Which is the best web element locator and why?

General Discussions
, ,
#1

Which is the best web element locator and why?

#2

Hey Kalyani G,

It depends on the approach you follow; not all web pages may have an ID, and some may not, but the best web element locator ID is because, as per the web development standards, the ID of all the elements is unique on the web page, making it safe from any issues.

Tagname locators are less used, but they can be quite handy when you are working around list items or on some selection options, as they all share the same tag ID, and Xpath can get quite difficult.

To learn more about tag names and other web locators, follow the given blog below:

#3

In my opinion, CSS Selectors.

It give you the following advantages:

  • Performance: Generally faster than XPath locators.
  • Simplicity: CSS selectors are concise and easy to write.
  • Browser Support: Widely supported by all modern browsers.
  • Specificity: Allows targeting elements based on classes, IDs, attributes, and pseudo-classes.

WebElement element = driver.findElement(By.cssSelector("input#username"));

#4

I prefer XPath and ID locator.

Advantages of XPath Locator

  • Flexibility: XPath provides more powerful ways to locate elements, especially complex ones.
  • Traversal: Allows traversing up and down the DOM hierarchy.
  • Functions: XPath supports functions for advanced element selection.
  • Cross-Browser Compatibility: XPath works across all major browsers.

WebElement element = driver.findElement(By.xpath("//input[@id='username']"));

Advantages of ID Locator

Advantages:

  • Uniqueness: ID locators are unique identifiers, ensuring specificity.
  • Performance: Fastest locator method due to its direct matching.
  • HTML Standard: IDs are part of the HTML standard, making them reliable.
  • Accessibility: IDs are usually stable and less prone to change.

WebElement element = driver.findElement(By.id("username"));