7 min read

Automated testing with Cypress

Magento (now Adobe Commerce) is an ecommerce solution. It is used to design and build omnichannel e-commerce for B2B and B2C customers on one platform. These e-commerce solutions go well beyond the pure online sales process for products. Magento is one of the most modern e-commerce technologies, thanks to a large community of developers and partners and to excellent scalability, extensibility and flexibility. These solutions need reliable software tests.

What is the Cypress testing framework?

The JavaScript-based test framework works directly in the browser and is particularly fast. Cypress can run a wide range of tests. That includes end-to-end tests as well as frontend and backend tests. Integration tests make it possible to test how the code works. Unit tests check a very specific part of the code in isolation. Load tests show how the shop copes with a large influx of users. We build Magento online shops locally in Docker. After a change, automated tests start. If something fails, they produce a video or a screenshot.

The online shop is tested for:

Why do we use Cypress?

Cypress is a JavaScript-based testing tool built for the modern web. It aims to solve the problems developers run into when testing an application. Cypress is a developer-friendly tool that uses a distinctive technique and works directly in the browser. That is how we can build a Magento website without defects, with complete Magento tests.

The advantages of Cypress for modern web tests

Testing is a necessary process in application development. The success or failure of the application depends entirely on it. Testing websites is different from conventional software testing, though. Some factors of traditional testing, such as data security and high maintenance costs, can be a challenge for advanced web tests. These hurdles called for a new test framework such as Cypress, which can remove these shortcomings, among other things. Cypress uses a BDD/TDD (behaviour-driven development / test-driven development) assertion library and a browser that can be paired with any JavaScript test framework.

Magento is a strong fit for e-commerce

Technically, Magento is a CMS for e-commerce systems. It lets users adapt, build and keep developing an e-commerce application exactly as they want. Magento’s flexibility and openness have helped the system grow enormously in recent years. It has proved a lasting product in the market, and it is still strong 15 years after the first release. Developers and business owners who are thinking about building their web applications with Magento can expect a number of advantages.

Anyone choosing an option for building their e-commerce solution is well advised to look at Magento. Magento meets every criterion in this respect and comes with every function e-commerce needs. Magento offers, for example:

Magento is a highly scalable tool in every aspect of e-commerce. With good indexing algorithms and a scalable database, the latest version of Magento can process more orders per hour than ever before. Additional plugins can also be installed to extend the basic functionality to match what is needed.

Once the e-commerce business has found its feet in the market, it has to scale in order to add more products, handle enquiries and receive more customers. This phase usually requires a series of changes to the infrastructure and the algorithms in the background. The more load there is on the server, the slower the website becomes. This is where the software tests come in.

Functional tests, in short

In functional testing of a web application we check the application’s functions and whether they match the required specifications. Those requirements can be technical, logical or business-related. That depends on the test case and the goal of the functional test. We can therefore build a function that supplies such an input and check this particular requirement in the pipeline or before it.

Why is functional testing essential for Magento applications?

There is a wide range of test methods applied to an application before it is released to the end user. Testing Magento can be seen as a combination of the different components that make up a website. Structuring and restructuring the catalogue is one component, for example. Payment processing and keeping records are also in focus. These components are responsible for every function they perform. That is why functional testing is very important here.

Example “checkout”: why shop tests matter

Because Magento is built specifically for e-commerce, the functional test cases look similar across Magento test projects. The checkout is usually one of the most heavily customised parts of an online shop. Besides the visual appearance and the user interface, some backend parts are typically customised as well.

For example: users adapt the emails sent after a successful checkout, or they send some custom data to a message queue or store it in the database. Because this is a very critical part of every online shop, it makes sense to cover the checkout with automated tests. For the frontend, cypress.io is a good fit.

Some background on integration tests in Magento

Depending on the requirements, we can add further tests that cover the checkout for logged-in customers and, where needed, different products, shipping methods, payment methods and other checkout options.
Is your Magento shop full of important data that you want to take into your new ERP system? With our API connector, that data can be transferred to Business Central in seconds.
Takeaway

What now?

We can help make it easier to get started with groundbreaking technologies and frameworks. With Cypress shop tests we can keep the process reliable and check the online shop from end to end. Get in touch with our team to find out how.