Building a Modular Selenium Framework in Java
A modular Selenium framework makes automated testing scalable, maintainable, and reusable. Instead of writing tests in a messy, repetitive way, a modular framework organizes code into logical modules.
This guide explains:
Key design principles
Must-have components
Recommended folder structure
Using Page Object Model (POM)
Adding utilities & reusable modules
Test execution setup (TestNG/JUnit)
Sample code snippets
Best practices
✅ 1. Principles of a Modular Selenium Framework
A good Selenium framework MUST follow these concepts:
✔️ DRY (Don’t Repeat Yourself)
Avoid duplicated test code.
✔️ Separation of Concerns
Keep test logic, locators, utilities, and configurations separate.
✔️ Reusable Components
Actions, drivers, waits, logging, assertions.
✔️ Maintainability
Updating a locator should NOT require changing every test.
✔️ Extensibility
Easy to add new modules and test scenarios.
🗂️ 2. Recommended Folder Structure
A clean, modular structure (Maven project):
src
├── main
│ ├── java
│ │ ├── base
│ │ │ └── BaseTest.java
│ │ ├── pages
│ │ │ └── LoginPage.java
│ │ ├── utils
│ │ │ ├── DriverFactory.java
│ │ │ ├── ConfigReader.java
│ │ │ └── WaitUtils.java
│ │ └── enums
│ └── resources
│ └── config.properties
└── test
├── java
│ └── tests
│ └── LoginTest.java
└── resources
⚙️ 3. Core Components of the Framework
Your modular framework should include:
1️⃣ Driver Management
Selenium WebDriver initialization
Browser selection
Thread-safe driver for parallel execution
2️⃣ Page Object Model (POM)
Each page = a dedicated class
Encapsulates:
Locators
Page actions
Validations
3️⃣ Utilities
Reusable helper methods:
Waits
Logging
Screenshots
Excel/JSON readers
4️⃣ Configuration Management
Store reusable settings in:
config.properties
Example:
baseURL=https://example.com
browser=chrome
timeout=10
5️⃣ Test Runner
Using TestNG or JUnit for:
Test execution
Groups
Assertions
Reporting
🌐 4. Driver Factory Example (Singleton + ThreadLocal)
public class DriverFactory {
private static ThreadLocal<WebDriver> driver = new ThreadLocal<>();
public static WebDriver getDriver() {
return driver.get();
}
public static void initDriver(String browser) {
if (browser.equalsIgnoreCase("chrome")) {
driver.set(new ChromeDriver());
}
driver.get().manage().window().maximize();
}
public static void quitDriver() {
driver.get().quit();
driver.remove();
}
}
This enables parallel test execution safely.
📄 5. Base Test Class
public class BaseTest {
@BeforeMethod
@Parameters("browser")
public void setUp(String browser) {
DriverFactory.initDriver(browser);
DriverFactory.getDriver().get(ConfigReader.getProperty("baseURL"));
}
@AfterMethod
public void tearDown() {
DriverFactory.quitDriver();
}
}
All test classes extend BaseTest.
🧱 6. Page Object Model (POM)
Example: LoginPage.java
public class LoginPage {
private WebDriver driver;
@FindBy(id="username")
private WebElement username;
@FindBy(id="password")
private WebElement password;
@FindBy(id="loginBtn")
private WebElement loginBtn;
public LoginPage(WebDriver driver) {
this.driver = driver;
PageFactory.initElements(driver, this);
}
public void enterUsername(String user) {
username.sendKeys(user);
}
public void enterPassword(String pass) {
password.sendKeys(pass);
}
public void clickLogin() {
loginBtn.click();
}
}
🧪 7. Test Class Example
public class LoginTest extends BaseTest {
@Test
public void validLoginTest() {
LoginPage loginPage = new LoginPage(DriverFactory.getDriver());
loginPage.enterUsername("admin");
loginPage.enterPassword("12345");
loginPage.clickLogin();
Assert.assertTrue(DriverFactory.getDriver().getTitle().contains("Dashboard"));
}
}
This test is clean because all logic lives in page classes and utilities.
🧰 8. Utilities (Example)
WaitUtils.java
public class WaitUtils {
public static WebElement waitForElement(WebDriver driver, By locator, int timeout) {
WebDriverWait wait = new WebDriverWait(driver, Duration.ofSeconds(timeout));
return wait.until(ExpectedConditions.visibilityOfElementLocated(locator));
}
}
ConfigReader.java
public class ConfigReader {
private static Properties properties = new Properties();
static {
try (InputStream input = new FileInputStream("config.properties")) {
properties.load(input);
} catch (Exception e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
public static String getProperty(String key) {
return properties.getProperty(key);
}
}
📊 9. Reporting Tools
Integrate:
ExtentReports
Allure Reports
TestNG HTML reports
These give insights into passed/failed tests, screenshots, logs, and timing.
🧱 10. Best Practices for a Modular Selenium Framework
✔️ Use Page Object Model (POM)
Keep locators and methods grouped logically.
✔️ Use Page Factory or By locators consistently
Avoid mixing patterns.
✔️ Parameterize Test Data
Use JSON, CSV, Excel, or external data providers.
✔️ Keep test classes extremely small
Logic belongs in pages & utilities, not in the test itself.
✔️ Enable parallel execution
Use ThreadLocal WebDriver.
✔️ Use Maven or Gradle for dependency management
✔️ Maintain a clear naming convention
🎉 Conclusion
A modular Selenium framework in Java makes test automation:
Clean
Organized
Scalable
Maintainable
Reusable
By using POM, utilities, driver factories, and structured tests, your framework becomes robust enough for real-world enterprise test automation.
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Using Config Files for Environment Management
Reading Environment Variables in Selenium Tests
Using HashMap and ArrayList to Store Test Data
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