Selenium Python Tutorial 2026: Complete Web Automation Guide

What is Selenium Python?

Selenium is an open-source framework that automates web browsers. When combined with Python, it becomes a powerful tool for web testing, automation, and scraping. Selenium Python allows you to programmatically control browsers like Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge—clicking buttons, filling forms, navigating pages, and extracting data exactly as a human would.

Originally developed for automated testing, Selenium has evolved into a versatile automation tool used by developers, QA engineers, data scientists, and automation specialists worldwide.

Installation and Setup

Step 1: Install Python

Ensure Python 3.8 or newer is installed. Check your version:

python --version

Step 2: Install Selenium

Install Selenium using pip:

pip install selenium

Step 3: Install WebDriver

From Selenium 4.6+, WebDriver Manager is built-in. However, you can also install it manually:

pip install webdriver-manager

Your First Selenium Script

Let's write a simple script that opens Google, searches for "Python Automation", and prints the page title:

from selenium import webdriver
from selenium.webdriver.common.by import By
from selenium.webdriver.common.keys import Keys
from selenium.webdriver.chrome.service import Service
from webdriver_manager.chrome import ChromeDriverManager
import time

# Setup Chrome WebDriver
driver = webdriver.Chrome(service=Service(ChromeDriverManager().install()))

try:
    # Navigate to Google
    driver.get("https://www.google.com")

    # Find search box and enter query
    search_box = driver.find_element(By.NAME, "q")
    search_box.send_keys("Python Automation")
    search_box.send_keys(Keys.RETURN)

    # Wait for results to load
    time.sleep(2)

    # Print page title
    print(f"Page title: {driver.title}")

finally:
    # Close browser
    driver.quit()

Save this as first_selenium.py and run it. You'll see Chrome open automatically, perform the search, and close!

Locating Web Elements

Finding elements on a page is fundamental to Selenium. Here are the most common locator strategies:

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

element = driver.find_element(By.CLASS_NAME, "btn-primary")

element = driver.find_element(By.CSS_SELECTOR, "input[type='email']")

element = driver.find_element(By.XPATH, "//button[@class='submit']")

element = driver.find_element(By.LINK_TEXT, "Sign up")

Browser Interactions

Clicking Elements

button = driver.find_element(By.ID, "submit-btn")
button.click()

Filling Forms

# Enter text
input_field = driver.find_element(By.NAME, "email")
input_field.send_keys("user@example.com")

# Clear existing text
input_field.clear()

# Submit form
input_field.submit()

Dropdown Selection

from selenium.webdriver.support.ui import Select

dropdown = Select(driver.find_element(By.ID, "country"))
dropdown.select_by_visible_text("Canada")
# Or: dropdown.select_by_value("ca")
# Or: dropdown.select_by_index(1)

Handling Alerts

# Accept alert
alert = driver.switch_to.alert
alert.accept()

# Dismiss alert
alert.dismiss()

# Get alert text
alert_text = alert.text

Taking Screenshots

driver.save_screenshot("screenshot.png")

Waits and Synchronization

Modern websites load dynamically. Proper waiting strategies are crucial for reliable automation.

driver.implicitly_wait(10)  # Wait up to 10 seconds

from selenium.webdriver.support.ui import WebDriverWait
from selenium.webdriver.support import expected_conditions as EC

# Wait for element to be clickable
element = WebDriverWait(driver, 10).until(
    EC.element_to_be_clickable((By.ID, "submit-button"))
)
element.click()

# Wait for element to be visible
element = WebDriverWait(driver, 10).until(
    EC.visibility_of_element_located((By.CLASS_NAME, "result"))
)

Practical Examples

Example 1: Automated Login

from selenium import webdriver
from selenium.webdriver.common.by import By
from selenium.webdriver.support.ui import WebDriverWait
from selenium.webdriver.support import expected_conditions as EC

driver = webdriver.Chrome()

try:
    # Navigate to login page
    driver.get("https://example.com/login")

    # Wait for and fill username
    username = WebDriverWait(driver, 10).until(
        EC.presence_of_element_located((By.ID, "username"))
    )
    username.send_keys("your_username")

    # Fill password
    password = driver.find_element(By.ID, "password")
    password.send_keys("your_password")

    # Click login button
    login_button = driver.find_element(By.CSS_SELECTOR, "button[type='submit']")
    login_button.click()

    # Wait for dashboard to load
    WebDriverWait(driver, 10).until(
        EC.url_contains("/dashboard")
    )

    print("Login successful!")

finally:
    driver.quit()

Example 2: Web Scraping E-commerce Products

from selenium import webdriver
from selenium.webdriver.common.by import By
import pandas as pd

driver = webdriver.Chrome()

try:
    driver.get("https://example-shop.com/products")

    # Wait for products to load
    driver.implicitly_wait(5)

    # Find all product cards
    products = driver.find_elements(By.CLASS_NAME, "product-card")

    data = []
    for product in products:
        name = product.find_element(By.CLASS_NAME, "product-name").text
        price = product.find_element(By.CLASS_NAME, "product-price").text
        rating = product.find_element(By.CLASS_NAME, "rating").text

        data.append({
            'Name': name,
            'Price': price,
            'Rating': rating
        })

    # Save to CSV
    df = pd.DataFrame(data)
    df.to_csv('products.csv', index=False)
    print(f"Scraped {len(data)} products!")

finally:
    driver.quit()

Example 3: Automated Form Filling

from selenium import webdriver
from selenium.webdriver.common.by import By
from selenium.webdriver.support.ui import Select

driver = webdriver.Chrome()

try:
    driver.get("https://example.com/application-form")

    # Fill text fields
    driver.find_element(By.NAME, "first_name").send_keys("John")
    driver.find_element(By.NAME, "last_name").send_keys("Doe")
    driver.find_element(By.NAME, "email").send_keys("john@example.com")

    # Select from dropdown
    country = Select(driver.find_element(By.ID, "country"))
    country.select_by_visible_text("Canada")

    # Select radio button
    driver.find_element(By.ID, "experience-5years").click()

    # Check checkbox
    driver.find_element(By.ID, "terms-agree").click()

    # Submit form
    driver.find_element(By.CSS_SELECTOR, "button[type='submit']").click()

    print("Form submitted successfully!")

finally:
    driver.quit()

Selenium Python in Canada

Canadian tech companies and professionals extensively use Selenium Python for various automation needs:

Best Practices

from selenium.webdriver.chrome.options import Options

options = Options()
options.add_argument('--headless')
driver = webdriver.Chrome(options=options)

Frequently Asked Questions

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