Navigate Between Pages

How it works

Selenium Java gives you two ways to load a URL: driver.get(url) and driver.navigate().to(url). They behave the same way. Both block until the browser reports the page as loaded, which with the default page load strategy means document.readyState is complete.

The difference is where they live. navigate() returns a WebDriver.Navigation object that also holds back(), forward() and refresh(), so some teams use navigate().to() to keep every history action in one style. get() is shorter and is what most examples use.

About the assignment

This assignment strings two page loads together in one session. You visit Text Fields first and Buttons second, printing each title right after its page loads, which shows that one driver can move around a whole site.

What you will do

1. 1Load Text Fields with driver.get() and print its title after the label Page 1:.
2. 2Load Buttons, this time with driver.navigate().to(), so you try both styles.
3. 3Print the second title after the label Page 2:.
4. 4Keep the prints in that order; each title must be read after its own page has loaded.

Common mistakes

• Passing a relative path

  Java WebDriver has no base URL. driver.get("/Elements/Buttons") fails with InvalidArgumentException: invalid argument; always pass the full address, including https://.

• Reusing an element from the previous page

  A WebElement found before you navigate points at a page that no longer exists. Using it afterwards throws StaleElementReferenceException, so find elements again after every navigation.

• Assuming get() waits for everything

  It waits for the page load event, not for data that JavaScript fetches later. Content added after load still needs an explicit wait, which the waits lessons cover from lesson 35 on.

In a real test suite

Related lessons

• Your First Selenium ScriptThe one-page version of this session, with the driver lifecycle explained.
• Browser Back and Forward NavigationWalk the history these two loads create with back() and forward().
• Handle Multiple WindowsOpen the second page in a new tab instead of replacing the first one.

To try one of these calls on any page without a task, open the Online Selenium Java Compiler.

Starter code

The editor above opens with this code. Fill in the TODO lines, then run and submit it.

import org.openqa.selenium.*;
import org.openqa.selenium.chrome.ChromeDriver;

public class Main {
    public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
        WebDriver driver = new ChromeDriver();
        
        // TODO: Navigate to TextFields page and print title
        // TODO: Navigate to Buttons page and print title
        
        driver.quit();
    }
}