Why Page title and URL retrieval in Selenium Java? - Purpose & Use Cases

The Big Idea

What if you could instantly check every page's title and URL without lifting a finger?

The Scenario

Imagine you are testing a website manually. You open each page, look at the browser tab to see the title, and check the address bar to confirm the URL. You write these down on paper or in a document to verify later.

The Problem

This manual checking is slow and tiring. You might make mistakes copying the title or URL. If the website has many pages, it becomes a huge task. You also can't quickly repeat the checks if the site changes.

The Solution

Using Selenium, you can write a simple program to automatically get the page title and URL. This saves time, avoids errors, and lets you check many pages quickly. The program can run anytime to confirm the website is correct.

Before vs After

✗ Before

Open browser
Look at tab title
Write title down
Look at address bar
Write URL down

✓ After

String title = driver.getTitle();
String url = driver.getCurrentUrl();
System.out.println(title + " - " + url);

What It Enables

You can quickly and reliably verify that your web pages load the correct titles and URLs every time you run your tests.

Real Life Example

When launching a new website, testers use Selenium to automatically check that each page shows the right title and URL, ensuring users see the correct information and links.

Key Takeaways

Manual checking of titles and URLs is slow and error-prone.

Selenium automates retrieval of page titles and URLs easily.

This automation speeds up testing and improves accuracy.

Practice

1. Which Selenium WebDriver method is used to retrieve the title of the current webpage as a string?

easy

A. getTitle()

B. getPageTitle()

C. getCurrentUrl()

D. getUrl()

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the purpose of getTitle()

   This method returns the title of the current webpage as a string, which helps verify the page loaded.

2. Step 2: Compare with other methods

   getCurrentUrl() returns the URL, not the title. The other options are not valid Selenium methods.

3. Final Answer:

   getTitle() -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Page title retrieval = getTitle() [OK]

Hint: Remember: Title uses getTitle(), URL uses getCurrentUrl() [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing getTitle() with getCurrentUrl()
• Using non-existent methods like getPageTitle()
• Trying to get title from URL method

2. Which of the following is the correct Java syntax to get the current page URL using Selenium WebDriver stored in variable driver?

easy

A. String url = driver.getUrl();

B. String url = driver.currentUrl();

C. String url = driver.getPageUrl();

D. String url = driver.getCurrentUrl();

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify the correct method name

   The correct Selenium method to get the current URL is getCurrentUrl().

2. Step 2: Check Java syntax correctness

   Assigning the result to a String variable with String url = driver.getCurrentUrl(); is correct syntax.

3. Final Answer:

   String url = driver.getCurrentUrl(); -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   URL retrieval syntax = getCurrentUrl() [OK]

Hint: Use getCurrentUrl() exactly as shown for URL retrieval [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using getUrl() instead of getCurrentUrl()
• Missing String type declaration
• Calling methods without parentheses

3. What will be the output of the following code snippet if the current page title is "Welcome Page" and URL is "https://example.com/home"?

String title = driver.getTitle();
String url = driver.getCurrentUrl();
System.out.println(title);
System.out.println(url);

medium

A. null
null

B. https://example.com/home
Welcome Page

C. Welcome Page
https://example.com/home

D. Welcome Page
null

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand method outputs

   getTitle() returns the page title "Welcome Page" and getCurrentUrl() returns the URL "https://example.com/home".

2. Step 2: Check print order

   The code prints title first, then URL, so output matches Welcome Page https://example.com/home exactly.

3. Final Answer:

   Welcome Page https://example.com/home -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   Title then URL printed = Welcome Page https://example.com/home [OK]

Hint: Print order matches method call order: title then URL [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Mixing up title and URL order in output
• Assuming methods return null without page loaded
• Confusing getTitle() with getCurrentUrl() output

4. Identify the error in the following Selenium Java code snippet that tries to print the page title and URL:

System.out.println(driver.gettitle());
System.out.println(driver.getCurrentUrl);

medium

A. getCurrentUrl() returns void, cannot print

B. Method names are case-sensitive and parentheses are missing

C. driver object is not declared

D. No error, code will run fine

Solution

1. Step 1: Check method name case sensitivity

   Java is case-sensitive; gettitle() should be getTitle().

2. Step 2: Verify method call syntax

   getCurrentUrl is missing parentheses (), so it is not a valid method call.

3. Final Answer:

   Method names are case-sensitive and parentheses are missing -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   Correct method names and parentheses needed [OK]

Hint: Check method names exactly and include () for calls [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Ignoring case sensitivity in method names
• Forgetting parentheses on method calls
• Assuming methods return void incorrectly

5. You want to verify that your Selenium test is on the correct page by checking both the page title and URL. Which of the following code snippets correctly asserts that the title is "Dashboard" and the URL contains "dashboard"?

hard

A. assertEquals(driver.getTitle(), "Dashboard");
assertTrue(driver.getCurrentUrl().contains("dashboard"));

B. assertTrue(driver.getTitle().equals("Dashboard"));
assertEquals(driver.getCurrentUrl(), "dashboard");

C. assertEquals(driver.getTitle(), "dashboard");
assertTrue(driver.getCurrentUrl().contains("Dashboard"));

D. assertTrue(driver.getTitle().contains("Dashboard"));
assertTrue(driver.getCurrentUrl().equals("dashboard"));

Solution

1. Step 1: Verify title assertion

   assertEquals(driver.getTitle(), "Dashboard") correctly checks exact title match.

2. Step 2: Verify URL assertion

   assertTrue(driver.getCurrentUrl().contains("dashboard")) correctly checks URL contains substring "dashboard".

3. Final Answer:

   assertEquals(driver.getTitle(), "Dashboard"); assertTrue(driver.getCurrentUrl().contains("dashboard")); -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Exact title and URL substring check = assertEquals(driver.getTitle(), "Dashboard"); assertTrue(driver.getCurrentUrl().contains("dashboard")); [OK]

Hint: Use assertEquals for exact title, assertTrue with contains for URL [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using equals for URL when substring check needed
• Mixing case sensitivity in title and URL checks
• Using contains for title when exact match required