Introduction
Links (<a> tags) are fundamental navigation elements. Automation scenarios include:
- Click a link — navigate to another page
- Find link by text — locate by visible text
- Verify the href — assert the destination URL
- Handle new tab — link opens in a new window/tab
- Verify broken links — check HTTP status codes
Key Methods Summary
| Action | Selenium (Java) | Playwright (JS) | Playwright (Python) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Click link | findElement(By.linkText(...)).click() |
getByRole("link", { name: ... }).click() |
get_by_role("link", name=...).click() |
| By partial text | By.partialLinkText(...) |
getByText(...) |
get_by_text(...) |
| Get href | getAttribute("href") |
getAttribute("href") |
get_attribute("href") |
| New tab | switch to window handle | context.waitForEvent("page") |
context.wait_for_event("page") |
| Current URL | getCurrentUrl() |
page.url() |
page.url |
1. Click a link by visible text
Selenium (Java)
driver.findElement(By.linkText("Click Me")).click();Playwright (JS)
await page.getByRole("link", { name: "Click Me" }).click();Playwright (Python)
page.get_by_role("link", name="Click Me").click()2. Click a link by partial text
Selenium (Java)
driver.findElement(By.partialLinkText("Click")).click();Playwright (JS)
await page.getByText("Click").click();Playwright (Python)
page.get_by_text("Click").click()3. Verify href attribute
Selenium (Java)
String href = driver.findElement(By.id("externalLink")).getAttribute("href");
assertTrue(href.contains("qaplayground.com"));Playwright (JS)
const href = await page.locator("#externalLink").getAttribute("href");
expect(href).toContain("qaplayground.com");Playwright (Python)
href = page.locator("#externalLink").get_attribute("href")
assert "qaplayground.com" in href4. Handle link that opens a new tab
Selenium (Java)
String originalWindow = driver.getWindowHandle();
driver.findElement(By.id("newTabLink")).click();
// Wait for new window and switch to it
WebDriverWait wait = new WebDriverWait(driver, Duration.ofSeconds(5));
wait.until(ExpectedConditions.numberOfWindowsToBe(2));
for (String handle : driver.getWindowHandles()) {
if (!handle.equals(originalWindow)) {
driver.switchTo().window(handle);
break;
}
}
System.out.println("New tab URL: " + driver.getCurrentUrl());
driver.close();
driver.switchTo().window(originalWindow);Playwright (JS)
const [newPage] = await Promise.all([
page.context().waitForEvent("page"),
page.locator("#newTabLink").click(),
]);
await newPage.waitForLoadState();
console.log("New tab URL:", newPage.url());
await newPage.close();Playwright (Python)
with page.context.expect_page() as new_page_info:
page.locator("#newTabLink").click()
new_page = new_page_info.value
new_page.wait_for_load_state()
print("New tab URL:", new_page.url)
new_page.close()5. Verify current URL after navigation
Selenium (Java)
driver.findElement(By.id("homeLink")).click();
assertEquals("https://www.qaplayground.com/", driver.getCurrentUrl());Playwright (JS)
await page.locator("#homeLink").click();
await expect(page).toHaveURL("https://www.qaplayground.com/");Playwright (Python)
page.locator("#homeLink").click()
expect(page).to_have_url("https://www.qaplayground.com/")6. Count all links on the page
Selenium (Java)
List<WebElement> links = driver.findElements(By.tagName("a"));
System.out.println("Total links: " + links.size());Playwright (JS)
const count = await page.locator("a").count();
console.log("Total links:", count);Playwright (Python)
count = page.locator("a").count()
print("Total links:", count)📄 Also Read: Top 10 Best Automation Practice Website