In today’s fast-paced software development landscape, automated testing is critical for ensuring the quality and reliability of modern web applications.

Selenium WebDriver with C# continues to be one of the most powerful combinations for browser-based test automation, thanks to its cross-browser support, strong developer community, and seamless integration with modern CI/CD workflows. 

This blog is Part 1 of a two-part series designed to help enterprise teams, startups, and software product companies implement effective automation strategies using Selenium and C#. In this first installment, we’ll walk through the core concepts, setup instructions, and basic test scripts you’ll need to get started. 

What Is Selenium WebDriver? 

Selenium WebDriver is an open-source framework that allows developers and testers to automate web browsers through programming interfaces.

Unlike other automation tools, WebDriver communicates directly with the browser using a driver (like ChromeDriver or GeckoDriver), giving it native control and better performance. 

Key Benefits: 

  • ✅ Cross-browser support: Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari 
  • ✅ Multi-language support: Java, C#, Python, JavaScript 
  • ✅ Free and open-source: No licensing fees 
  • ✅ Platform-independent: Works on Windows, macOS, Linux 
  • ✅ Integration-ready: Works with NUnit, MSTest, and CI tools 

Setting Up Selenium WebDriver with C# 

To start using Selenium in your C# project, follow these basic steps: 

Prerequisites: 

  • .NET SDK 6.0 or later 
  • Visual Studio, VS Code, or JetBrains Rider 
  • Chrome or Firefox installed 

Initialize Your Project: 

bash 

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dotnet new console -n SeleniumDemo   
cd SeleniumDemo   
dotnet add package Selenium.WebDriver   
dotnet add package Selenium.WebDriver.ChromeDriver   
dotnet add package Selenium.Support   
 

Your First Automated Test with Selenium 

Below is a simple example that automates a search on Google: 

csharp 

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using OpenQA.Selenium; 
using OpenQA.Selenium.Chrome; 
using System; 
 
class Program 

    static void Main() 
    { 
        using (IWebDriver driver = new ChromeDriver()) 
        { 
            driver.Navigate().GoToUrl(“https://www.google.com”); 
            IWebElement searchBox = driver.FindElement(By.Name(“q”)); 
            searchBox.SendKeys(“Selenium WebDriver C#”); 
            searchBox.SendKeys(Keys.Return); 
            Console.WriteLine(“Page title: ” + driver.Title); 
        } 
    } 

 

Core Selenium Concepts Explained 

1. WebDriver Interface 

WebDriver is the main interface used to control the browser. 

csharp 

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IWebDriver driver = new ChromeDriver(); // Chrome 
IWebDriver driver = new FirefoxDriver(); // Firefox 
 

You can also configure options like headless mode: 

csharp 

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var options = new ChromeOptions(); 
options.AddArgument(“–headless”); 
 

2. Finding Web Elements 

Selenium provides multiple methods for element selection: 

csharp 

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driver.FindElement(By.Id(“email”));   
driver.FindElement(By.Name(“username”));   
driver.FindElement(By.CssSelector(“.btn-primary”));   
driver.FindElement(By.XPath(“//button[text()=’Submit’]”)); 
 

3. Working with Forms and Inputs 

You can interact with forms easily: 

csharp 

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element.SendKeys(“Test Input”); 
element.Click(); 
element.Clear(); 
 

Writing Unit Tests with NUnit 

Selenium integrates seamlessly with NUnit, a popular testing framework for .NET. 

Install NUnit: 

bash 

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dotnet add package NUnit   
dotnet add package NUnit3TestAdapter   
 

Sample Test Case: 

csharp 

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[Test] 
public void GoogleSearchTest() 

    driver.Navigate().GoToUrl(“https://www.google.com”); 
    IWebElement searchBox = driver.FindElement(By.Name(“q”)); 
    searchBox.SendKeys(“Selenium WebDriver”); 
    searchBox.SendKeys(Keys.Return); 
    Assert.IsTrue(driver.Title.Contains(“Selenium WebDriver”)); 

 

Basic Form Interactions 

From login forms to checkboxes and dropdowns, here’s how to handle form elements: 

csharp 

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driver.FindElement(By.Id(“username”)).SendKeys(“user”); 
driver.FindElement(By.Id(“password”)).SendKeys(“password”); 
driver.FindElement(By.Id(“submit”)).Click(); 
 

You can verify successful logins or form submissions using assertions: 

csharp 

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Assert.IsTrue(driver.FindElement(By.ClassName(“success”)).Displayed); 
 

Working with Dropdowns 

Use the SelectElement class from Selenium’s support library: 

csharp 

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var select = new SelectElement(driver.FindElement(By.Id(“country”))); 
select.SelectByText(“United States”); 
 

Debugging and Troubleshooting Tips 

Common issues like Element Not Found or Stale Element Reference can be resolved by: 

  • Adding waits (implicit/explicit) 
  • Validating element visibility 
  • Re-locating the element after navigation 

Use these debugging tools: 

csharp 

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Console.WriteLine(driver.PageSource); 
Console.WriteLine(driver.Url); 
((ITakesScreenshot)driver).GetScreenshot().SaveAsFile(“screenshot.png”, ScreenshotImageFormat.Png); 
 

What’s Next in Part 2? 

In the next part of this series, we’ll explore: 

  • Explicit waits and fluent wait strategies 
  • Page Object Model (POM) 
  • Handling pop-ups, frames, and alerts 
  • Data-driven testing with Excel or JSON 
  • Integration with CI/CD pipelines 

Conclusion 

Whether you’re building automation from scratch or scaling existing test suites, Selenium WebDriver with C# offers a robust and scalable solution.

By mastering the core concepts covered here—locators, element interaction, form handling, and test structure—you’re setting the foundation for more advanced testing strategies. 

Stay tuned for Part 2, where we’ll level up with best practices for enterprise-grade test automation

Additional Resources