Using Selenium with Headless Browsers for C# Web Testing

Other Questions Headless Browser
1

I’ve been using Selenium WebDriver with C# for a while now and I’m trying to figure out how to test many users at once. I need to check server memory and do some load testing for a web-based product.

I heard that headless browsers might help me run more tests at the same time without using up all my computer’s memory. I’m thinking about using SimpleBrowser with Selenium, but I’m not sure how it works.

Does anyone know if page elements actually exist in a headless browser? Or is it just sending requests back and forth? I’ve tried writing a test to log in, but it’s not working as expected.

Here’s a bit of my test code:

[TestMethod]
public void TryLogin()
{
    var loginButton = driver.FindElement(By.XPath("//button[@id='login-btn']"));
    Assert.IsTrue(loginButton.Text.Contains("Sign In"));

    var usernameField = driver.FindElement(By.XPath("//input[@id='username']"));
    usernameField.SendKeys("testuser");

    var passwordField = driver.FindElement(By.XPath("//input[@id='password']"));
    passwordField.SendKeys("testpass123");

    loginButton.Click();
}

The test passes when finding elements, but fails when checking if I’m logged in. How can I make this work with a headless browser? Any tips would be great!

2

I’ve encountered similar challenges when transitioning to headless browsers for load testing. In my experience, headless browsers do render page elements, but they can be tricky to work with. Have you considered using Chrome or Firefox in headless mode instead of SimpleBrowser? They tend to be more reliable and closer to real browser behavior.

For your login issue, I’d suggest adding explicit waits as Liam23 mentioned, but also check if there’s a more reliable indicator of successful login. Perhaps look for a specific element that only appears post-login, like a user profile icon or a welcome message. This approach has worked well for me in similar scenarios.

Regarding memory usage, you might want to look into parallelizing your tests across multiple machines or using a cloud-based solution for more robust load testing capabilities.

3

hey bellagarcia, i’ve used headless browsers with selenium before. they do render page elements, just not visually. for your login issue, try adding a wait after clicking the button. like:

WebDriverWait wait = new WebDriverWait(driver, TimeSpan.FromSeconds(10));
wait.Until(ExpectedConditions.UrlContains(“dashboard”));

this should help with timing issues. good luck with your testing!

4

I’ve been down this road before, and headless browsers can be a game-changer for load testing. They do render page elements, just not visually. For your login issue, I’d recommend using Chrome or Firefox in headless mode instead of SimpleBrowser. They’re more stable and closely mimic real browser behavior.

One trick that’s worked wonders for me is implementing a custom wait condition. Instead of relying on URL changes or generic waits, create a method that checks for a unique element that only appears after successful login. Something like:

public bool IsLoggedIn(IWebDriver driver, int timeoutInSeconds)
{
    try
    {
        WebDriverWait wait = new WebDriverWait(driver, TimeSpan.FromSeconds(timeoutInSeconds));
        return wait.Until(d => d.FindElements(By.Id("user-profile-icon")).Count > 0);
    }
    catch (WebDriverTimeoutException)
    {
        return false;
    }
}

Then use this in your test after the login attempt. It’s been a lifesaver for me in similar situations. Hope this helps!