Page Object Model (POM) – Why and When Should You Use It?

The Page Object Model (POM) is a design pattern used in Selenium to create object repositories for organizing and storing web elements, thereby reducing code redundancy and complexity and enhancing test script maintenance. By using POM, each web page is represented as a class containing web elements, which can be utilized by test scripts for various operations, offering clear separation between web element locators and their actions. This approach facilitates easier updates and maintenance, especially when the application's UI changes, and promotes code reusability. The Page Factory, an extension of POM, employs the @FindBy annotation and the initElements method to simplify and optimize the use of Page Objects, ensuring web elements are initialized before actions are performed, thus supporting better test automation practices.