Understanding Locators in Selenium (ID, Name, XPath, CSS)

Introduction

In Selenium, locators are how you find elements on a web page to interact with them.
Without locators, Selenium can’t click buttons, type in fields, or check text!
Choosing the right locator makes your automation fast, reliable, and easy to maintain.

Let’s explore the four most popular locators in Selenium:

• ID

• Name

• XPath

• CSS Selector

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1. ID Locator

• The simplest and fastest locator

• Targets the element’s unique id attribute

• IDs are supposed to be unique per page

Example:

element = driver.find_element(By.ID, "username")

When to use?

• Use ID if available and unique

• Preferred for speed and reliability

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2. Name Locator

• Finds elements by their name attribute

• Sometimes multiple elements share the same name, so be careful

Example:

element = driver.find_element(By.NAME, "password")

When to use?

• Use when ID is not available

• Often used for form input fields

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3. XPath Locator

• XPath is a powerful language to find elements by path in the HTML tree

• Can locate elements by tag, attribute, text, or relationship

Example:

element = driver.find_element(By.XPATH, "//input[@id='username']")

Types of XPath:

• Absolute XPath: starts from root (not recommended)
  Example: /html/body/div[2]/form/input[1]

• Relative XPath: starts from anywhere, better for maintenance
  Example: //input[@type='text']

When to use?

• Use XPath for complex or dynamic elements

• Good for elements without ID or Name

• Can navigate parent/child relationships

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4. CSS Selector Locator

• Uses CSS rules to find elements

• Faster than XPath in most browsers

• Can select by tag, class, ID, attribute, and more

Example:

element = driver.find_element(By.CSS_SELECTOR, "input#username")

Common CSS selectors:

• By ID: #username

• By class: .btn-primary

• By attribute: input[name='password']

• Combining selectors: div.content > input[type='text']

When to use?

• Use CSS Selector for simple to moderately complex locators

• Faster and cleaner than XPath for many cases

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Tips for Using Locators

• Always try ID first — it’s the fastest and most reliable.

• Use Name if ID is not available.

• Use CSS Selector for clean and fast selection when ID/Name aren’t present.

• Use XPath for complex cases or when you need to navigate the DOM tree.

• Avoid Absolute XPath as it breaks easily.

• Test your locators with browser developer tools (Inspect Element → Console).

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Example: Using Different Locators in Python

from selenium import webdriver
from selenium.webdriver.common.by import By

driver = webdriver.Chrome()
driver.get("https://example.com/login")

# Using ID
username = driver.find_element(By.ID, "username")

# Using Name
password = driver.find_element(By.NAME, "password")

# Using XPath
login_button = driver.find_element(By.XPATH, "//button[@type='submit']")

# Using CSS Selector
forgot_link = driver.find_element(By.CSS_SELECTOR, "a.forgot-password")

# Interact with elements
username.send_keys("admin")
password.send_keys("pass123")
login_button.click()

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Conclusion

Locators are the key to effective Selenium automation.
Choosing the right locator improves test speed, reliability, and maintainability.

Start with ID, then try Name or CSS Selector, and finally use XPath for tough cases.
With practice, you’ll master finding any web element with ease!

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