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By Jash Unadkat, Community Contributor - April 22, 2023
Web developers have to test websites on specific browsers to ensure the site’s compatibility with said browser’s specifications. Tests are run repeatedly during development to help them verify how every codebase change reflects in the browser. This process ensures that web developers optimize their sites for the real world.
This article will explain how developers can open Chrome mobile view via desktop. It also explains how one can test websites on real mobile devices online.
As mentioned above, Chrome is the most popular browser in the market. Given that many users access the internet via Chrome, any website or web app must be compatible to serve those users adequately. Additionally, there are multiple versions of Chrome, and a website must be able to render and operate flawlessly on each. There is also the question of how a specific Chrome version may interact with the hardware specifications of a particular device, adding another layer of verification required in the website development pipeline.
Emulators and simulators cannot replicate all the specifications required for accurate testing. They may not contain and utilize every Chrome version’s features, which means that any test run on emulators and simulators can provide only inconclusive results.
Now, let’s explore two methods to view mobile versions of websites on Chrome.
Users can view the mobile version of a website by using Chrome Devtools.
Note that this method is not entirely reliable as it uses a simulator rather than a real device and browsers to get the job done. Therefore, it cannot replicate all real user conditions, which means that any tests executed by this method will be inconclusive. For 100% accurate results, use the second method – using real browsers.
Listed below are the steps to view the mobile version of a website on Chrome:
For web developers to gain accurate test insights, extensive testing on real devices is non-negotiable. It enables them to verify websites in real user conditions.
Read More: 10 must-have Chrome Extensions for testers
The ideal way to test a website is to test it on a real device. This helps developers monitor websites on mobile browsers that are installed on real Android and iOS devices. By doing so, QAs can evaluate how a website performs across multiple mobile devices and browsers in the real world.
BrowserStack’s real device cloud provides 3000+ real devices and browsers to test on.
Here’s a quick tutorial on how to get started with viewing the mobile version of a website on Chrome:
1. Sign up for a free BrowserStack account.
2. Navigate to BrowserStack Live.
3. Once the dashboard opens, you can choose from thousands of browser-device combinations.
4. Choose the iOS or Android device-browser combination you want to test. In this example, it will be a Chrome browser running on Samsung Galaxy S23.
5. After selecting the device and browser, a new test session will initiate on the chosen hardware-software.
6. Navigate to the website you want to view on mobile and check how it renders.
Additionally, here are a few highlights of BrowserStack’s real device cloud:
QAs can test on any real Android or iOS mobile device directly from their browser. They do not have to download any browsers or emulators. To open a mobile version of a website on Chrome, QAs can log in, select the device-browser-OS combination and start testing. The image above represents a live testing session (Chrome Browser Testing on Samsung S10+) on BrowserStack.
View Mobile Version on Website on Real Device
BrowserStack also provides the following features :
The above methods can help developers eliminate their pain points while debugging any issue. These methods also help optimize a website’s performance across multiple devices. Knowing how to open a website’s mobile view in Chrome is an essential part of a QA engineer’s skillset, and this article will help them with mastering this skill.
