Find element by class name in Selenium Python

Introduction

Finding an element by its class name helps you interact with parts of a webpage easily, like clicking a button or reading text.

You want to click a button that has a specific style class.

You need to check if a message with a certain class appears on the page.

You want to fill a form field identified by its class.

You want to verify that an element with a certain class is visible.

You want to extract text from an element styled with a specific class.

Syntax

Selenium Python

element = driver.find_element(By.CLASS_NAME, "class_name")

Use By.CLASS_NAME to specify you are searching by class.

Replace "class_name" with the actual class value from the webpage.

Examples

Finds the first element with class submit-button.

Selenium Python

element = driver.find_element(By.CLASS_NAME, "submit-button")

Finds the first element with class error-message to check for errors.

Selenium Python

element = driver.find_element(By.CLASS_NAME, "error-message")

Finds the first navigation item by its class nav-item.

Selenium Python

element = driver.find_element(By.CLASS_NAME, "nav-item")

Sample Program

This script opens a webpage, tries to find the first element with class example (which may not exist), prints 'Element not found.' if not found, then closes the browser.

Selenium Python

from selenium import webdriver
from selenium.webdriver.common.by import By
import time

# Setup driver (make sure chromedriver is in PATH)
driver = webdriver.Chrome()

# Open example page
driver.get("https://www.example.com")

try:
    # Find element by class name
    element = driver.find_element(By.CLASS_NAME, "example")
    print("Element found with class 'example':", element.text)
except Exception as e:
    print("Element not found.")

# Wait a bit to see the browser
time.sleep(2)

# Close browser
driver.quit()

Important Notes

Class names should not contain spaces; if the element has multiple classes, use one class at a time.

If multiple elements share the same class, find_element returns the first one found.

Use find_elements(By.CLASS_NAME, "class_name") to get all elements with that class.

Summary

Use find_element(By.CLASS_NAME, "class_name") to locate elements by their class.

This helps interact with webpage parts like buttons or messages easily.

Remember it finds the first matching element only.

Practice

1. What does the Selenium method find_element(By.CLASS_NAME, "example") do?

easy

A. Finds elements by their ID "example".

B. Finds all elements with the class name "example" on the webpage.

C. Finds elements by their tag name "example".

D. Finds the first element with the class name "example" on the webpage.

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the method purpose

   The method find_element locates a single element on the page.

2. Step 2: Identify the locator type

   Using By.CLASS_NAME means it looks for the first element with the given class name.

3. Final Answer:

   Finds the first element with the class name "example" on the webpage. -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   find_element + CLASS_NAME = first matching element [OK]

Hint: find_element with CLASS_NAME finds only the first matching element [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing find_element with find_elements (plural)
• Using class name but expecting multiple elements
• Mixing class name with ID or tag name locators

2. Which of the following is the correct syntax to find an element by class name "btn-primary" using Selenium in Python?

easy

A. driver.find_element(By.CLASS_NAME, "btn-primary")

B. driver.find_element_by_class_name("btn-primary")

C. driver.find_element(By.CLASS, "btn-primary")

D. driver.find_element(By.CLASSNAME, "btn-primary")

Solution

1. Step 1: Recall the correct Selenium syntax

   In Selenium Python 4+, the recommended syntax is find_element(By.CLASS_NAME, "class").

2. Step 2: Check each option for correctness

   driver.find_element(By.CLASS_NAME, "btn-primary") uses the correct locator By.CLASS_NAME and method find_element. Others use deprecated or incorrect locators.

3. Final Answer:

   driver.find_element(By.CLASS_NAME, "btn-primary") -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Use By.CLASS_NAME with find_element [OK]

Hint: Use By.CLASS_NAME with find_element, not old deprecated methods [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using deprecated find_element_by_class_name method
• Wrong locator names like CLASS or CLASSNAME
• Missing quotes around class name string

3. Given the HTML snippet:

<div class="alert success">Success!</div>
<div class="alert error">Error!</div>

What text will this Selenium Python code print?

element = driver.find_element(By.CLASS_NAME, "alert")
print(element.text)

medium

A. "Success!"

B. "Error!"

C. "Success! Error!"

D. Throws NoSuchElementException

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand find_element behavior

   It finds the first element matching the class name "alert" in the HTML order.

2. Step 2: Identify the first matching element

   The first <div> with class "alert success" contains text "Success!".

3. Final Answer:

   "Success!" -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   find_element returns first matching element's text [OK]

Hint: find_element returns first match only, so text is from first element [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Assuming it returns all matching elements' text
• Confusing class names with multiple classes
• Expecting an error if multiple classes exist

4. What is wrong with this Selenium Python code snippet?

element = driver.find_element(By.CLASS_NAME, ".button")

medium

A. find_element should be find_elements to find class

B. Class name should not include the dot prefix "."

C. By.CLASS_NAME is not a valid locator

D. The class name must be uppercase

Solution

1. Step 1: Check the class name format

   When using By.CLASS_NAME, the class name should be given without any CSS selector symbols like ".".

2. Step 2: Identify the error in the code

   The code incorrectly includes a dot prefix ".button" which causes a failure to find the element.

3. Final Answer:

   Class name should not include the dot prefix "." -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   Class name locator needs plain class name, no dot [OK]

Hint: Remove dot prefix when using By.CLASS_NAME locator [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Adding dot prefix like CSS selectors to class name
• Using find_elements when only one element is needed
• Assuming class names must be uppercase

5. You want to click the first button with class "submit-btn" on a page. Which code snippet correctly finds and clicks it using Selenium Python?

hard

A. button = driver.find_elements(By.CLASS_NAME, "submit-btn")
button.click()

B. button = driver.find_element(By.ID, "submit-btn")
button.click()

C. button = driver.find_element(By.CLASS_NAME, "submit-btn")
button.click()

D. button = driver.find_element(By.CLASS_NAME, ".submit-btn")
button.click()

Solution

1. Step 1: Choose correct method to find single element by class

   Use find_element(By.CLASS_NAME, "submit-btn") to get the first matching element.

2. Step 2: Call click() on the found element

   After locating the element, call click() to perform the click action.

3. Final Answer:

   button = driver.find_element(By.CLASS_NAME, "submit-btn")\nbutton.click() -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   find_element + CLASS_NAME + click() = correct usage [OK]

Hint: Use find_element with class name, then call click() on it [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using find_elements returns list, cannot call click() directly
• Using ID locator instead of class name
• Including dot prefix in class name