Playwright Testing

Purpose

Enable comprehensive browser-based testing and validation for static HTML/CSS websites using Playwright automation framework. Supports visual regression testing, accessibility audits, screenshot capture, and cross-browser validation.

Core Principles

Headless First: Default to headless mode for CI/CD efficiency
Visual Evidence: Capture screenshots for all test failures and audits
Accessibility Integration: Combine with axe-core for WCAG testing
Cross-Browser Coverage: Test on Chromium, Firefox, and WebKit
Responsive Testing: Validate across device viewports (mobile, tablet, desktop)
Performance Monitoring: Track Core Web Vitals (LCP, FID, CLS)

Enforces

Test Environment Setup

Xvfb Display: Virtual framebuffer for headless rendering (DISPLAY=:99)
Chrome Stable: Google Chrome with WebGL support for rendering
Playwright Installation: npx playwright install --with-deps
Dependencies: System fonts (Noto), graphics libraries (libgbm, libgtk)

Test Patterns

Page Navigation: await page.goto('http://localhost:8080/')
Element Interaction: await page.locator('selector').click()
Screenshot Capture: await page.screenshot({ path: 'evidence.png', fullPage: true })
Accessibility Audit: await axe.analyze() with axe-playwright
Visual Comparison: Compare screenshots for regression detection

Multi-Language Testing

// Test all 14 language versions
const languages = ['index.html', 'index_sv.html', 'index_da.html', ...];
for (const lang of languages) {
  await page.goto(`http://localhost:8080/${lang}`);
  await page.screenshot({ path: `screenshots/${lang}.png` });
}

Accessibility Testing

// WCAG 2.1 AA compliance check
const { injectAxe, checkA11y } = require('axe-playwright');
await injectAxe(page);
await checkA11y(page, null, {
  detailedReport: true,
  detailedReportOptions: { html: true }
});

Responsive Design Testing

// Test breakpoints
const viewports = [
  { width: 320, height: 568, name: 'mobile' },
  { width: 768, height: 1024, name: 'tablet' },
  { width: 1920, height: 1080, name: 'desktop' }
];
for (const viewport of viewports) {
  await page.setViewportSize(viewport);
  await page.screenshot({ path: `screenshots/${viewport.name}.png` });
}

Core Web Vitals

// Measure performance
const metrics = await page.evaluate(() => ({
  LCP: performance.getEntriesByType('largest-contentful-paint')[0]?.renderTime,
  FID: performance.getEntriesByType('first-input')[0]?.processingStart,
  CLS: performance.getEntriesByType('layout-shift').reduce((sum, entry) => sum + entry.value, 0)
}));

When to Use

Quality Assurance: Automated UI testing for PRs
Visual Regression: Detect unintended UI changes
Accessibility Audits: Verify WCAG 2.1 AA compliance across all pages
Cross-Browser Testing: Ensure compatibility (Chrome, Firefox, Safari)
Issue Validation: Capture evidence for bug reports
Performance Monitoring: Track Core Web Vitals over time
Multi-Language Validation: Test all 14 language versions

Examples

Good Pattern: Comprehensive Page Audit

// test/audit-homepage.spec.js
const { test, expect } = require('@playwright/test');
const AxeBuilder = require('@axe-core/playwright').default;

test('Homepage audit - WCAG 2.1 AA', async ({ page }) => {
  await page.goto('http://localhost:8080/');
  
  // Visual evidence
  await page.screenshot({ 
    path: 'screenshots/homepage-full.png', 
    fullPage: true 
  });
  
  // Accessibility audit
  const results = await new AxeBuilder({ page })
    .withTags(['wcag2a', 'wcag2aa'])
    .analyze();
  
  expect(results.violations).toEqual([]);
  
  // Link integrity
  const brokenLinks = await page.evaluate(() => {
    return Array.from(document.querySelectorAll('a'))
      .filter(link => !link.href.startsWith('http'))
      .map(link => link.href);
  });
  expect(brokenLinks).toEqual([]);
});

Good Pattern: Multi-Language Testing

// test/multi-language.spec.js
const languages = [
  { file: 'index.html', lang: 'en', name: 'English' },
  { file: 'index_sv.html', lang: 'sv', name: 'Swedish' },
  { file: 'index_ar.html', lang: 'ar', dir: 'rtl', name: 'Arabic' }
];

for (const { file, lang, dir, name } of languages) {
  test(`${name} version accessibility`, async ({ page }) => {
    await page.goto(`http://localhost:8080/${file}`);
    
    // Verify lang attribute
    const htmlLang = await page.getAttribute('html', 'lang');
    expect(htmlLang).toBe(lang);
    
    // Verify RTL if applicable
    if (dir === 'rtl') {
      const htmlDir = await page.getAttribute('html', 'dir');
      expect(htmlDir).toBe('rtl');
    }
    
    // Accessibility audit
    const results = await new AxeBuilder({ page }).analyze();
    expect(results.violations).toHaveLength(0);
    
    // Screenshot
    await page.screenshot({ path: `screenshots/${lang}.png` });
  });
}

Anti-Pattern: No Error Handling

// ❌ BAD: No error handling or cleanup
test('Bad test', async ({ page }) => {
  await page.goto('http://localhost:8080/');
  // Test crashes if server not running
});

// ✅ GOOD: Proper error handling
test('Good test', async ({ page }) => {
  try {
    await page.goto('http://localhost:8080/', { timeout: 5000 });
  } catch (error) {
    console.error('Server not available:', error.message);
    throw new Error('Test environment not ready');
  }
});

Anti-Pattern: Missing Screenshots on Failure

// ❌ BAD: No visual evidence
test('Bad test', async ({ page }) => {
  await page.goto('http://localhost:8080/');
  await expect(page.locator('.missing')).toBeVisible(); // Fails silently
});

// ✅ GOOD: Capture evidence
test('Good test', async ({ page }) => {
  await page.goto('http://localhost:8080/');
  
  try {
    await expect(page.locator('.element')).toBeVisible();
  } catch (error) {
    await page.screenshot({ path: 'evidence/failure.png', fullPage: true });
    throw error;
  }
});

CI/CD Integration

GitHub Actions Workflow

- name: Start local server
  run: |
    python3 -m http.server 8080 &
    sleep 2

- name: Run Playwright tests
  run: npx playwright test
  env:
    DISPLAY: ":99"

- name: Upload screenshots
  if: failure()
  uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
  with:
    name: playwright-screenshots
    path: screenshots/

Remember

Always capture screenshots for failures and audits
Test all 14 languages including RTL (Arabic, Hebrew)
Verify accessibility with axe-core on every page
Test responsive design across mobile/tablet/desktop breakpoints
Use headless mode for CI/CD efficiency
Run local server before tests (python3 -m http.server 8080)
Clean up processes after tests (kill server, Xvfb)
Upload artifacts on failure (screenshots, accessibility reports)

References

Version: 1.0
Last Updated: 2026-02-06
Maintained by: Hack23 AB

playwright-testing