Visual Testing
Visual testing is a software testing methodology that focuses on verifying the visual appearance and user interface (UI) of an application to ensure it renders correctly across different devices, browsers, and screen sizes. It involves comparing screenshots or visual elements of the UI against baseline images to detect visual regressions, such as layout shifts, color mismatches, or broken components. This approach is commonly used in web and mobile development to maintain visual consistency and user experience.
Developers should use visual testing when building or maintaining applications with complex UIs, responsive designs, or frequent updates, as it helps catch visual bugs that functional tests might miss, such as CSS issues or rendering discrepancies. It is particularly valuable in agile or continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) environments to automate visual validation and ensure UI stability across releases. Use cases include testing responsive web designs, verifying design system implementations, and ensuring cross-browser compatibility.