How to Deploy a Cypress Page Object Model (POM) for Test Automation

When it comes to testing your apps, simplicity is the key to success. Patchwork testing strategies, environment dependencies, and duplicative or redundant work are just a few of the many things that can lead to wasted time and resources — which boils down to wasted money. 

But for test automation, there is a tool that helps streamline code production and improves test maintenance — a big way to save the losses mentioned previously. That tool is called Page Object Model (POM). It can be used with your favorite framework to make test automation easier. There are a lot of frameworks to choose from, but we will start with Cypress. 

This blog will detail what exactly Page Object Model is, how you can deploy a Cypress Page Object Model, and why Perfecto should be your go-to choice to partner with on this venture. 

What is Page Object Model?

Page Object Model (POM) is a popular method of design organization used to enhance test automation efficiency by creating Object Repository for UI elements. Its popularity comes from the improvement of test maintenance and reduction in code duplication.

By leveraging Page Object Model, you create a more streamlined approach to script maintenance and help make the code more readable, reusable, and maintainable. A whole application can be broken down into separate pages and use classes to depict those pages. That way, each page in the app is linked to a specific class in the Page Object. 

The benefits of Page Object Model in Cypress are evident. 

Advantages of Page Object Model

POM makes developers’ lives a whole lot easier. Here are a few key benefits of using a Cypress Page Object Model: 

• Clean Code – The design organization creates a simpler flow of information, which makes the code cleaner and easier to understand. Think of it like reading a book; with POM, you are reading the natural way, from one direction to another — without it, you are jumping from word to word and line to line seemingly at random. 
• Simultaneous Testing – Since the object repository is not dependent on a test-by-test basis, you can run the same POM simultaneously with different tests – a big plus for Cypress users. 
• Simplified Methods – Because the page methods can be reused and run simultaneously, the amount of coding is naturally reduced. 
• Better Naming Conventions – POM makes mapping much easier with a simple naming classification system for your methods. If you are wanting to an action to result in going to the Resource page, the method name would be something simple like “gotoResourcePage().” 

You can see how POM can make your test automation efforts run much more smoothly. Now we can look specifically at how a Cypress Page Object Model works and how to deploy it. 

How to Deploy a Cypress Page Object Model

Cypress has rapidly become one of the most popular test automation frameworks in the developer and QA communities, in large part due to the ease of installation and setup. What can be better than when an easy-to-use framework is paired with a design organization tool intended for simplicity?

Execution

It is very easy to take advantage of Page Object Model with Cypress. For example, see this test flow of Perfecto’s demo website. 

We can create a simple flow with Cypress to login, add a new expense, and validate it. You might end up with something like this below. 

Normal Cypress Test

This works well and is very quick to execute, but everything is hard coded in the test. That means we would need to type all those locators again if we were to do another similar test with different data or slightly different expectations. 

This is where Page Object Model can really help us out. 

Cypress POM Examples

We can create a Page Object Model for Cypress by moving all the logic for each separate page of our application into separate Page Object classes. Login actions and details go into the LoginPage object, same with HomePage and NewExpensePage and their details. 

We can also make our actions reusable by creating parametrized functions that can receive dynamic data and execute upon it. Start by creating a base Page Object that all other Pages will extend with base functionality that all pages require. 

Base Page Object 

Login Page Object

Home Page Object

 New Expense Page Object

Page Object Cypress Test

After implementing POM, our test is much more compact. Instead of parsing through many lines of code, it is easy to understand the business logic in just a few lines. Additionally, since we parameterized our test, we can add new tests just as easily with just a few lines.

You can see how employing a Page Object Model significantly reduced the need for coding to achieve the same results. Using this method is a great way to streamline and simplify the application testing process.

Cypress Page Object Model vs. App Actions

Of course, there is always more than one way to achieve simplicity. While Cypress POMs are a great route to take, there is an alternative method known as “app actions.” App actions are another popular method that teams can use to make end-to-end test automation fast and productive. 

Additionally, according to developer Gleb Bahmutov, POMs do have their drawbacks. They can “take away time from actual application development...make understanding the tests and failures harder,” and “make tests slow because they force the tests to always go through the application user interface.” 

Where app actions can serve Cypress users better is in doing away with the step of always entering new items via the UI. Instead of needing to enter new items this way, app actions allow users to set the state of application directly from the test. Cypress’s inherent architecture also helps in making this simple. 

Bottom Line

You want to get the most out your Cypress end-to-end testing by doing everything you can to create simplicity — which ultimately saves you time and money. A Page Object Model is one of the tools at your disposal that implements organization into your code and app design to free you from the constraints of confusing structures that are slowing you down by causing duplicative work. 

Using a Cypress Page Object Model is a great way to improve upon and make better use out of the framework you already love. By taking its already easy-to-use installation and setup a step further by integrating POM, you can take your test automation efforts up a notch. 

And when it comes to test automation, there is no better partner in the industry than Perfecto. Whether with Cypress or other popular open-source testing frameworks, Perfecto is the ideal platform to take your application testing to the next level. See for yourself with a 14-day free trial and experience the industry’s most trusted testing platform.  

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