findElement by xpath in Selenium Java - Build an Automation Script

Locate and verify the login button using XPath

Preconditions (3)

Step 1: Open the browser and navigate to 'https://example.com/login'

Step 2: Locate the login button using XPath '//button[@id="loginBtn"]'

Step 3: Verify that the login button is displayed on the page

✅ Expected Result: The login button is found using XPath and is visible on the page

Automation Requirements - Selenium WebDriver with Java

Assertions Needed:

Assert that the login button element is displayed

Best Practices:

Use explicit waits to wait for the element to be present and visible

Use By.xpath locator with clear and maintainable XPath expressions

Close the browser after test execution

Automated Solution

Selenium Java

import org.openqa.selenium.By;
import org.openqa.selenium.WebDriver;
import org.openqa.selenium.WebElement;
import org.openqa.selenium.chrome.ChromeDriver;
import org.openqa.selenium.support.ui.ExpectedConditions;
import org.openqa.selenium.support.ui.WebDriverWait;
import java.time.Duration;
import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertTrue;

public class FindElementByXPathTest {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        System.setProperty("webdriver.chrome.driver", "path/to/chromedriver");
        WebDriver driver = new ChromeDriver();
        try {
            driver.get("https://example.com/login");

            WebDriverWait wait = new WebDriverWait(driver, Duration.ofSeconds(10));
            WebElement loginButton = wait.until(
                ExpectedConditions.visibilityOfElementLocated(By.xpath("//button[@id='loginBtn']"))
            );

            assertTrue(loginButton.isDisplayed(), "Login button should be visible");

        } finally {
            driver.quit();
        }
    }
}

This code starts by setting up the Chrome WebDriver and opening the login page URL.

It uses an explicit wait to wait up to 10 seconds for the login button to be visible, locating it by the XPath expression //button[@id='loginBtn'].

Then it asserts that the button is displayed on the page, ensuring the element was found and is visible.

Finally, it closes the browser to clean up.

This approach avoids timing issues by waiting explicitly and uses a clear XPath locator for maintainability.

Common Mistakes - 3 Pitfalls

Using Thread.sleep() instead of explicit waits

Using a very long or complex XPath that is hard to maintain

Not closing the browser after the test

Bonus Challenge

Now add data-driven testing to locate and verify buttons with three different XPath expressions on the same page.

Show Hint

Practice

1. What does the Selenium method findElement(By.xpath("//button[@id='submit']")) do?

easy

A. Finds the first button element with id 'submit' on the page

B. Finds all button elements with id 'submit' on the page

C. Clicks the button with id 'submit' automatically

D. Deletes the button element with id 'submit'

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the method purpose

   The method findElement locates a single web element matching the given locator.

2. Step 2: Analyze the XPath expression

   The XPath //button[@id='submit'] selects the first <button> element with attribute id='submit'.

3. Final Answer:

   Finds the first button element with id 'submit' on the page -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   findElement + XPath = single matching element [OK]

Hint: findElement returns one element matching XPath [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing findElement with findElements
• Thinking it clicks or deletes element
• Assuming it returns multiple elements

2. Which of the following is the correct syntax to find an element with XPath in Selenium Java?

easy

A. driver.findElement(By.xpath('//input[@name='username']'));

B. driver.findElement(By.xpath=//input[@name='username']);

C. driver.findElement(By.xpath("//input[@name='username']"));

D. driver.findElement(By.xpath("input[@name='username']"));

Solution

1. Step 1: Check method call syntax

   The correct method call is driver.findElement(By.xpath("xpath_string")) with double quotes around the XPath string.

2. Step 2: Validate each option

   driver.findElement(By.xpath("//input[@name='username']")); uses correct syntax with double quotes and proper method call. driver.findElement(By.xpath=//input[@name='username']); uses invalid assignment syntax. driver.findElement(By.xpath('//input[@name='username']')); uses single quotes inside double quotes incorrectly. driver.findElement(By.xpath("input[@name='username']")); misses the leading '//' in XPath.

3. Final Answer:

   driver.findElement(By.xpath("//input[@name='username']")); -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   Correct method call with By.xpath and string [OK]

Hint: Use By.xpath("xpath") with double quotes inside parentheses [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using assignment '=' instead of method argument
• Mixing single and double quotes incorrectly
• Omitting '//' in XPath expression

3. What will be the result of this code snippet?

WebElement element = driver.findElement(By.xpath("//div[@class='menu']/ul/li[2]"));
System.out.println(element.getText());

Assuming the HTML is:

<div class='menu'>
  <ul>
    <li>Home</li>
    <li>About</li>
    <li>Contact</li>
  </ul>
</div>

medium

A. Home

B. NoSuchElementException

C. Contact

D. About

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the XPath expression

   The XPath //div[@class='menu']/ul/li[2] selects the second <li> child inside the <ul> within the div with class 'menu'.

2. Step 2: Match XPath to HTML content

   The second <li> inside the list is About. So element.getText() will print "About".

3. Final Answer:

   About -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   XPath li[2] = second list item text [OK]

Hint: XPath li[2] selects second list item text [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing index starting at 0 instead of 1
• Assuming XPath returns all matching elements
• Ignoring the class attribute filter

4. You wrote this code but it throws a NoSuchElementException. What is the likely error?

WebElement button = driver.findElement(By.xpath("//button[text()='Submit']"));
button.click();

The HTML is:

<button id='submitBtn'>Submit</button>

medium

A. The button element is inside an iframe and not switched to

B. The XPath is missing the button's id attribute

C. XPath is case-sensitive and 'Submit' text does not match

D. The button is disabled and cannot be clicked

Solution

1. Step 1: Check XPath correctness

   The XPath //button[text()='Submit'] matches the button text exactly, which is correct here.

2. Step 2: Consider common Selenium issues

   If the element is inside an iframe, Selenium cannot find it unless switched to that iframe first. This causes NoSuchElementException.

3. Final Answer:

   The button element is inside an iframe and not switched to -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   NoSuchElementException often means iframe switch missing [OK]

Hint: Check if element is inside iframe before findElement [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Assuming XPath text match is case-insensitive
• Ignoring iframe context
• Thinking disabled buttons cause NoSuchElementException

5. You want to find an input field that has either name='email' or placeholder='Email'. Which XPath expression should you use with findElement?

hard

A. //input[@name='email' | @placeholder='Email']

B. //input[@name='email' or @placeholder='Email']

C. //input[contains(@name, 'email') or contains(@placeholder, 'Email')]

D. //input[@name='email' and @placeholder='Email']

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the requirement

   You want to find an input element that matches either condition: name='email' OR placeholder='Email'.

2. Step 2: Analyze XPath options

   //input[@name='email' or @placeholder='Email'] uses the correct XPath OR operator or between attribute checks. //input[@name='email' and @placeholder='Email'] uses and which requires both attributes. //input[contains(@name, 'email') or contains(@placeholder, 'Email')] uses contains which is broader but acceptable, but the question asks exact match. //input[@name='email' | @placeholder='Email'] uses invalid XPath syntax with | inside predicate.

3. Final Answer:

   //input[@name='email' or @placeholder='Email'] -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   Use 'or' inside XPath predicate for either condition [OK]

Hint: Use 'or' inside XPath brackets for multiple attribute options [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using 'and' instead of 'or' for either condition
• Using invalid XPath operators like '|' inside predicates
• Confusing contains() with exact match