Browser Testing With Playwright, Selenium, Dusk, And Codeception

Several tools can automate browsers around PHP applications. Playwright is a modern cross-browser tool. Selenium remains widely used. Laravel Dusk integrates browser testing with Laravel. Codeception provides acceptance-testing workflows in PHP.

Follow The Existing Stack

Choose the tool that fits the repository, team, framework, and CI environment. A project with stable Dusk tests usually does not need a Playwright rewrite merely because Playwright is newer.

Keep Browser Coverage Narrow

Automate a small set of business-critical journeys, seed deterministic state, use stable selectors, and capture failure evidence. Keep validation matrices and calculation boundaries in faster lower-level tests.

import { test, expect } from '@playwright/test';

test('customer sees an order confirmation', async ({ page }) => {
  await page.goto('/basket');
  await page.getByRole('button', { name: 'Checkout' }).click();
  await expect(page.getByRole('heading', { name: 'Order confirmed' })).toBeVisible();
});

Common Mistakes

• Rewriting an established browser suite without a clear benefit.
• Using CSS implementation details as selectors.
• Testing every validation branch through a browser.
• Ignoring screenshots, traces, and console failures.

What To Practise

• Recognise common browser tools.
• Choose based on repository context.
• Write stable focused browser journeys.