Automating QA testing helps ensure your website works flawlessly for every user, on every device, under every condition. From login flows to checkout carts, test automation gives teams the speed and confidence to ship frequently without breaking things.
In this guide, you’ll learn what automated QA testing is, why it matters, which tests to automate, and how to build a reliable automated QA testing process from scratch.
What is QA Testing?
Quality Assurance (QA) testing is the process of verifying that your website or application functions correctly and reliably. This includes everything from UI elements to backend data responses across different browsers, screen sizes, and user scenarios.
A typical QA test plan includes the following:
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UI functionality – Buttons, modals, dropdowns, etc., behave as expected
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Form validation – Input fields handle valid, invalid, or edge-case data correctly
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Navigation flows – User actions lead to the right destinations
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Dynamic rendering – JavaScript content loads and displays properly
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Session management – Authentication and user states persist correctly
QA testing is not just about “does it look okay?". It’s about making sure the entire experience works, predictably and reliably.
Functional vs. Non-Functional Automated QA Testing
Automated QA testing typically covers both functional and non-functional aspects:
Functional QA testing focuses on what the system does:
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Can users sign in with valid credentials?
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Does “Add to Cart” update the cart properly?
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Are errors displayed when required inputs are missing?
Non-functional QA testing focuses on how the system performs:
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Page speed and responsiveness across devices
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Accessibility (e.g., screen reader support, keyboard navigation)
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Cross-browser compatibility
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Client-side security and input sanitization
What is Automated QA Testing?
Automated QA testing uses scripts and tools to mimic real user actions (like clicking, scrolling, or typing) and validate expected behavior. Instead of checking features manually, automation tools do it faster and more consistently, especially during repeated test cycles.
Example: A typical test case for the Login page follows these step:
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Launches the website
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Enters credentials
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Clicks "Login"
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Verifies the dashboard appears
If done manually, the tester has to performs ALL of those steps themselves. However, with automated QA testing, they can leverage the help of an automation testing tool, or write an automation script using a library (Selenium, Playwright, Cypress, etc.)
🧠 Automation = speed + repeatability + confidence.
What QA tests should you automate?
Automate test cases that are:
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Repetitive – Run every sprint (e.g., login, search, checkout)
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High-risk – Impact core user or business flows
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Stable – Have predictable inputs/outputs and minimal visual ambiguity
Here are several types of test cases that meet those criteria:
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Regression Tests: regression tests validate that existing functionality still works after a code change. These are your automation MVP. Ideal for core flows like login, search, checkout, etc.
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Smoke Tests: these are lightweight checks after each deployment to confirm the site loads, critical pages render, and no major errors are thrown. Fast and frequently run.
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Cross-Browser/Device Validation: these tests ensure consistent behavior and layout across environments. Since there are approximately 30K+ combination of browsers-devices-OS available, automation is a great choice for cross browser web testing
How to automate QA Testing? A step-by-step guide
1. Start with real-world thinking
Before you write a single line of automation, you need to understand what matters.
Yes, read the test plan, requirements, and user stories, but more importantly, internalize the user’s goals. What does success look like for them? Where could things break in real usage?
Ask questions like:
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What happens if someone enters garbage data?
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What if the network lags or the button gets double-clicked?
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Is there a flow users follow that wasn’t captured in the spec?
Break big ideas into bite-sized, testable pieces. Focus on core functionality, but don’t shy away from edge cases. Messy behavior is where bugs live.
2. Pick a QA automation tool that fits your team
There’s no universal tool. What matters is what fits your workflow and team skills.
Here are several options for you to consider:
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Katalon Studio is great for mixed teams, it supports web, API, desktop, and mobile testing with a low-code interface, record/playback, and test data management, ideal for manual testers wanting to adopt automation testing quickly. Testers can totally switch to Scripting mode to create tests Groovy.
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Selenium is powerful and flexible for browser testing, but you’ll need coding chops.
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Postman and REST Assured are your friends for API testing.
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Appium handles mobile automation with cross-platform support.
Look for features like:
The best practice is to choose tools that empower everyone.
3. Write smart, reusable test cases
Treat your scripts like product code. If it’s fragile, future-you will pay the price. Here are several recommended best practices for when you're writing QA automation test cases:
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Break scripts into smaller, modular components.
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Use parameters and test data files to avoid copy-pasting the same logic.
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Focus first on critical paths like sign-in, payments, user settings, or integrations.
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Group similar tests together and use setup/teardown methods to save time.
4. Automate execution through CI/CD
Testing should never be an afterthought. It should be baked into your pipeline.
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Use CI tools like Jenkins, GitLab CI, or GitHub Actions to trigger tests automatically.
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Run smoke tests on every pull request or commit.
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Schedule full regression tests nightly or before releases.
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Separate test suites by type, such as unit, integration, functional, smoke, regression.
This keeps your team fast, your feedback loop tight, and your bugs out of production.
5. Investigate failures and evolve your tests
QA automation isn’t fire-and-forget. You have to tend your test suite.
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Check failures carefully. Are they real bugs or just flaky tests?
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Log bugs with detailed repro steps, screenshots, logs, and severity.
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Refactor tests when the UI or API changes.
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Track testing trends. Do certain tests fail often? Are some scripts always slow?
Think of your automation like a garden: prune, clean up, and evolve it as your product grows.
6. Bonus: Combine discipline with curiosity
Structured processes give you coverage. Creative thinking catches what specs miss.
A great QA automation engineer balances both:
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Structure helps you scale your testing.
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Curiosity helps you uncover blind spots.
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Tooling gives you speed and visibility.
Together, they give you confidence that your product works, and works the way users expect.
📚 Further reading: Exploratory testing: A complete guide
Best practices for automated QA testing
- Start with high-value tests: Prioritize automating core features and high-risk flows like login, checkout, and data processing to maximize coverage and ROI.
- Keep tests modular: Structure your tests as reusable functions or components to simplify maintenance and avoid duplicating the same logic across scripts.
- Use data-driven testing: Feed external data (like CSV, Excel, or JSON) into your test scripts to run multiple scenarios with minimal changes to code.
- Integrate with CI/CD: Set up your tests to run automatically on every commit, pull request, or scheduled build to catch issues before they reach production.
- Log clearly and capture failures: Generate detailed logs, screenshots, and console outputs on failure to speed up debugging and improve collaboration.
How to automate QA testing with Katalon
Katalon is an excellent automation testing tool that can make your automated website testing a breeze.
With Katalon, you can:
- Instantly create automated test cases for web just by combining keywords from our Keyword Library
- Record your test cases with Record and Playback. You can also try Katalon Recorder
- Manage, create, execute your test cases in one workspace
For more advanced users, you can have:
- One central platform for both functional and visual testing
- AI-powered visual testing features
- AI-powered test case recommendations based on user analytics with TrueTest
- A rich array of on-cloud test environments with TestCloud
- Self-healing capabilities to automatically maintain automated visual tests
- Easy integration with CI/CD pipelines such as Jenkins, GitLab, and Bamboo
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