BrowserStack, with its ability to test multiple devices and browsers from a single PC, helps us test our websites in numerous ways. The entire digital development team uses it for product testing where we don't have the real device available. We use it for QA testing against multiple versions of Internet Explorer. We also use it for quickly finding reported bugs that might be specific to a browser version. Without BrowserStack, we'd test against fewer devices and would have to do more frequent (and expensive) hotfixes.
Pros
BrowserStack enables testing against real browser versions - not just emulated user/agents screen sizes on different rendering engines that you get with browser debugging tools. Gives a real experience.
BrowserStack allows for quick switching between devices and browsers. At the click of a mouse, you can jump between devices and the webpage you're looking at will be transferred to the new device. Speeds up testing.
BrowserStack gives access to an entire device library for a simple subscription fee. Maintaining a collection of devices this big would be hugely expensive too. It saves money.
BrowserStack allows automated testing, using familiar Selenium, to help speed up more involved testing programmes.
Cons
Some mobile devices are emulated through desktop-level virtual machines.
Running in a browser is helpful, but such complexity comes with occasional glitches which can be annoying.
Likelihood to Recommend
If you're part of a digital development team, BrowserStack is invaluable. If your team is on a tight budget, this tool is essential to get full device coverage. If you've got to test across a large number of devices with limited testing resources, then it will hugely speed things up. If you've got an involved testing process, BrowserStack will enable you to automate your testing to improve your release cycles.
VU
Verified User
Professional in Marketing (Events Services company, 1001-5000 employees)
