Implicit wait in Selenium Java - Build an Automation Script

Verify implicit wait functionality on dynamic element loading

Preconditions (2)

Step 1: Open the browser and navigate to the test page URL

Step 2: Set implicit wait timeout to 10 seconds

Step 3: Click the button that triggers loading of a dynamic element

Step 4: Try to find the dynamic element by its id 'dynamicElement'

Step 5: Verify that the dynamic element is displayed on the page

✅ Expected Result: The dynamic element is found and displayed within the implicit wait timeout without throwing NoSuchElementException

Automation Requirements - Selenium WebDriver with Java

Assertions Needed:

Assert that the dynamic element is displayed after clicking the button

Best Practices:

Use implicit wait only once after driver initialization

Use By.id or other stable locators for element identification

Avoid mixing implicit and explicit waits to prevent unexpected wait times

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 java.time.Duration;
import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertTrue;

public class ImplicitWaitTest {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        System.setProperty("webdriver.chrome.driver", "path/to/chromedriver");
        WebDriver driver = new ChromeDriver();
        try {
            // Set implicit wait of 10 seconds
            driver.manage().timeouts().implicitlyWait(Duration.ofSeconds(10));

            // Navigate to test page
            driver.get("https://example.com/dynamic_loading");

            // Click button to load dynamic element
            WebElement loadButton = driver.findElement(By.id("loadButton"));
            loadButton.click();

            // Find dynamic element by id
            WebElement dynamicElement = driver.findElement(By.id("dynamicElement"));

            // Assert dynamic element is displayed
            assertTrue(dynamicElement.isDisplayed(), "Dynamic element should be visible after loading");

            System.out.println("Test Passed: Dynamic element is displayed.");
        } finally {
            driver.quit();
        }
    }
}

This code sets an implicit wait of 10 seconds right after creating the WebDriver. This means Selenium will wait up to 10 seconds when trying to find elements before throwing an error.

We open the test page, click the button that triggers loading the dynamic element, then try to find that element by its id. Because of the implicit wait, Selenium will keep trying until the element appears or the timeout expires.

We then assert that the element is displayed to confirm it loaded successfully. Finally, the browser closes.

This approach is simple and uses implicit wait correctly by setting it once. It uses stable locators and proper assertions to verify the test outcome.

Common Mistakes - 3 Pitfalls

Setting implicit wait multiple times in the test

Mixing implicit wait with explicit waits

Using unstable locators like absolute XPath

Bonus Challenge

Now add data-driven testing with 3 different buttons that load different dynamic elements

Show Hint