keep up with the changes

The mobile landscape is constantly evolving and changing. New devices, operating systems, browsers, and features are being introduced and updated regularly. You need to keep up with the changes and monitor their impact on your mobile app or website. You should subscribe to relevant newsletters, blogs, podcasts, or forums to stay informed of the latest trends and developments. You should also update your testing tools, platforms, and browsers to ensure that they reflect the current market conditions and user expectations.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?