Verify navigation by clicking a link using link text

Preconditions (2)

Step 1: Locate the link on the page by its exact visible text 'About Us'

Step 2: Click on the 'About Us' link

Step 3: Wait for the new page to load

Step 4: Verify that the current URL is 'https://example.com/about'

✅ Expected Result: The browser navigates to the About Us page with URL 'https://example.com/about'

Automation Requirements - Selenium with Python

Assertions Needed:

Verify the link with text 'About Us' is found and clickable

Verify the browser navigates to the expected URL after clicking

Best Practices:

Use explicit waits to wait for elements to be clickable

Use By.LINK_TEXT locator strategy for finding the link

Use assertions from unittest or pytest for validation

Close the browser after test execution

Automated Solution

Selenium Python

from selenium import webdriver
from selenium.webdriver.common.by import By
from selenium.webdriver.support.ui import WebDriverWait
from selenium.webdriver.support import expected_conditions as EC
import unittest

class TestLinkTextNavigation(unittest.TestCase):
    def setUp(self):
        self.driver = webdriver.Chrome()
        self.driver.get('https://example.com')
        self.wait = WebDriverWait(self.driver, 10)

    def test_click_about_us_link(self):
        # Wait until the link with text 'About Us' is clickable
        about_link = self.wait.until(
            EC.element_to_be_clickable((By.LINK_TEXT, 'About Us'))
        )
        about_link.click()

        # Wait until URL changes to expected
        self.wait.until(EC.url_to_be('https://example.com/about'))

        # Assert current URL is correct
        current_url = self.driver.current_url
        self.assertEqual(current_url, 'https://example.com/about')

    def tearDown(self):
        self.driver.quit()

if __name__ == '__main__':
    unittest.main()

This test script uses Selenium WebDriver with Python's unittest framework.

In setUp, it opens the browser and navigates to the homepage.

The test test_click_about_us_link waits explicitly for the link with exact text 'About Us' to be clickable using By.LINK_TEXT. Then it clicks the link.

It waits until the URL changes to the expected About Us page URL, then asserts the current URL matches.

Finally, tearDown closes the browser to clean up.

This approach ensures the test waits properly for elements and page loads, making it reliable and clear.

Common Mistakes - 4 Pitfalls

Using find_element without explicit wait

Using partial link text instead of exact link text

Not verifying the URL after clicking the link

Not closing the browser after test

Bonus Challenge

Now add data-driven testing to click links with texts 'About Us', 'Contact', and 'Services' and verify their URLs

Show Hint

Find element by link text in Selenium Python - Build an Automation Script

Practice

Solution

Step 1: Understand the method purpose

Step 2: Compare with other locator types

Final Answer:

Quick Check:

Solution

Step 1: Recall Selenium method naming

Step 2: Check method call syntax

Final Answer:

Quick Check:

Solution

Step 1: Understand what find_element_by_link_text returns

Step 2: Check the tag name of a link element

Final Answer:

Quick Check:

Solution

Step 1: Check link text matching requirement

Step 2: Identify the error and fix

Final Answer:

Quick Check:

Solution

Step 1: Understand the problem with exact link text

Step 2: Use partial link text locator

Step 3: Consider other options

Final Answer:

Quick Check:

Ready to prove it?