Is Testim worth using for automated testing?
Tags: testing
Published: 2020-07-10 19:50:37

For the past couple of weeks, I have been using Testim.io as a tool to create tests for the company [Uclusion](https://www.uclusion.com/?utm_source=devto&utm_medium=blog&utm_campaign=devtestim)’s user interface, so it’s safe to say I have a pretty good impression on the site’s capabilities. In short, it’s a mixed bag. The amount of struggle you’ll have in Testim entirely depends on what you’re testing. Testim excels when you bug-test simple things, like the Google Calculator: the test making process and run-through are notably smooth . But when you try to use it for full-blown websites, like the Uclusion.com site I’m working on now, …not so much. Here is a list of its strengths and weaknesses, so you can decide whether Testim is the one for you.
> **Strengths:**

![“Educate” on top, support on bottom.](https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/2000/1*d56uTZoVnTE07T9YFFV8EA.png)*“Educate” on top, support on bottom.*

1. **Great customer service.** If you have a question or concern, on the upper right, they have an “educate” button that answers a variety from frequently asked questions, from basic to expert. If you can’t find what you’re looking for in there, you can contact their support team, who respond in a couple of minutes. They are a really nice group of people who try to answer anything problems you have.

1. **Easy to use.** Pictures 2 and 3 on the bottom left is a test I made for Uclusion, where it tests its Google sign up option. As you can see, it allows groups, which are very useful for reusing steps, making the test creating process significantly faster. Once you have created the test, the run through is very straight forward, telling you exactly where it messes up (if there is an error that is). Testim is very comparable to coding. It will do exactly the instructions you give it. The instruction making process is very simple: all you have to do is perform an action, and Testim will record it and replicate it as an instruction. Just remember whatever you do when recording, you’re doing in an actual browser.

![Picture 2 (An array of subsequent groups)](https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/3192/1*c-HpYIZcXWBadG5lfBJcVQ.png)*Picture 2 (An array of subsequent groups)*
> **Weakness:**

![Picture 3 (The steps inside a group)](https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/3220/1*A1GEY6qV6BMCwPduMh-1sw.png)*Picture 3 (The steps inside a group)*

**Major lack of flexibility.** All of Testim’s weaknesses stem from this, so instead of having a long list of each individual weakness, I’ll try to summarize my problems so far. When I said the instruction making process is simple, I didn’t necessarily say it was good, or flexible. If you intend to use it as a legitimate website testing tool, this is where you’ll run into problems. You are extremely limited in what actions you can perform. For example, Testim doesn’t have a function where you can navigate through Google accounts without programming. It will also be unable to catalog links. If you copy a generated link, Testim will generate a step where it continually navigates to that specific link you clicked, rather then the general “copy and paste generated link” step you probably intended. In short, if you try anything that is the slightest abnormal Testim will either be unable to create that action for you, or be inconsistent in the test running process.