Table of Contents

 

Introduction

 

People now connect with technology in new ways with the advent of smartphones. Travel, fitness, lifestyle, video games, and even services are all a few taps away. This truth is understood by comparing the rising numbers of smartphone or tablet users to PC users. Websites or desktop web apps were the sole focus of software testing in the past. Mobile phones were not very powerful at that time and were used for simple communication. Also, it meant that organisations had to limit their web application testing and optimisation to desktop browsers in the past. The digital environment has undergone a major shift as a result of the recent ten years evolution of mobile phones. Now there is a significant difference between mobile testing and mobile application testing or software testing. Let's first clarify the basic contrasts between web applications and mobile applications.

 

What Is Software Testing?

 

Software testing and other aspects of development have been kept apart. After the stage of product build or execution, it is often carried out later in the software development life cycle.A tester can at times only have a small window right before the programme launches to test the code. There might not be much time for re-coding or repeat testing if flaws come to light. The software is released on schedule but has issues that need to be fixed. Or a testing team might fix errors but miss the deadline for publication. It helps to maintain testing efforts in the centre rather than making them a secondary concern to development if test activities are carried out early in the cycle. Early software testing also means that bug fixes are less expensive.

 

What Is Mobile Testing?

 

The process of testing mobile applications for functionality, usability, performance, and many other aspects is known as mobile testing. Also, testing is available for native mobile apps, responsive web apps, and hybrid apps. You may ensure that the mobile application you are delivering to users satisfies both user and business criteria by conducting both automated and manual testing of mobile applications. While desktop/laptop internet usage is dropping, mobile internet usage has been rising for years. It is crucial to offer a positive user experience on your mobile apps because people are spending an increasing amount of time on them. You won't know how well your application serves a big and growing section of your user base if you are not assessing the mobile user experience. One-star app ratings and unfavourable social media comments result from failing to know this.

 

What Are Web Applications?

 

A web application is a program that runs in the browser without needing to be downloaded. A group of software applications or services known as web applications use the Internet to provide consumers with information. Each web application is made up of an interface that can be accessed using a web browser. There is a back-end server that handles data management and performs specialised tasks. In most cases, they are kept on a web server. To design web apps, the programmers work using HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and other computer languages. PCs, laptops, mobile phones, and tablets are a few of the optimised devices that can use web apps.

 

Our Learners Also Read:  How Google tracks you?

 

Difference between Web and Mobile Application Testing

 

A software application is tested to see if it complies with specified requirements. This procedure assists in ensuring that software whether a web app or a mobile app meets the requirements and functions as anticipated.  Websites can perform across all major browsers and mobile platforms with web app testing. But mobile app testing seeks to find any compatibility problems or flaws for the native or hybrid mobile app across a large variety of Android and iOS devices.



 

Sr. No.

Mobile App Testing

Web App Testing

1.

To test mobile applications, software programmes are run on mobile devices.


 

Web application testing software programmes are used on computers.

2.

The audience for mobile applications is larger than that of web applications.



 

The user base of web applications is smaller.

3.

Any mobile application is available for download from the app store. 



 

The website itself tends to be where web applications are maintained and upgraded.

4.

It is challenging to create responsive design for tiny mobile devices. 



 

Coding the responsive design for devices with huge screens is simple.

5.

When downloading large programmes and multimedia, mobile devices have a smaller storage capacity. Thus, testing mobile apps may get challenging.  


 

With their high storage capacities, desktops make it much simpler to test web applications. 

6.

Some smartphone apps function offline and don't need an internet connection. Online mobile apps depend on the quality and speed of the internet. The behaviour of mobile apps is thus tested under various internet connectivity scenarios. 



 

To work well, web apps need a strong internet connection. 

7.

Due to the sheer number of mobile devices and the variety of features and functionalities available, mobile testing is challenging.



 

Due to desktop-specific performance, web applications are simpler to test.

8.

In this type of testing, testers examine how well various mobile devices' batteries perform when running any mobile app. Whether the app uses up the battery fast or performs well while it is low on power.



 

Battery life restrictions do not apply to web apps. 

9.

Users' touch, tap, swipe, voice, hand, and eye movements, among other user interactions, are tested by testers.



 

In web testing, teams often deal with user interactions based on text input, mouse selections, and speech.

10.

Usability, performance, and load testing are carried out by testers for various mobile apps.



 

Cross-browser interoperability is the fundamental aspect of web app testing.



 

Conclusion

 

Our two primary means of interacting with digital information are mobile and the web. It can appear to the untrained eye that you are accessing the same program on many devices. But that is not the case, and this is the key to knowing the difference between mobile application and web application. The first computers to gain popularity were desktops. Software testing thus focused on desktop or online applications. Smartphones entered the lives of the majority of people as time passed.

 

More mobile applications were created by developers in response to the popularity of mobile devices. Mobile apps are useful in most industries nowadays. Examples include e-commerce, transportation & logistics, finance, and entertainment. The table above should have made the main differences between web applications and mobile applications clear to you. They are not built the same. Both are used in different ways by users in their interactions. Testing both with special criteria and tools thus is required. The majority of the tests are the same for both mobile and web at a high level.