Selenium · Browser automation foundations

What does a first reliable Selenium test look like?

Easyfirst testwebdrivertest lifecycleUpdated Oct 2026

Short answer

Create a driver, navigate, locate elements by stable attributes, act, wait for the expected state, assert, and always quit the driver in cleanup so sessions do not leak.

A first test should prove the full loop without hiding failures. Use a real page, one clear action and one observable outcome. Avoid sleeps and avoid assertions on transient loading text.

java

import java.time.Duration;
import org.openqa.selenium.By;
import org.openqa.selenium.WebDriver;
import org.openqa.selenium.chrome.ChromeDriver;
import org.openqa.selenium.support.ui.ExpectedConditions;
import org.openqa.selenium.support.ui.WebDriverWait;
import org.testng.Assert;
import org.testng.annotations.Test;

public class LoginTest {
    @Test
    public void userCanSignIn() {
        WebDriver driver = new ChromeDriver();
        try {
            driver.get("https://example.com/login");
            driver.findElement(By.id("email")).sendKeys("asha@example.com");
            driver.findElement(By.id("password")).sendKeys("correct-horse");
            driver.findElement(By.cssSelector("[data-testid='sign-in']")).click();

            WebDriverWait wait = new WebDriverWait(driver, Duration.ofSeconds(10));
            wait.until(ExpectedConditions.urlContains("/dashboard"));

            Assert.assertTrue(driver.getTitle().contains("Dashboard"));
        } finally {
            driver.quit();
        }
    }
}

One action, one wait, one assertion, and guaranteed cleanup.

Use a stable locator such as id or data-testid rather than visible text where possible
Wait for the outcome you assert on, not for an arbitrary delay
Call quit in a finally block or in framework cleanup so the browser process exits
Keep the first test independent of other tests and of execution order

close closes the current window; quit ends the session and the driver process. Almost every test should use quit.

Follow-ups you should expect

Interviewers use these to check whether the first answer was understanding or memorisation.

1Why is quit preferred over close?
2Why is asserting on the final URL better than sleeping?
3What makes a locator stable?
4How would you move driver setup out of the test?

Say it in the interview

My first test follows the real user loop: create a driver, navigate, fill the form, click, wait for the resulting URL, then assert the dashboard title. The wait targets the outcome, not a fixed delay. Cleanup is in a finally block with quit so a failure cannot leak a browser session. Once that works, I move driver creation into a base class or factory.

Use this as a model, not a script. Saying it in your own words is what makes it survive follow-up pressure.

Now say it out loud.

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Follow-ups you should expect

Related questions

Now say it out loud.